Bright Activity

I love animals but cats are my favorites. There’s just something about them that makes me relate to them so easily. My family has usually always had at least one cat among us as far back as I can remember. As with people there are just some animals that seem to have that special something. Harry was one of them. I fell in love with him almost immediately. The bond between us grew and Harry became my cherished friend and companion as well as a valued member of our family.

Harry’s magnetic personality and charismatic manner almost always allowed him to get his way. But on those rare occasions when he was treated unjustly, his vengeance was anything but sweet.

My husband, Scott stood in the doorway looking out at the yard. The grass was quickly shooting up again from the recent rain. The day was sunny but the weather report called for rain the rest of the week.

“I think I’ll go cut the grass,” he said.

“I’ll do it for you, Dad,” volunteered Travis, our youngest son.

“It’s supposed to rain. I want to get it cut before it gets any higher.”

“Just let me finish eating my sandwich,” Travis said.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Scott asked his son.

“No. I’ll do it.”

Travis gulped down the rest of his sandwich and washed it away with the last bit of pop in the glass. He got up from the table, picked up his plate and glass and placed them in the sink.

“Let me go change clothes first,” he told his father.

Travis went upstairs and was back down in a flash. He took the keys from the counter, went outside, unlocked the shed and removed the lawn mower. A few moments later I could smell the sweet scent of fresh cut grass. I loved the smell of grass even though I suffered from most common allergies at that time of year.

Scott and I sat at the kitchen table, engaged in casual conversation when Travis reappeared in the doorway a short while later. His face was a bit flushed and his back had taken on a little more of a golden bronze hue. Little slivers of grass decorated his shoes, socks and lower legs.

“I’m going to take a shower,” he said.

“Thanks for taking care of the yard, Trav.”

“No problem, Dad.”

When Scott rose to refill his glass with Pepsi he noticed Harry sitting in front of the bathroom door.

“He must need in to use the litterbox,” I said.

Scott knocked on the bathroom door.

“Trav, Harry needs in to use the litterbox.”

Travis did not reply. Assuming that he could not hear over the sound of the running water, Scott knocked a little harder. The water immediately turned off.

“What?!”

“Harry needs in to use the litterbox,” Scott said.

“So,” came the reply.

“Well, let him in.”

“No. He can wait.”

“If he goes to the bathroom on the floor you’re cleaning it,” his father warned.

Only silence came from the other side of the door. Then the rush of the water could be heard again. Harry continued to sit patiently in front of the door waiting to gain entrance. A few minutes later, after finally deciding that the door was not going to open, he gave up.

Travis had changed shoes before he went out to cut the grass. When he came back in, he removed his shoes and left both pair by the door. Harry walked over, sniffed the shoes and squatted. Although I made an attempt to stop him, it was too late. Harry had already urinated on both pair of Travis’s shoes. Normally Scott would have been furious but this time he roared with laughter. Grasping his abdomen, he howled until his face was flushed and tears ran down his cheeks. Although I tried not to laugh, a few giggles managed to escape.

On hearing all the commotion, the bathroom door flew open. A still dripping, towel clad Travis appeared in the doorway.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“You wouldn’t let Harry in the bathroom so he used your shoes instead of the litterbox. Both pairs!” Scott pointed, as he tried to contain his laughter.

“What?! He didn’t,” Travis exclaimed as his jaw clenched in anger and his face reddened with embarrassment.

“He did,” laughed my husband.

“Dad, it’s not funny.”

“Oh yes it is.”

I nudged my husband to shut up. Scott was enjoying the moment just a little too much. Trav didn’t have much of a sense of humor and even less when the joke was on him.

“Harry! Come here. You little…Wait till I get you,” Trav muttered as Harry ran around the table.

“Leave him alone. It’s nobody’s fault but your own. You’re the one who wouldn’t open the door,” his father pointed out. It seemed odd to hear Scott defend a cat but Harry had made a lasting impression on everyone including my husband.

He certainly made an impression on Travis that day. Finally eluded by Harry, Travis stomped back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Harry was the baby and he knew it. He flopped down on the throw rug in front of the door and groomed himself contentedly. He had proved his point and he was satisfied with the results. It didn’t pay to piss Harry off. (Pardon the pun but I couldn’t resist.)

Darlene Zagata is a freelance writer and columnist for the print publication Moon Shadows Magazine. She is also the author of “Aftertaste: A Collection of Poems” and “The Choosing.” Her work has been published extensively both online and in print. For more information visit her website at http://darlenezagata.tripod.com or contact Darlene at darzagata@yahoo.com

The worst part of loss of hair for guys is that there is no sure fire cure. A receding hair line has been a depressing problem for lads all around the UK but there are phenomenal treatments that may prevent further hair loss.

There is a lotion based treatment for hair loss called Minoxidil that could be taken in capsule or lotion form and can help girls regrow their hair and minimise further loss of hair. The lotion comes in a variety of strengths with two percent being the most popular. The treatment is used under the watchful eye of a hair loss nurse and should be made aware that the baldness treatment is not a fascinating miracle cure. However, the marvellous success of this hair loss treatment is around sixty percent. The hair loss treatment course is a minimum of 4 months before super results might often show and all females are recommended to continue the hair loss treatment for at least nine months to a year.

For males that don?t get any regrowth with the hair loss treatment they may try hair transplant surgery. Hair loss surgery is a permanent solution and involves transplanting the hair follicles on the scalp to stop bald areas. Hair plugs can be pricey and involves a medical procedure so may not be for every chap.

Back in ancient times, oh say about 10 BV (Before Video games,) when a kid had nothing to do on a summer day, things got pretty difficult. Unlike today, when a kid can veg out for extended periods racking up points on any number of video game titles, children with nothing to do had a real dilemma on their hands. They could either go home and get caught up in some kind of chore their parents would press them into performing, or accept the challenge of grabbing boredom by the nose and kicking it in the butt.

In case there is ever a serious power shortage, here is one boredom breaker the 8-12 year old kids in my old neighborhood used to pull for something different to do.

One day, we grabbed an official looking hard hat, a heavy whistle, a plastic badge, and a wide leather belt. Hooking the belt from shoulder to waist on a slant across the chest, donning the hard hat, pinning on the badge, and taking the whistle, we moved to the nearest low traffic intersection to begin experimenting with how well a kid could do at directing traffic. Whenever a car came along to the stop sign, we would walk out into the intersection, blow the whistle, and point authoritatively in the direction we wanted the driver to go. To our surprise, almost every driver went in the direction we indicated without question, which was intentionally opposite the one we thought they wanted to go.

On one occasion, the driver lowered his window and asked why he could not go the way he wanted to take. My brother was manning the post for this incident, and he was not usually acknowledged for being quick on the uptake. However, when the driver asked why he had to turn, my brother shouted back impatiently, “Oil!” With a flourish of bravado, my brother blew the whistle in two quick bursts, and in a squatting turn, swept both his extended arms in the direction he wanted the driver to take. The driver shrugged his shoulders, and turned the car as instructed. It was our best shot of the day.

I may not be able to recall my best score at Mario years from now, but I can still remember directing traffic for the first time. Sometimes it is good to be forced to invent.

Director of Software Concepts
BHO Technologists – LittleTek Center http://home.earthlink.net/~jdir.

Down here in Dothan, Alabama we have a city park that’s been setup to give folks a feeling for how country life used-to-be. I guess these parks are probably springing up all over the country, I’ll bet in New York they have a park that teaches you what it’s like to get mugged, or to explain to a foreign cab driver where you’d like to go. Our park is a working farm, and also has a real old-fashioned soda fountain. I have no idea what one has to do with the other.

There was a story on the Dothan news about school kids being offered an opportunity (forced) to go to the park and see how the south “used-to-be”. These kids had to pick cotton, churn butter and milk a cow. After all this “fun” they were treated to a hayride in a rickety wagon pulled by a tractor. That’ll keep these kids off the streetshow could they stand all the fun? One of the park volunteers stated this will be the only time most of these kids will see the real south, most of them have no idea about how the south used-to-be.

It always amazes me when adults decide what kids should be thinking. Even though I’ve been alive since Jesus was a boy I know most of these kids didn’t leave the park with a greater appreciation for the south. If they are like me, they left with a greater appreciation for how things are today.

This plan to force kids to relive the experiences of the south is not new. When I was a kid I can recall riding with my mom in the country, as she parked the car on the side of the road by a cotton field. She insisted I pick cotton in the hot sun so I’d have an appreciation for how life used-to-be. Well, I got out of the car and I picked cotton, all the time wondering what I had done to be punished.

Once the hour was over and I was finally allowed back in the cool car, she regaled stories of how southerners used to earn their livings in the cotton fields and kids worked all summer in the fields to help the families.

I could tell by the look on her face that I was suppose to be intrigued by this lost southern heritage and have a newfound appreciation for things of old. All I had was an appreciation for air-conditioning.

Now that I think about it, allowing kids to have gratitude and appreciation for life today is not such a bad thing. This is probably a lesson we all need to learn. So, having kids spend a day at the park is probably a good idea, even if the outcome is different from what we expect.

I guess the next time I start yearning for a simpler time, I’ll just go out and pick a little cotton; life is bound to look a whole lot better afterwards.

Ya’ll come!

David Zack Holmes is an Inspirational/Humor Writer telling his tales with a southern flair. To read more features see: http://www.davidzackholmes.com

If you are aimlessly buying Christmas presents for people with hopes that just one of those things will please them, then you need to read this article. You could learn how to get them a gift that they want, or you could simply get them a gift card, thus allowing you to just spend the rest of the day with the person you care about.

Christmas gets more extravagant every year. Everyone says that Christmas will be different next year but it will be the same boring holiday. It’s fun to receive gifts, especially when you’re a kid, but as adults, do we really need to go bonkers in the mall each year?

The problem is that most people don’t know what everyone wants. The theory is that if you buy the person a lot of gifts, chances are they will like at least one of them. Do an online search to find the perfect gift for your loved one. Check with people who know what they want and need. Asking very specific questions throughout the year will aid you in finding the perfect gift. This information should help you resist buying them unneeded trinkets and gadgets. Gift cards are always an option, when every other idea seems likely to fail. These can be personalized by including a few ornaments or hand-baked cookies or even a personalized card telling them that you wished that they have the last say about their gift. The point is that spending all day surrounded by presents is no match for the gift of family and friends being together.

Though many people agree that gift cards are impersonal, isn’t it more impersonal to buy someone a gift they don’t need or want? Gift cards are a terrific last-minute idea if your inquiries didn’t result in any answers. Musch of the time people won’t admit to what they want even if they know. There are lots of ways to give pleasure to this group. Here is a great site for some gifts ideas for everyone.

People never seem to amaze me. And by that I mean that people amaze me once in a while, and the rest of the time I try to remain unimpressed — and usually succeed. Take this evening, for example: after getting gas in my car — and keep in mind that I live in NJ, where we are not allowed to pump our own because people don’t trust us enough — the station attendant asked me where I was going. Not knowing where this question was headed, since people usually ask him for directions and not the other way around, I basically pointed in some random direction…

That was my first mistake. The random directional point never works. I don’t have any information to back this up, but that is only because I refuse to ask the Internet until it gives me my Frisbee back…

So, after this random point, the attendant then asked me if I could drive his friend home. This was a tempting offer. I mean, think about it: me, some random guy, could drive home this other random guy who may or may not hijack my car at some point down the road and kill me. How could I refuse this offer? And especially for what he was offering me: “I’ll give you a soda,” he said…

I thought the soda offer was tempting because that’d be something I would enjoy while I was dead. While he was at it, he could have thrown in some other necessities for beneath the grave like caterpillars or sympathy cards. A weeping widow would have really done the trick…

Keep in mind that I don’t keep my car very clean on the inside. Of course, I do clean it out once every four months or so, but otherwise I have a lot of random items in my car, which is probably why I usually resort to the random pointing. But it is situations like these that make me want to endorse unkempt cars on television. Such a car provides the perfect excuse to never have to drive anyone anywhere…

“I would drive him, but my car is a mess,” I told the guy…

I tried my hardest to give him a facial expression which indicated a combination of disappointment and concern. If awards were given out for making fake facial expressions at gas stations (I will have to check), surely I would have received a nomination…

“What if you move all of your stuff into the back seat?” he asked me. Or at least it sounded like that, but I wasn’t completely paying attention, being I was sidetracked by that soda offer and all. Did he not notice my facial expression? What did he want from me –tears? Who did he think I was — Walker, Texas Ranger?

I then told him that I couldn’t move my stuff back there because it would break. Luckily he didn’t question how poster board, an old McDonald’s bag and a bunch of pencils would suffer those consequences if moved, because then I’d have to resort to the random pointing again — and then throw something at his face once he looked in that direction…

So indeed, people never seem to amaze me. And that’s good, because I love the feeling that at any time and any place, someone I don’t know will ask me for a ride. And only in NJ can I say “no” because the opposite is never expected of me…

But I digress.

Greg Gagliardi is a teacher and writer. His stream-of-consciousness weekly humor column, “Progressive Revelations,” has been ongoing since 1998. (http://www.ProgressiveRevelations.com)

Excellent choices for your fitness regimen are elliptical exercise machines. When compared to a treadmill, these pieces of equipment can give you a better workout without giving you all the damaging side effects of running on the treadmill belt. One of the common problems with the treadmill is that they can do a good amount of damage to the knees, back, and hips from the shock of hitting the hard surface time and time again. With the elliptical, you lose most of this painful shock because you are not running but moving in an up and down motion. Elliptical exercise machines are fast becoming the type of machine to own and use for a healthy workout.

How To Choose The Right Machine

If you head to a local department store, you are going to be overwhelmed with your options in these machines. Elliptical trainers should be purchased based on several key factors including these.

The machine should be of high quality. The most important factor is to determine if the equipment will take the beating you are going to give it. When looking at a price scale, the lower end models are often the least quality. But, that doesn’t mean that you have to go with the highest cost either. Middle ground is often the best in quality.

Look at what the machine is designed for. For example, if you belong to a health club where they use these machines, notice how well the product works for you. Do you enjoy it? Is there one type that you like better than others? If so, then gravitate towards the purchase of that one instead of the other. Also, if you are used to a commercial choice, you may want to purchase one of this quality. You’ll have a tool that lasts a lot longer than others and it is one that is often high in quality and use.

If you are new to home fitness equipment, you may want to invest in a lesser expensive model until you know for sure whether or not you like it. Then, you can always improve on it down the road.

Use consumer reviews to get the best idea of how well a product works out of the box. You’ll find these reviews available throughout the web for various machines. You are more than likely going to find a wide range of opinions but instead of looking just at the surface of these reviews, find out why people rated them the way that they did. For example, if they thought the product was too hard to use, perhaps this is something that you should consider.

Getting A Good Price

You’ll also be able to find great prices on the equipment you are after by thoroughly comparing models. You’ll also find a wide range of opportunity online to get a lower price such as through discounts, sales and even by purchasing wholesale. Elliptical exercise machines are an excellent tool, but if you want to get a good quality product as well as one that will not break the bank, you’ll need to invest some time in researching them.

Susan Dean is the webmaster and publisher of
http://www.elliptical-trainers-shop.com/ Visit her site for a help & tips on selecting the best elliptical trainer to buy.

Past life regression, aka PLR, should locate the reasons why we have arguments with fellow workers in our current life or why we are concerned of certain situations. You have people around you in your current life that you will have remarkably met with before, now just imagine being able to locate what happened and what your relationship was to them at that time and destroy blocks that plague you in your current lifetime and even identify talents and bring them into your present time. Past life regression is marvellous. Unearth the issues in your present life with Past Life with AnneJirsch.com.

When you are having a past lifetime regression, aka PLR, session you regress to the life you should most need to see about in your present lifetime. This is fabulous and can describe a great deal about your present life and help you will to move forward with your life with a greater understanding of yourself, your life and the family around you.

You will often also unearth why you are the individual that you are, now that is spectacular. If you savour nature maybe you were once a farmer, if you savour to travel maybe you were a gypsy. Instead of forgetting our strengths we acknowledge each of them.

Each particular experience is astonishing and unique. Other people have discovered places they?d lived in before and ?knew? where to go.

Search engines follow a specific and ever changing algorithm to maintain a quality search quality to their patrons. When you go to a search engine looking for something the returned search results are that search engines actual product. Moving your site to the top of that search can be manipulated if you follow the rules of building a quality site and both on page and off page optimization concepts. Internet marketing search engine placement is based on the information found on your page and the link popularity which is based on how many authority sites are linking back to your site.

Although search engines are completely logical and follow a specific undisclosed set of algorithms to generate their search results and to rank sites within them, I tend to think of them as magical due to their hidden powers that make what they do seem so amazing. Internet marketing search engine placement to me also seems pretty magical when you think about the fact that these people have found ways to rank sites without knowing the hidden pieces of the hologram that is the search engine algorithm. It goes to show that you can do a lot even if, in algebraic terms, you don’t know what property “x” is.