Baby Water and Bread Dip Spice

     I discovered a new product at the grocery store the other day. It was a new type of bottled water, not spring water, mineral water, well water, sparkling water, protein water or purified water but it was baby water sometimes called infant water. There seem to be an endless choice of juiced up waters available to us now so what benefit does baby water have over the others.

     So I asked a lady stocking shelves "What the hell is baby water?" I believe I used those exact words.

     She answered, "It's not for drinking but bathing."

     I laughed and said, "Do you sell senior water?"

     "Yes, it's called alcohol," she said.

     I laughed and dropped the rest of my questions. Not totally convinced she gave me the right answer I decided I would look into it later. If this new designer water is good for babies why isn’t it good for older adults. We shouldn't be cheated out of this innovative elixir.

     In the mean time I needed to get spices that you sprinkle into olive oil for dipping bread. It usually comes in a grinder, which is very convenient. So again I asked another employee about the spice grinder, and she looked at me like a puppy looks when they are puzzled. You know how they torque their head back and forth trying to understand what you're saying. It made feel like I was an alien with two heads speaking a language from another world or dimension.

     She took on my challenging question and roamed around the store in a futile attempt trying to fulfill my request for this spice grinder.

      I finally told her, "Don't worry about it. I can do without it but do you have baby water?"

     "Oh yes, it's on the end cap of aisle 17," she said.

     "Thanks," I said and walked away.

      From this encounter I conclude, baby water is something everyone requests but asking for a spice grinder is suspicious. It's apparent that you can never have enough varieties of bottled water. If you don't believe me just look at the store shelves and count the selections. I used to drink water from the garden hose. Hum, I wonder if they have hose water?

     That same day I researched baby water on a Google and found that it is for drinking not bathing, so the employee had that wrong. Apparently the water God put on this earth is tainted and can only be safely consumed by people over 60 years old.

     Maybe it's too late but I have a suggestion for a new type of water. I would like to see helium water. This could be a great item. Think of the benefits. If you knocked over a glass of water it would just float in mid air until you cleaned it up. It could be really good diet water. The more you drank the less you would weigh. Although I guess the side effect would be speaking in a high pitched voice like Pee Wee Herman. "I know you are, but what am I?"

How many races are there?

     There are quite a few different races. Too many to count but here's a few that come to mind. Auto races, balloon races, Olympic races, space race, charity races and Oh Yeah, the human race. Skin color does not matter and we are all part of the human race. We have many more things in common as humans, which should bring us together. So why is skin color tearing us apart? Skin color and gender are subsets of the human race. We all matter the same.

     People will judge others it's said to be human nature, which is unlikely to change. Isn't it better to be judged for our personal accomplishments rather than being judged or miss-judged do to being a member of a group? We are all looking to make our mark on life but what does that really mean? To me it doesn't mean you will be famous. It might be that you will be famous only with your family as a great parent and provider. That matters.

     Choosing to distinguish yourself solely by your skin color will likely alienate others of a different skin color. It's important to know the objective. Are you trying to bring people together or alienate others? Everyone wants to distinguish themself in some way but doing this with positive personal accomplishments will last longer.

     There will always be people that see themselves as superior but that doesn’t make it so. I suggest ignoring them and get on with living your life to the fullest. "Just Saying...."

US Olympic Gymnasts

     Congrats to Simone Biles and Aly Raisman great Olympian champions. You have every right to be proud and silly with joy. I apologize for the reporter calling your interview with Bob Costas awkward or embarrassing.

     What this reporter doesn't understand is you're young girls pumped up with enthusiasm and excitement because you won Olympic medals and this spilled over to the interview. That's Ok. You have the right to be silly, actually everyone does. What's wrong with being excited to meet Zack Efron? Absolutely nothing. Getting giddy over having pizza and a burger doesn't surprise me either. You probably haven't had those in months. I still get excited when I think about a juicy bacon cheeseburger. I think your excitement over these common things just makes you more endearing and special. It shows even though you are Olympians you still like the same things as other young girls.

     Bob Costas is 64 years old age and a well renowned sportscaster who doesn't need to prove himself every time he does an interview. Maybe, it didn't go like he expected but he smiled throughout. What's wrong with that? Every interview doesn't need to be serious.

     Simone and Aly, I hope you always keep some silliness in your life. To the reporter who wrote the article I say. What were you doing when you were nineteen? “Just Saying…”

     

You see what you believe

     We are all influenced by our beliefs. It's almost impossible not to be but is it possible to be blinded by your beliefs. I firmly believe it is. In our day-to-day life our brains see things as we except them to be. We ignore or overlook things that do not fit into our belief system. Different people will interpret a specific action in totally different ways, which is proven by listening to eyewitness reports from people watching the same event.

     Some people see kindness, tragedy, prejudice or compassion because they look for things that support their beliefs. If all you see is the negative, may be life experiences have sculpted your beliefs in a way that limits your expectations.

     Wouldn’t it be better to approach each day expecting it to be an education in life. It won't all be good or all bad but either way it will contain a valuable lesson. You can learn from the good and the bad. Knowing that beliefs can be changed, expanded or discarded will allow you to have better control of your future.

     Beliefs give you a picture of your expectations. If you don't like the expectations you see, change the picture to change the expectations. If you expect to be treated unfairly, you will likely act in a way that gets you that result.

     There is no magic pill that will put your life on the rode to success. It takes work. It’s not easy but by expecting and believing good things will happen, you become hypersensitive to noticing the good things. What's wrong with that? It’s not an answer to all your problems but if it gives your day a positive boost, isn’t it worth a try?

     Oh, don't worry about becoming naive to the negative things in the world, the 24 hours news reports will take care of that. "Just Saying...."

What would you do if you couldn't fail?

     I saw that question on a womens shirt and it made me think. Why is failure a bad thing? I think there's a greater good in failure than bad. If you never fail how would you recognize success. With each failure you eliminate one option keeping you from success. So each failure brings you one step closer to success.

     There are many successful people that have been a failure most of their life, we just don't here about it because success overshadows failure. The difference in a successful person and a failure is effort. That's it. The successful person knows what it is to fail, they've been there and they will likely be there again but they won't let failure destroy them.

     I believe failure is only bad when it keeps you from trying. If the thought of failure discourages you from trying you will never be successful. Embrace failure by learning from it. What are you waiting for? Success may only be a failure away. "Just Saying...." 

Parrot Beak

   Do you have any physical imperfections? I know I do and I'm sure you do as well. I'm not talking about my physical stature being almost five foot five, my loss of hair or the wrinkles I've noticed. Some are signs of aging, others are physical characteristics I've lived with and have grown to like.

     The one imperfection I have that is gross even to me is my toenail shaped like a parrot beak. It's not that I spend a lot of time dwelling on it, only when it needs trimming. A wire cutter is the only tool that works on this stout parrot beak nail. Not many people need tools from Home Depot to trim their toenails but I do for this one lone nail. Alas! I know my dreams of being a foot model are dashed because of this beak nail.

     I'm sure there are others that have body parts that do not conform to the norm. It's also likely that many people have toenails they are not interested in displaying in public. Pedicures are popular with many women and some men these days, thankfully this does not interest me. I'm sure I would be shunned, turned away by the nail salon or charged an additional fee to paint this talon like growth.

     To be perfectly honest, hand modeling is out as well since I’ve recently developed this arthritic protrusion on my wrist. It looks like an extra digit is pushing through the skin much like how I imagine a new island is born.

     The thought occurred to me the other day that I should paint a parrot beak nail on my wrist bump. That would make it more of a conversation piece but my wife said that was a bad idea. I must agree with her but couldn’t I at least give it a name?

The Dark Side of Life

     The dark side is hard to avoid since it's all we hear on the news. Looking at the dark side of life is depressing even when you aren't directly affected. We can't ignore it but do we need to submerge ourselves in it? No, enough is enough. Natural disasters, terrorist attacks, wars even crooked politicians add darkness to our lives. Our control of the dark side is limited but one thing we can do turn away from the darkness.

     Bad news draws us in like iron to a magnet. We have to experience problems so we know how to deal with them. At the same time if all we know are problems, it's hard to muster up hope for the future. My experiences tell me that my brain suffers when it's overloaded with bad news even when the tragic news is far away. On the other hand good news has an equally positive effect almost like my brain is smiling.

     This is my simplistic view of how I think the dark side of life and the bright side of life affects my attitude. To be an informed person I can't ignore the dark side of life but I refuse to live there. If you're looking for me I will be living my life on the bright side of life. "Just Saying...."