Are you afraid to say "Merry Christmas"?

I wonder sometimes if we allow ourselves to be too politically correct, particularly when it comes to something so fundamentally important to Christians as the birth celebration of Jesus Christ - Christmas.

Do other religious groups really care that we be politically correct? I don't think so. I believe that the filament that runs through all of us whether we are Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist or any other fundamental spiritual religion, is respect. Respect for our beliefs, our religious practices and our way of life.

Each and every major religion has its important festivities. The core issue of importance is that we respect each other's ideologies while expecting that they do ours.

Christmas is a Christian celebration. We should not allow ourselves to accede to the politically correct pressure of wishing each other a Happy Holiday. We should, as good Christians, stand up proudly and say:

"Merry Christmas"

In so doing, we affirm that Christmas, in its truest and purest spirit, is the celebration of the birth of our Savior - Jesus Christ.

Gary

The Secret of Long Life

- Live each day as if it were your last;
- Don't put off until tomorrow what you meant to do today;
- Treat each person you meet, rich or poor, old or young, feeble or strong, regardless of race, colour, religion or sex, with the same dignity and respect that would make you feel warm and comfortable;
- Ask yourself what are the most important things in life - I suggest, after some thought, you might find they are free;
- Eat well, and eat good things. Try to avoid the chemically-laced products filling our food stores;
- Drink well, and drink good things. A taste of good wine or brandy rests in the same level as clear water and fresh milk. Try not to overindulge;
- Don't smoke. It's a killer. Don't be so vain as to think you can avoid it's ugly gifts;
- Try not to worry too much. None of us can escape certain concerns, but worrying too much causes an abundance of unhealthy stress. Remember, tomorrow the sun will rise, the birds will sing, little children will laugh and cause you to laugh, and what seemed so important yesterday will seem trivial today;
- Try not to make yourself seem too important. Your importance, I've found, is directly inverse as to how important you think you are;
- Get involved in helping those less fortunate through your church or a well-founded charity group. Nothing satisfies the soul more than giving;
- Laugh and smile a lot. It's great medicine and can change your well-being in a flash;
- Feed birds and small animals, and take time to really smell the flowers. Nothing sooths the inner you better than God's precious gifts; and
- finally, put your trust in God. When things don't seem right or if you're troubled, a simple, sincere prayer will work miracles in your life.

Gary

The Secret of Protecting Your Family Against Colds, Flus and Other Contagious Sicknesses

As fall fades into winter, well being traditionally blossoms into crouping, coughing, sneezing, headaches and fevers in many families.

In my relatively long life, I've seen families who seem to be continually plagued with recurring contagious diseases. Some, it seems, are constantly barking and sneezing. Their lives appear to be a vicious circle of colds, flues and other repetitive maladies. On the other hand, I've seen plenty of families who never seem to catch a cold, or, if they do, it leaves them rather quickly and doesn't seem to return. What seems to be the difference between these two types of families?

Since I'm not a medical practitioner, I won't attempt to diagnose nor offer medical analysis.

As a layperson, however, here are my top two issues that, in my opinion, differentiates a basically well family from one that seems to be constantly sick:

1) Poor Hygiene;
2) Poor choices concerning when to stay home and heal and when it's safe to go to work, etc;

What does this mean?

Poor hygiene practices with adults, unfortunately, go beyond them, trapping children who cannot protect themselves.

Door-knobs/latches, particularly in public places and restrooms, from my research, are probably one of the most dangerous areas for picking up the viruses that cause colds, flues, and other communicable diseases. Sometimes when we're at the mall, shopping center, or sports arena we reach a point where we're busting to go to the washroom. We've all been there at one time or another. We rush off to the restroom.

Next to us in the lavatory is someone who is coughing or sneezing. In a rush to get out of there, we don't wash our hands and we retouch the door-knob/latch when leaving. We sigh thankfully as the door closes behind us, relieved to be rid of the flu/cold polluter still in the washroom. However, along with us as we hasten away, comes a collection of the cold/flu virus that was left on the door-knob/latch by the person still in the washroom.

The next stop, if you're like me, is the food court for a sandwich, or a doughnut and coffee. After finishing the doughnut or sandwich, your hunger is satisfied and, with the shopping finished, you return home - along with the virus, now within you, and incubating. A few days later, you're feeling a bit miserable, but not enough to complain. That evening, after giving your wife a peck on the lips, you roll over and go to sleep. (The virus is now transferred to your wife). By morning, you're feeling lousy and sweating a bit. You can't stay home, however, since there's an important meeting at the office at 9:00 am with out-of-town clients.

At the meeting, you forge through your presentation, suppress a sneeze in you hand with you back turned away from the table, (only once), then shake hands with everyone before joining them for coffee and sticky-buns. The clients who don't go to the washroom and wash their hands and who have just finished their snacks, have now passed the virus into their system. Off they go to other parts of the country.

This is the chain that too frequently occurs.

What about the kids? Well, kids are innocent. They don't have the capacity at early ages to know proper hygiene. You have to protect them from the viruses as much as you would protect them from a child abuser. They are completely at your mercy and totally dependant on you. Imagine the parent who has the flu/cold virus churning around in his/her system. Imagine that mother/father feeding an infant in a high chair and testing whether or not the food for the baby is too hot by touching his/her tongue onto the spoonful of food. The next thing, if the food is cool enough, is to put the spoon into the baby's mouth.

What if the same infected parent or friend takes a bite from an ice-cream cone and then passes it back to a child for him/her to eat?

The above scenarios portray, what I consider to be, the most common practices for spreading viruses back and forth amongst friends, family members and those we come in contact with in our work/play areas. I have committed these sins myself over the years but have learned some time ago the importance of good hygienic practices in protecting my loved ones against these microscopic predators.

In a nutshell, this is my advice:

1) Wash, wash, wash your hands and those of your children after touching door knobs/handles in both public places and in your home settings;
2) Never touch food that is going directly from your hand into your mouth or your child's mouth without having thoroughly washed your hands;
3) Never put food into your child's mouth by using your eating utensil;
4) Never taste your child's food and then put it into his/her mouth;
5) If you cough or sneeze, always use a tissue or handkerchief and turn away from others. Then wash your hands before touching food or shaking someone's hand; and
6) When you're sick or your child is sick, stay home or keep them home until you or they are better.

Although I'm not a medical practitioner, it is my opinion that these methods work and, if practiced, will minimize the likelihood of contagious type of illnesses plaguing your household.


Gary