SO, YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER?

"Work every day. No matter what has happened the day or night before, get up and bite on the nail." That statement comes from the pen of one of America's most celebrated authors, Ernest Hemingway.



Hemingway is one of my favorite authors. Although I never read his books when I was growing up, I came to "know" him only after I saw the film adaptation of his book, The Old Man and the Sea. Forget the fact that he committed suicide at the height of his career, but his timely tips about writing are still being quoted just like his novels are still being read all over the world.



A person who does not work every day is dead. You have to do something in order for you to live – even breathing and eating are sort of works. And thinking and writing, too. That's why I write every day.



Writing is just like a hobby to me. And to think of, it's part of my job. Imagine this: doing your hobby every day and still being paid for doing so. What a privilege, indeed. I am sure there are many people who are working but don't love what they are doing. Too bad!



Anyone who knows how to write can be called a writer. But the difference between those who just write for the sake of writing and those who write for living is writing well. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, "The talent of success is nothing more than doing what you can do well and doing well whatever you do."



In writing well, you have to consider your grammar (you must know when to use "is" and "are," the difference between "me" and "mine," etc.), your vocabulary (appease, soothe, mollify, placate, and pacify all mean the same thing), and the ideas you expound. In the beginning was the word, the Bible states, and words are your primary tools in writing and you must have lots of them. "What's this business of being a writer?" film producer Irving Thalberg once asked. "It's just putting one word after another."

But you have to put those words in a perfect manner so that they could be understood by anyone who reads them. "A perfectly healthy sentence, it is true, is extremely rare," Henry David Thoreau said. "For the most part we miss the hue and fragrance of the thought; as if we could be satisfied with the dews of the morning or evening without their colors, or the heavens without their azure."

I started writing well when I was in high school. My English teacher observed that those I wrote for our formal themes were different from those written by my classmates. "You have a style of your own," she told me. She impelled me to write more -- on various subject matters.



When I watched Finding Forrester a couple of years back, I was reminded of what I went through when I was just starting my career. The words of Sean Connery's character came into my mind: "Write your first draft with your heart. Re-write with your head." Sounds a good advice, indeed.



But it was not until I was in college that I started writing for magazines and newspapers – and was paid. My very first national article was published in a weekly magazine. It was a short piece on what children say about doctors.



From that, I started writing for other publications as a freelancer. At first, I wrote lifestyle features. When I joined a non-government organization as its staff writer, I started writing agricultural stories. But it was not after attending a workshop convened by Philippine Press Institute that I found my niche: science reporting.



It was also at that time that I started writing for Ang Peryodiko Dabaw (which later became Sun.Star Davao). Thanks to editor Antonio Ajero, I was able to contributes science articles for the Manila-based Press Foundation of Asia, with Paul Icamina and Erlinda Bolido as my science editors. (Later on, I met Juan Mercado, who also became my mentor.)



Before I knew it, I was winning one journalism award after another. In 1999, the Philippine Press Institute elevated me the hall of fame in science reporting, the first and only Filipino journalist to accomplish the feat. Also in that year, the Rotary Club of Manila had chosen me as its recipient of Journalist of the Year. Today, I write for the Asian edition of Reader's Digest and other national and internal publications.



Through these years, what have I learned so far as a writer? First and foremost, don't wait for inspiration to write. Just write whatever comes into your mind – as long as you know what you are writing. Raymond Chandler suggests, "The faster I write the better my output. If I'm going slower, I'm in trouble. It means I'm pushing the words instead of being pulled by them."



Don't forget to read. When I go to other countries, I usually buy books, magazines and other publications. "Read, read, read," urges William Faulkner. "Read everything - trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window."



There is nothing new under the heat of the sun, the Ecclesiastes writer said. Everything is already written. All you have to do is make the subject fresh and novel. "If you steal from one author, it's plagiarism; if you steal from many, its research," observed Wilson Mizner. Award-winning author James Michener echoed the same sentiment when he said, "I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter."



Now, here are some great rules of writing from William Safire. "Do not put statements in the negative form. And don't start sentences with a conjunction. If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do. Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all. De-accession euphemisms. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Last, but not least, avoid clichés like the plague."



Now, why I like to write? Allow me to use the words of Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, Richeliue, II: "The pen is mightier than the sword."

BIG THINGS COME FROM LITTLE PACKAGES

Today, we live in a world where big is always better. In a world dominated by commercials and advertisements extolling the virtues of big things, who wouldn't think bigger is always better. And who amongst us wouldn't like a big bank account, big house or a big salary? But the question is: Is big really better?



But then, on second thought, it was a small stone that killed Goliath. It was just one vote which saved American president Andrew Jackson from impeachment in 1868. Only three simple words – "I love you" – can start a lifetime commitment. And it only takes a spark to start a fire.



"What we call little things are merely the causes of great things; they are the beginning, the embryo, and it is the point of departure which, generally speaking, decides the whole future of an existence. One single black speck may be the beginning of a gangrene, of a storm, of a revolution," commented Henri Frederic Amiel.



When you get down to the nitty-gritty, sometimes it's the little things that add much more to the big picture. Look, it's easy to focus your attention on having the big things, like driving the nice, new car or living in the super nice house. All of us can easily envision ourselves living the good life. But it usually takes more than just seeing the big picture in order to live it. As John Wooden puts it, "It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."



In the Old Testament, a verse reads, "A day of little things, no doubt, but who would dare despise it?" Well, never despise those little things.



Laurie Beth Jones, author of The Power of Positive Prophecy, related her own story about a former boss who didn't want her to spend so much time with clients. "Go after the big clients," she was told. "Leave the peanuts to the others."



But still she did what she wanted to do. "When the numbers were totaled," she wrote, "my combination of small sales outtotaled his few 'big ones.'" She resigned from her job and started her own company. "Dinosaurs became extinct – yet rabbits still abound," she observed.



At age 21, Jacques Lafitte, a son of a very poor carpenter from a small city, set out to seek his fortune and future life's work in Paris. He had no references from influential people no brilliant academic career behind him, but he was young and full of hope.



With his usual thoroughness, he started looking for a job. Days became weeks, and still he had no job or income. But he kept at it. Nobody in Paris noticed this determined young man.



One morning, he applied at the office of a famous Swiss banker, Monsieur Perregaux. The banker asked him few questions about himself. Then, he slowly shook his head and said there would be no job offered at the moment.



Sadly, and more discouraged than ever, Jacques left the bank and walked slowly across the courtyard. As he did so, he paused, stopped, and picked something up. Then, he continued into the busy street, wondering if perhaps it wasn't time to return home.



At about that moment, he was overtaken by a man who tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir," he said, "I'm an employee at the bank. Monsieur Perregaux wishes to see you again."



For the second time that morning, Jacques faced the famous banker. "Pardon me," the banker said, "but I happened to be watching you as you crossed the courtyard of the bank. You stopped and picked something up. Would you mind telling me what it was?"



"Only this," the young man replied, wonderingly, as he took a bright new straight pin from the underside of the lapel of his coat. "Aaah," the banker exclaimed. "That changes everything. We always have room here for anyone who is careful about little things. You may start at once."



That was how Jacques Lafitte started his long and amazingly successful association with the bank, ultimately assuming complete control of what became "Perregaux, Lafitte, and Company."



Sweat that small stuff! Carlo Danao wrote this short poem as a reminder: "Little drops of water, little grains of sand, make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land. Thus the little minutes, humble though they be, make the mighty ages of eternity."



Inspiration speaker Dale Carnegie once said, "Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves." Well said.

If we can glean anything from Mr. Carnegie's comments, it should be that if we do a little everyday and keep doing it consistently, then a little can become a lot. No doubt about it, a little here and a little there sure beats the heck out of doing nothing. And doing the little things is easier than trying to scale the mountain all at once.

"Life is made up of small pleasures," said Norman Lear. "Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don't collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don't really mean anything."



Perhaps the statement of Art Linkletter is a good reminder to us all that that doing a little can pay big dividends: "Do a little more than you're paid to. Give a little more than you have to. Try a little harder than you want to. Aim a little higher than you think possible. And give a lot of thanks to God for health, family, and friends."

THE TRIVIALITIES OF TRAVELS

Murphy's Law states: If something can go wrong, it will. This is especially true when you are traveling abroad. Some of those that bound to happen include flight cancellations, delayed flights, lost or delayed luggage, and being singled out before entering your flight.



Speaking of lost luggage, here's what Jerry Rankin has to say: "As much as I travel it's amazing it doesn't happen more often. But when it does, the emotional reaction is surprising. To arrive at your destination without your luggage and necessary belongings is more than disappointing."



At one time, Rankin – who is the president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States – lost his luggage on a short flight from Calcutta, India to Dhaka, Bangladesh. "It had apparently been routed on a flight leaving about the same time to Chittagong," he surmised.



Because his itinerary had him moving on to Bangkok (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and Jakarta (Indonesia), the prospects were unlikely the bag would ever catch up with him. He left contact addresses in each place, but he never heard anything. The airport in Calcutta is named "Dum-Dum International Airport." He wrote numerous letters trying to retrieve his bag; in one he wrote, "Dear Sirs, your airport is appropriately named."



Rankin continued to inquire in various airports on subsequent trips and each time the records showed that the bag had been forwarded. "Three months later, I was back in Jakarta, and the baggage office knew nothing about my suitcase," he recalled. "I asked if I could look in the baggage storage area. I was confronted with a mountain of dust-covered luggage. There on the edge of the pile was my bag! The luscious ripe plums I was bringing from India to friends in Bangladesh were still inside!"



Of course, there are also those unexpected moments which are harrowing and yet hilarious. Don Rutledge, one of America's most awarded photojournalists, and his journalist friend were seated aboard a plane bound for mainland China from Hong Kong. His friend was sitting next to an emergency exit door and Rutledge was sitting next to him in the aisle seat.



A flight attendant came to their seat row and asked Rutledge's friend, "Pardon me, sir, but can you open this door?" She, of course, meant if he could open the door in case of an emergency. "Yes, I think so," he answered and before she could say anything, he grabbed the door lever and swung it into the open position. (This happened when the passengers were still loading and the airplane was not moving on the runway.)



The door bounced out of its frame and Rutledge's friend held it by the lever. The attendant's mouth flew open wide as she screamed, "I meant could you open it in case of an emergency." She quickly tried to help get the door back into the frame but, even together, they were unable to do so. While he continued holding the door to keep it from falling to the pavement, she rushed to the cockpit and got the flight engineer to return the door into its proper place and reset it. When it was already in the locked position, the flight engineer told him, "Don't do that again."



Of course, there are also thrilling stories. This one happened to a friend, who now lives in New York. LT (let's just call him that way for obvious reasons) flew from San Francisco for a convention in St. Petersburg, Russia. "We were all going to meet first in Moscow, staying there for 3 days and then go by rail overnight to St. Petersburg where the 5-day convention was to be held," he recalled. "My business partner in Bangkok was going to join me at the Metropolitan Hotel in Moscow. He was going to hand me the money he owed me."



The currency rule in Russia is for a tourist to declare all currency coming in and then to compare currency leaving Russia with the original declaration. "The official form under the heading "Customs Declaration" was handed to each of us at Moscow airport upon arrival," LT said. "We had to show this plus all currency upon leaving for comparison."



When his partner entered Russia, he declared only the amount of his money and failed to include the amount he was going to give me, thinking, "Why should I declare something that is not mine." That was pure error on his part.



LT's problem was how to bring out his money which was larger than the amount he had declared coming in. The penalty was confiscation if "huge." (No one told them how much was huge but a businessman from London who received his commission of US$70,000 dollars was held in a cell, and his money confiscated. As a result, he collapsed from sheer terror and exhaustion and was sent to a hospital in Moscow. There, he could not use the underdeclared money to pay for his treatment and had to ask his London office to wire the money to him. Otherwise, if a small amount was involved, the Customs Office would convert the underdeclared currency into their own currency called rubles which at that time were not convertible anywhere in the world.)



LT's partner had some underdeclared amount -- about US$130 and was given rubles in exchange for his underdeclared money. LT had much, much more than that amount.



Returning by rail to Moscow, they discussed their predicament. "He told me he would declare his money and I would have to solve my problem," he said. "Leaving the hotel, I prayed to the Lord for help and the result was I made up my mind to tell the truth to the Customs Office no matter what."



It so happened that LT reached the Moscow airport 35 minutes earlier than check-in time. He was going to line up at the check-in counter when a guard asked him what flight he was going to board. When the guard found out that he was 35 minutes too early, he asked LT to come with him and the guard led him to a room and asked him to wait in there until he would call him. "I was alone in the room and there were several forms stacked around me," he said. "Next to me was a pile of declaration forms for incoming currency. I read it again and again, and saw – yes, this is the same form! "



LT filled out the form with the correct figures. Thereafter, he I went through the customs smoothly. "I had few rubles as souvenir money in my pocket, but I was singing softly in my heart on the plane while counting it," he remembers.



When traveling by air, never, never joke about bombs. A Thai lawyer was leaving Hong Kong and was at the airport. At the customs area, he was asked to place his carry-on bag on the inspection table and was asked, "What's inside?" (This was done because the customs agent didn't need to have it open and was relying on this passenger's honesty). Jokingly, and mouth smiling widely, he replied, "A bomb?"



Now, the Thai lawyer did not realize this was not a laughing matter. In two seconds flat, without uttering a word, the officer seized his hands and led him away. The next he knew, he was in a holding cell. His flight was cancelled, passengers and pilots deplaned and led back to the airport building, and all luggage aboard unloaded for reinspection.



At his court trial the following day, the lawyer tried to explain that it was all a joke. The judge berated him saying, "You are a lawyer and you should take airport regulations seriously at a time when every flight is threatened by hijackers and terrorists; one year imprisonment."

KILLERS THAT TRAVEL IN PACKS

A long, long time ago, two Martians were sent to planet Earth on a mission. When they returned home, they submitted this report to the committee: "The Earth people have an odd practice. They light a fire at the end of a poisonous substance and then suck the smoke into their body. This results in much sickness and even death. The habit is also very expensive. Strange, those Earth people!"



Strange, indeed. Listen to the words of Graham Lee Hemminger: "Tobacco is a dirty weed, but I like it. It satisfies no normal need, still I like it. It makes you thin, it makes you lean. It takes the hair right off your bean. It's the worst darn stuff I've ever seen. I like it."



Here's another one from Russell Hoban. "What a weird thing smoking is and I can't stop it," he wrote. "I feel cozy, have a sense of well-being when I'm smoking, poisoning myself, killing myself slowly. Not so slowly maybe. I have all kinds of pains I don't want to know about and I know that's what they're from. But when I don't smoke I scarcely feel as if I'm living. I don't feel as if I'm living unless I'm killing myself."



Smoking is one of the most common forms of recreational drug use. Cigarette smoking is today by far the most popular form of smoking and is practiced by over one billion people in the majority of all human societies. The history of smoking can be dated to as early as 5000 BC, and has been recorded in many different cultures across the world.



"A custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs" was how James I of England described smoking in the sixteenth century. Since then, nothing has changed.



The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) reports that smoking related-diseases kill one in 10 adults globally, or cause four million deaths. "Every eight seconds, someone dies from tobacco use," it points out. By 2030, if current trends continue, smoking will kill one in six people.



Every year, there are about 20,000 smoking-related deaths in the Philippines, where about 60 percent of men smoke. Studies have shown that tobacco use will drain nearly 20 percent of the household income of smokers' families.



In a country where laws abound, there are no national laws prohibiting minors from buying cigarettes. In fact, many vendors of cigarettes are children. Small wonder, as many as 40 percent of adolescents boys smoke. Most of them started smoking in their early teens. The majority of these young smokers said peer pressure was one reason why they took up smoking. Most now wish they did not smoke.



A recent survey of Filipino adult smokers found 99.8 percent cited tobacco advertisements as one factor for initiating smoking. Movie stars, especially those from Hollywood, have helped, too. Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn were closely identified with their smoker persona and some of their most famous portraits and roles have involved a thick mist of cigarette smoke.



"I used to smoke two packs a day and I just hate being a nonsmoker," said Oscar-nominated Michelle Pfeiffer, "but I will never consider myself a nonsmoker because I always find smokers the most interesting people at the table."



Now, here's something that may have been taken from a movie script: A teenager was sitting beside an old woman in a non-airconditioned bus. Thirty minutes after the bus left the terminal, the young man took a stick of cigarette from his pocket and asked the old woman, "Would you mind if I smoke?"



Hearing those words, the old woman stopped praying her rosary and looked at the young man squarely. "Yes, I mind," she said. "I don't want to have cancer."



Physicians from all over the world agree: cigarette smoking is one of the top causes of cases. In the United States, smoking alone is directly responsible for approximately 30 percent of all cancer deaths annually.

According to the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), smoking also causes chronic lung disease (emphysema and chronic bronchitis), cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cataracts. Smoking during pregnancy can cause stillbirth, low birthweight, sudden infant death syndrome, and other serious pregnancy complications. One British survey found that nearly 99% of women did not know of the link between smoking and cervical cancer.



The health risks caused by smoking are not limited to smokers. Exposure to secondhand smoke significantly increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease in nonsmokers, as well as several respiratory illnesses in young children. (Secondhand smoke is a combination of the smoke that is released from the end of a burning cigarette and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers.)



What makes cigarette smoking so deadly? Well, it contains about 4,000 chemical agents, including over 60 cancer-causing chemicals. In addition, many of these substances, such as carbon monoxide, tar, arsenic, and lead, are poisonous and toxic to the human body.



Nicotine is a drug that is naturally present in the tobacco plant and is primarily responsible for a person's addiction to tobacco products, including cigarettes. During smoking, nicotine is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream and travels to the brain in a matter of seconds. Nicotine causes addiction to cigarettes and other tobacco products that is similar to the addiction produced by using heroin and cocaine.



Ready to quit smoking? Here are the benefits, if you do, according to the NCI: "Quitting smoking decreases the risk of lung and other cancers, heart attack, stroke, and chronic lung disease. The earlier a person quits, the greater the health benefit."



For example, research has shown that people who quit before age 50 reduce their risk of dying in the next 15 years by half compared with those who continue to smoke. Smoking low-yield cigarettes, as compared to cigarettes with higher tar and nicotine, provides no clear benefit to health.



"I'm glad I don't have to explain to a man from Mars why each day I set fire to dozens of little pieces of paper, and put them in my mouth," wrote Mignon McLaughlin in The Second Neurotic's Notebook (1966).

REPORTING FOR THE REEFS

By Gerry E. Tacio, Jr.

Come July, my uncle will be writing reports on the status of coral reefs not only in the Philippines but in other parts of the world as well. He will write live from the place where the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) will take place: Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

"This is the second time I will be covering such kind of symposium," Henrylito D. Tacio, my father's brother, told me in an exclusive interview. In 2000, he also attended the symposium held in Bali, Indonesia.

The Philippines hosted it in 1980. Other ICRS were held in Okinawa, Japan (2004), Panama (1996), Guam (1992), Australia (1988 and 1974)), United States (Tahiti in 1985 and Miami in 1977), and India (1969).

Tacio is the only Filipino journalist chosen by SeaWeb to attend the symposium. SeaWeb is a communications-based nonprofit organization that uses social marketing techniques to advance ocean conservation. "By raising public awareness, advancing science-based solutions and mobilizing decision-makers around ocean conservation, we are leading voices for a healthy ocean," said the organization which sponsored my uncle's forthcoming trip.

Aside from Tacio, two other journalists from Asia are given the same opportunity: Masanobu Fujiwara from Japan and Rina Mukherji from India. Other SeaWeb-sponsored journalists who will cover the event come from the United States (four of them), United Kingdom (Nick Atkinson of Entangled Science and Steve Connor of The Independent), and one each from the following countries: Australia, Canada, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, and Kenya.

"It is a great honor for me to be part of the team of journalists from all over the world who bring news about the symposium not only in Davao but in Asia and other parts of the globe, too," he says.

Tacio is a science journalist who writes regular features for Sun Star Davao. He also writes a regular column (Regarding Henry) and occasional tips on health (Health 101) and agriculture (Agribiz Jottings). He has been elevated to the Hall of Fame in science reporting by the Philippine Press Institute, the first and the only journalist who received the distinction.

In 1999, he was given the prestigious Journalist of the Year by the Rotary Club of Manila "for his remarkable expertise in the field of science and technology, agriculture and environmental journalism which is characterized by an extensive research as well as a commitment to the popularization of complex issues."

Tacio is also a contributing editor for Southeast Asia for People and the Planet, a global educational resource, with outreach to 190 countries and territories and up to 2.5 million monthly hits. It is published by Planet 21, which was founded at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992.

In addition, he is a correspondent (the only one from Davao) for the Asian edition of Reader's Digest. "I would like him to have the opportunity to attend the conference to be able to bring back to Asia story ideas and a broader network of experts so he can cover the important stories about sustaining our reefs and coastal resources," wrote Editor-in-Chief Jim Plouffe in his support the Tacio's application for the symposium.

During the ICRS in Florida, Tacio will write current programs and researches being initiated to address the problems that threaten the most important international treasures – the coral reefs. "Degradation due to factors including pollution, overfishing, and climate change, threaten destruction of these ecosystems on an unprecedented global scale," it said.

From all over the globe, scientists, policymakers, conservationists, and managers are exercising leadership in developing knowledge and implementing science-based strategies to address the crisis.

"Among the top ten coral reef hotspots in the world, the Philippines ranks number one, according to the degree of threat," revealed Tacio, who has been writing coral reefs features and reports for various national and international publications. One of his articles – Coral Reefs of the Verge of Extinction – was chosen as one of the best science articles in the mid-1990s.

His claim has been supported by The World Atlas of Coral Reefs , which reported that 97 percent of reefs in the Philippines are under threat from destructive fishing techniques, including cyanide poisoning, over-fishing, or from deforestation and urbanization that result in harmful sediment spilling into the sea.

In 2007, Reef Check – an international organization assessing the health of reefs in 82 countries -- stated that only five percent of the country's coral reefs are in "excellent condition." These are the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park in Palawan, Apo Island in Negros Oriental, Apo Reef in Puerto Galera, Mindoro, and Verde Island Passage off Bagatangas.

"We have to do something now to save our coral reefs from vanishing in this part of the world," Tacio urges.

Tacio is looking forward to be in Florida again. With the longest coastline of the 48 contiguous states, 41 aquatic preserves and three of the nation's National Estuarine Research Reserves, Florida is undeniably an ocean state.

"I have been to Florida once – in the state's capital, Tallahassee," he says. "But I have never been the sea. So, I am excited to talk with coral reefs experts and stakeholders during the symposium. I am also looking forward for the field trips that we will do. I am sure it will be a new experience for me."

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LESSONS FROM THE PAST

Experience, they say, is the best teacher. In most instances, we don't have to repeat those experiences since other people have experienced them before. As Andre Gide puts it: "Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again."



Rita Mae Brown is even more direct: "Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment." To which Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, adds, "We receive three educations, one from our parents, one from our schoolmasters, and one from the world. The third contradicts all that the first two teach us."



* * *



A good example of a man who turned a handicap into a blessing is Arturo Toscanini. He owed his success – or at least his chance at success – to the fact that he was very nearsighted. How could that possibly help a musician? Well, at 19, he was playing cello in an orchestra. Since he couldn't see the music on the stand, he had to memorize it. One day, the orchestra leader became ill and young Toscanini was the only member of the orchestra who knew the score. So, he conducted it without a score and the audience gave him a good hand for it – and audiences kept on doing it.



If he hadn't been nearsighted, he might have continued playing cello in small European orchestras instead of becoming one of the greatest orchestra conductors who ever lived.



* * *



When Leonardo da Vinci was working on his wonderful painting of "The Last Supper," he painted the face of a man he hated as Judas. But when he came to paint the face of Jesus, he tried again and again and failed. It was only when he painted out the face of the man he hated and put another in its place that he had a clear picture of the Lord's countenance. His hatred had created a "dead spot" between him and the work he was doing, and this had to be put right before even his marvelous ability could produce the finished work.



"One of the most expensive luxuries one can possess is to hate somebody," E.T. Wayland said. "A deep-seated grudge in one's life eats away at his peace of mind like a deadly cancer destroying a vital organ of his life."



* * *



Do you recall when Edmund Hillary and his native guide, Tenzing, made their historic climb of Mount Everest? Coming down from the peak, Hillary suddenly lost his footing. Tenzing held the line taut and kept them both from falling by digging his ax into the ice. Later, Tenzing refused any special credit for saving Hillary's life; he considered it a routine part of the job. "Mountain climbers always help each other," he said.



Should the rest of us be any different? "We are not primarily put on this earth to see through one another, but to see one another through," said Peter DeVries.



* * *



Thomas Alva Edison was talking one day with the governor of North Carolina, and the governor complimented him on his inventive genius. "I am not a great inventor," Edison said. "But you have over a thousand patents to your credit, haven't you?" queried the governor.



"Yes, but about the only invention I can really claim as absolutely original is the phonograph," Edison admitted. "I guess, I'm an awfully good sponge. I absorb ideas from every source I can, and put them to practical use. Then I improve them until they become of some value. The ideas which I use are mostly the ideas of other people who don't develop them themselves."



Here's another story about him. In attempting to find a filament for his incandescent bulb, he tried more than 200 different substances. "You have failed more than 200 times," he was told. "Why don't you give up?" Edison replied, "Not at all. I have discovered more than 200 things that will not work. I will soon find one that will."



* * *



Your key for personal success is persistence, for persistence produces power. In 1831, a young man failed in business. In 1832, he was defeated for the legislature. In 1833, he again failed in business. In 1834, he was elected to the Legislature. In 1838, he was defeated for Speaker; in 1840 defeated for Elector; in 1843 defeated for Congress; in 1846 elected to Congress; in 1855 defeated for Senate; in 1856 defeated for Vice-President; in 1858 defeated for Senate; in 1860 elected to the President of the United States. His name? Abraham Lincoln.



"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence," said Calvin Coolidge. "Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."



* * *



Chris Evert is one of the greatest female athletes of all time. She holds the 18 grand slam titles and an overall win-lose record of 1,309 and 146. In her seventeen-year career, she never ranked below number four. "The thing that separate good players from great ones is mental attitude," she said. "It might only make a difference of two or three points in an entire match but how you play those key points often makes the difference between winning and losing. If the mind is strong you can do almost anything you want."



* * *



In The Crow's Nest, Clarence Day wrote, "Information's pretty thin stuff unless mixed with experience."

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LESSONS FROM THE PAST

Experience, they say, is the best teacher. In most instances, we don't have to repeat those experiences since other people have experienced them before. As Andre Gide puts it: "Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again."



Rita Mae Brown is even more direct: "Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment." To which Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, adds, "We receive three educations, one from our parents, one from our schoolmasters, and one from the world. The third contradicts all that the first two teach us."



* * *



A good example of a man who turned a handicap into a blessing is Arturo Toscanini. He owed his success – or at least his chance at success – to the fact that he was very nearsighted. How could that possibly help a musician? Well, at 19, he was playing cello in an orchestra. Since he couldn't see the music on the stand, he had to memorize it. One day, the orchestra leader became ill and young Toscanini was the only member of the orchestra who knew the score. So, he conducted it without a score and the audience gave him a good hand for it – and audiences kept on doing it.



If he hadn't been nearsighted, he might have continued playing cello in small European orchestras instead of becoming one of the greatest orchestra conductors who ever lived.



* * *



When Leonardo da Vinci was working on his wonderful painting of "The Last Supper," he painted the face of a man he hated as Judas. But when he came to paint the face of Jesus, he tried again and again and failed. It was only when he painted out the face of the man he hated and put another in its place that he had a clear picture of the Lord's countenance. His hatred had created a "dead spot" between him and the work he was doing, and this had to be put right before even his marvelous ability could produce the finished work.



"One of the most expensive luxuries one can possess is to hate somebody," E.T. Wayland said. "A deep-seated grudge in one's life eats away at his peace of mind like a deadly cancer destroying a vital organ of his life."



* * *



Do you recall when Edmund Hillary and his native guide, Tenzing, made their historic climb of Mount Everest? Coming down from the peak, Hillary suddenly lost his footing. Tenzing held the line taut and kept them both from falling by digging his ax into the ice. Later, Tenzing refused any special credit for saving Hillary's life; he considered it a routine part of the job. "Mountain climbers always help each other," he said.



Should the rest of us be any different? "We are not primarily put on this earth to see through one another, but to see one another through," said Peter DeVries.



* * *



Thomas Alva Edison was talking one day with the governor of North Carolina, and the governor complimented him on his inventive genius. "I am not a great inventor," Edison said. "But you have over a thousand patents to your credit, haven't you?" queried the governor.



"Yes, but about the only invention I can really claim as absolutely original is the phonograph," Edison admitted. "I guess, I'm an awfully good sponge. I absorb ideas from every source I can, and put them to practical use. Then I improve them until they become of some value. The ideas which I use are mostly the ideas of other people who don't develop them themselves."



Here's another story about him. In attempting to find a filament for his incandescent bulb, he tried more than 200 different substances. "You have failed more than 200 times," he was told. "Why don't you give up?" Edison replied, "Not at all. I have discovered more than 200 things that will not work. I will soon find one that will."



* * *



Your key for personal success is persistence, for persistence produces power. In 1831, a young man failed in business. In 1832, he was defeated for the legislature. In 1833, he again failed in business. In 1834, he was elected to the Legislature. In 1838, he was defeated for Speaker; in 1840 defeated for Elector; in 1843 defeated for Congress; in 1846 elected to Congress; in 1855 defeated for Senate; in 1856 defeated for Vice-President; in 1858 defeated for Senate; in 1860 elected to the President of the United States. His name? Abraham Lincoln.



"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence," said Calvin Coolidge. "Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."



* * *



Chris Evert is one of the greatest female athletes of all time. She holds the 18 grand slam titles and an overall win-lose record of 1,309 and 146. In her seventeen-year career, she never ranked below number four. "The thing that separate good players from great ones is mental attitude," she said. "It might only make a difference of two or three points in an entire match but how you play those key points often makes the difference between winning and losing. If the mind is strong you can do almost anything you want."



* * *



In The Crow's Nest, Clarence Day wrote, "Information's pretty thin stuff unless mixed with experience."

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RP'S CORAL REEFS ON THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION

Over the past 30 years, coral reefs in the Philippines have been slowly dying. "The most productive reef areas in the world are now known as some of the most endangered," said a new report.



In 2002, some of the top leading marine scientists ranked the Philippines as the number one (according to the degree of threat) among the world's top ten coral reef hotspots. The identified hotspots contain just 24 per cent of the world's coral reefs, or 0.017 percent of the oceans.



The World Atlas of Coral Reefs, compiled by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), reported that 97 percent of reefs in the Philippines are under threat from destructive fishing techniques, including cyanide poisoning, over-fishing, or from deforestation and urbanization that result in harmful sediment spilling into the sea.



The report has just been confirmed a survey released by Reef Check, an international organization assessing the health of reefs in 82 countries. "Despite its high biodiversity, the Philippines' reefs are very badly damaged. It's one of the worst damaged in the world, on the average," says George Hodgson, founder of the California-based organization.



In 2007, Reef Check stated that only five percent of the country's coral reefs are in "excellent condition." These are the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park in Palawan, Apo Island in Negros Oriental, Apo Reef in Puerto Galera, Mindoro, and Verde Island Passage off Bagatangas.



Unfortunately, these natural treasure throves are in danger. "Nowhere else in the world are coral reefs abused as much as the reefs in the Philippines," deplored marine scientist Don McAllister, who has also done some studies on the cost of coral reef destruction in the country.



The Philippines has about 27,000 square kilometers of coral reefs, says Angel C. Alcala, former environment secretary. Two-thirds of these are in Palawan and the Sulu Archipelago. There are about 400 species of reef-forming corals in the country, comparable with those found in Great Barrier Reef of Australia.



"When divers talked about the world's finest coral reefs 20 years ago, the consensus for the top spot was always the Philippines, but nobody feels that way now," commented John McCosker, the chairman of aquatic biology at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.



Coral reefs, or "biological wonders" as environmental author Don Hinrichsen calls them, are among the largest and oldest living communities of plants and animals on earth, having evolved between 200 and 450 million years ago.



"Today, most established coral reefs are between 5,000 and 10,000 years old; many of them forming thin veneers over older, much thicker reef structures," said Hinrichsen, who has explored coral reefs around the world for his book on coastal ecosystem.



Coral reefs constitute one of the earth's most productive ecosystems. "They benefit people directly by providing food, medicine, construction materials and other valuable items," writes Alan T. White in his book, Coral Reefs: Valuable Resources of Southeast Asia. "More importantly, coral reefs provide support and sustenance to the other coastal ecosystems upon which people depend."



A single reef can support as many as 3,000 species of marine life. As fishing grounds, they are thought to be 10 to 100 times as productive per unit area as the open sea. In the Philippines, an estimated 10-15 per cent of the total fisheries come from coral reefs. About 80-90 per cent of the incomes of small island communities come from fisheries. "Coral reef fish yields range from 20 to 25 metric tons per square kilometer per year for healthy reefs," says Alcala.



Not only coral reefs serve as home to marine fish species, they also supply compounds for medicines. The Aids drug AZT is based on chemicals extracted from a reef sponge while more than half of all new cancer drug research focuses on marine organisms.



Besides providing food for millions of people, the reefs also generate millions of dollars in tourism and employment. According to the Washington-based World Resources Institute (WRI), the total economic value of reefs in the Philippines is estimated at US$1.1 billion annually. In Indonesia, the reefs generate an annual income of US$1.6 billion.



But despite all their uses and economic importance, coral reefs are in the region are in deep trouble. "Coral reefs are the cornerstone of the economic and social fabric of Southeast Asia, yet they are the most threatened reefs in the world," deplores Lauretta Burke, a WRI senior associate.



In the Philippines, rapid population growth and the increasing human pressure on coastal resources have resulted in the massive degradation of the coral reefs. Robert Ginsburg, a specialist on coral reefs working with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami, said human beings have a lot to do with the rapid destruction of reefs. "In areas where people are using the reefs or where there is a large population, there are significant declines in coral reefs," he pointed out.



"Life in the Philippines is never far from the sea," wrote Joan Castro and Leona D'Agnes in a new report. "Every Filipino lives within 45 miles of the coast, and every day, more than 4,500 new residents are born."



Estimates show that if the present rapid population growth and declining trend in fish production continue, only 10 kilograms of fish will be available per Filipino per year by 2010, as opposed to 28.5 kilograms per year in 2003.



The government recognizes the looming crisis posed by declining fish stocks and burgeoning population. "If current trends in population growth and coastal resource exploitation continue," the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said, "the availability and affordability of fish to provide a crucial protein source will be lost."



Dynamite and over-fishing on the reefs are largely to blame for the destruction of the very ecosystem that so many poor fishing communities benefit from. Despite laws passed by the government, fishermen are still blasting reefs with dynamite to stun the fish, doing immense damage, and greatly reducing their productivity.



In other parts of the country, fishermen resort to squirting cyanide directly into crevices of the coral reefs to catch fish. "These practices are criminal," commented the late Jacques-Yves Cousteau after visiting a coastal island in the northern Philippines to examine reefs destroyed by cyanide fishing. "They attack the natural productive environment which allows the renewal of marine resources."



Coral mining has also depleted the country's reefs. An estimated 1.5 million kilograms of coral are harvested annually as part of the international trade in reef products. The Philippines is estimated to supply more than a third of the total.



In recent years, a phenomenon called bleaching has also threatened large areas of the country's reefs. This adds to the problems caused by sedimentation (following deforestation), quarrying of the reefs for construction purposes and pollution from industry, mining, and urban sprawl.



The Philippine government made and introduced many laws in an attempt to protect the natural environment on the islands and in the national territorial waters. But the government cannot do it alone; help from individuals are also needed to save the reefs from total annihilation.



"We are the stewards of our nation's resources," said Rafael D. Guerrero III, the executive director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development, "we should take care of our national heritage so that future generations can enjoy them. Let's do our best to save our coral reefs. Our children's children will thank us for the effort."

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THREE RULES FOR HAPPINESS

ARE you happy? A friend once asked me. I replied affirmatively. Yes, despite all the struggles in life, the crisis we encounter, and the trials we face every day, we can still smile and laugh. After all, Filipinos are among the happiest peoples in the world.



Happiness can't be measured by one's wealth. A vagabond on the street once said, "I'd be happy if only I had five hundred pesos." A person passing by who heard him handed the vagabond a P500-bill. The man who received it said, "I should have asked for one thousand pesos."



Yes, it's not how much you have money in the bank, what kind of car you're driving, or the house you are now living. Jane Canfield reminds, "The happiest people are rarely the richest, or the most beautiful, or even the most talented. Happy people do not depend on excitement and 'fun' supplied by externals. They enjoy the fundamental, often very simple, things of life. They waste no time thinking other pastures are greener; they do not yearn for yesterday or tomorrow. They savor the moment, glad to be alive, enjoying their work, their families, and the good things around them."



Live simply. That's the first rule of happiness. Life is getting complicated these days. Before we only use telephones. Now, we have cellular phones which we can carry anywhere and with so many things you can do. Before, we only had cameras that take pictures; now we have cameras that will not only take photos but take videos as well. In the past, I only used typewriters to write my articles; now I am using computer which can accomplish almost anything – from editing to checking wrong spellings.



A lot of people I know are not happy because they make their lives miserable by joining the bandwagon of modern living. They hoard many things that they don't actually need. The trouble is, they don't have enough means to pay for their whims. "Live simply, so others may simply live," someone once said.



Living simply is a philosophy of life. In his book, Voluntary Simplicity, Duane Elgin wrote: "To live simply is to unburden our lives -- to live more lightly, cleanly, aerodynamically. It is to establish a more direct, unpretentious and unencumbered relationship with all aspects of our lives: the things we consume, the work we do, our relationships with others, our connections with nature and the cosmos."



The next rule: Serve others. "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others," said Mahatma Gandhi. Wilfred Greenfell added, "The service we render for others is really the rent we pay for our room on this earth."



You might think you cannot serve others because you are not famous, you are not mighty, or you are poor. But it's not all about your status in life that matters but the capacity to serve others. Someone once asked a famous conductor which orchestral instrument he considered the most difficult to play.



The conductor thought a moment and answered, "Second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists. But to find one who can play second fiddle with enthusiasm – that's a problem. And if we have no second fiddles, we have no harmony!" You may a second rate personality, but you are still important in the cast.



Og Mandino, the author of The Greatest Salesman in the World, advocates: "Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself."



Nathan C. Scheaffer asks: "At the close of life, the question will be not, How much have you got? How much have you given? not How much have you won? but How much have you done? not How much have you saved? but How much have you sacrificed? it will be How much have you loved and served, not How much were you honored?"



And you cannot serve others if you don't shares your treasure, talent or time. So when you leave this world, what will people think of you? An e-mail sent to me by a friend has this answer: "What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone. What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you. What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave?"



The third rule for happiness: Trust God. American President Abraham Lincoln once admitted: "That the Almighty does make use of human agencies and directly intervenes in human affairs is one of the plainest statements in the Bible. I have had so many evidences of His direction, so many instances when I have been controlled by some other power than my own will, that I cannot doubt that this power comes from above."



If you are looking for happiness, why not ask from Him? The Bible promises, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8).



Our personal relationship with God must be right, or all else comes to naught. "When we leave God out of our reckoning, difficulties will daunt us, temptations will triumph over us, sin will seduce us, self will sway us, the world will warp us, seeming impossibilities will irritate us, unbelief will undermine our faith, fear will frighten us, and all things will ear a somber hue," F. E. Marsh reminds.



"But when God is recognized as the One who undertakes for us, then difficulties are opportunities to trust Him, temptations are the harbingers of victory, sin has no attraction, self is denied, unbelief is ignored, service is a delight, contentment sings in the heart, and all things are possible," he adds.



These are my three rules for happiness. Live simply. Serve others. Trust God. Happiness comes not from having much to live on but having much to live for.

WORDS OF WISDOM, THESE!

You probably heard some of them before – from your parents, friends, teachers, and counselors. Or, you might have read a few of them from books, newspapers, magazines, and the Holy Bible. Or, you got the idea from listening to music and watching movies and television talk shows. Now, read them all over again:

Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds a man down or polishes him depends upon the kind of stuff he is made of. Life is also a lot like tennis – the one who can serve best seldom loses. We dribble away our life, little by little, in small packages – we don't throw it away all at once.

Learn by experience – preferably other people's. Experience is not what happens to a man, it's what a man does with what happens to him. One good reason experience is such a good teacher is that she doesn't allow any dropouts.

He who has never failed has never tried. Five rules for job failure: (1) Do only what is required; (2) Leave it till the last minute; (3) Let the mistakes go; (4) Don't listen to your conscience; and (5) Learn to be a convincing bluffer.



Think of your own faults the first part of the night when you are awake, and of the faults of others the latter part of the night when you are asleep. Most of us can live peacefully with our own faults, but the faults of others get on our nerves.



Practice what you preach. Doing right is never wrong. Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records. One-half the trouble of this life can be traced to saying "yes" to quick, and not saying "no" soon enough.



Live truth instead of professing it. If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything. The man who fears no truths has nothing to fear from lies. The trouble with stretching the truth is that it's apt to snap back.



When you determine what you want, you have made the most important decision in your life. You have to know what you want in order to attain it. If you're not sure where you are going, you're liable to end up somewhere.



Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment. Trust in money and you may have it taken from you. But trust in God, and you are never to be confounded in time of eternity. The greatest act of faith is when man decides he is not God.



Big people monopolize the listening. Small people monopolize the talking. A great man is always willing to be little. The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.



Don't worry about your mistakes. Making mistakes isn't stupid; disregarding them is. More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren't so busy denying them.



If you expect perfection from people, your whole life is a series of disappointments, grumblings, and complaints. If, on the contrary, you pitch your expectations low, taking folks as the inefficient creatures which they are, you are frequently surprised by having them perform better than you had hoped.



It is better to have love and lost than never to have at all. If someone loves you, your battle is a lot more than half won. Love cures people – both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it. If we do not love, we are nothing. And, if we are not loved ourselves, we are nobody.



Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with what you have. Conquer yourself rather than the world. Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure. Failures want pleasing methods, successes want pleasing results.



A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits. Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done. To get through the hardest journey we need to take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.



Lots of people limit their possibilities by giving up easily. Never tell yourself this is too much for me. It's no use. I can't go on. If you do, you're licked, and by your own thinking, too. Keep believing and keep on keeping on.



Remember to forgive – then remember to forget. A forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note, torn in two and burned up, so that it never can be shown against the man. Forgiveness is our command. Judgment is not.



The happiest people don't necessarily the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. The happy people are those who are producing something; the bored people are those who are consuming much and producing nothing.



Forget yesterday, it is already gone. Don't wait for tomorrow, it may never come. Accomplish all the things you want to do today. Do not look back and do not dream about the future. It will neither give you back the past nor satisfy your daydreams. Your duty, your reward – your destiny – are "here" and "now."



Ten rules for successful living: (1) Find your own particular talent. (2) Be big. (3) Be honest. (4) Live with enthusiasm. (5) Don't let your possessions possess you. (6) Don't worry about your problems. (7) Look up to people when you can – down to no one. (8) Don't cling to the past. (9) Assume your full share of responsibility in the world. (10) Pray consistently and confidently.



No matter what do you and where you are, life goes on. So, take it easy.

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THE LIST OF LISTS

When did the habit of listing down things or notes started? Well, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. The Bible also recorded the ten plagues that hit Egypt. There were twelve tribes of Israelites and there were also twelve disciples who accompanied Jesus Christ in His ministry.



When I was still a little boy, my mother used to make lists of the things she wanted to buy before going to the market. When I started working, I make a list of things I will do in a day or within a week (I have to check one by one those I have accomplished).



Well, lists are here to stay. And so let me share to you those I have collected through these years. I hope you will learn a lesson or two from this collection:



The 10 commandments of business: (1) Handle the hardest job first each day. Easy ones are pleasures. (2) Do not be afraid of criticism – criticize yourself often. (3) Be glad and rejoice in the other fellow's success – study his methods. (4) Do not be misled by dislikes. Acid ruins the finest fabrics. (5) Be enthusiastic – it is contagious. (6) Do not have the notion that success means simply money-making. (7) Be fair, and do at least one decent act every day. (8) Honor the chief. There must be a head to everything. (9) Have confidence in yourself; believe you can do it. (10) Harmonize your work. Let sunshine radiate and penetrate your relationships.



Ten excuses not recommended for ambitious men and women: (1) That's the way we've always done it. (2) I didn't know you were in a hurry for it. (3) That's not in my department. (4) No one told me to go ahead. (5) I'm waiting for an OK. (6) How did I know this was different? (7) That's his job, not mine. (8) Wait till the boss comes back and ask him. (9) I forgot. (10) I didn't know it was that important.



Six basic rules of decision-making: (1) State the apparent problem or situation you face. (2) Gather the facts. (3) Organize and interpret the facts. (4) State the real problem or situation. (5) Develop alternative solutions. (6) Select the most appropriate alternative.



Five rules for job failure: (1) Do only what is required. (2) Leave it till the last minute. (3) Let the mistakes go. (4) Don't listen to your conscience. (5) Learn to be a convincing bluffer.



Ten reasons for a person's unpopularity with other people: (1) Lack of dependability. (2) A tendency to exaggerate. (3) Grumpiness. (4) Sarcasm. (5) A sense of inferiority. (6) Bossiness. (7) A compulsion to "show off" in front of them. (8) Poking fun at others behind their back. (9) A desire to dominate others. (1) A tendency to criticize and find fault.



Ten tips to improve your memory: (1) Intend to remember. (2) Understand what you are trying to remember. (3) Organize what you know into meaningful patterns. (4) Become genuinely interested in what you want to remember. (5) Use as many senses as possible. (6) Associate what you want to remember with what you know. (7) If you cannot find a logical association for a new fact, invent your own. (8) If you have a great deal to remember, spread it over a few days. (9) Review what you want to remember as often as possible. (10) The best time to memorize is at night before you go to bed.



Nine rules to live longer: (1) Do not overeat. (2) Eat well-balanced, reasonably adequate meals, including fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products. (3) When tired, irritated, or nervous, eat sparingly. (4) Eat at regular times. (5) Avoid agitation and aggravation, particularly at mealtimes. (6) Keep your blood pressure down. (7) Learn to live with life as it is. Be philosophical. (8) Avoid excessive X-rays unless absolutely necessary. (9) Exercise each day, if only by walking.



Ten rules for successful living: (1) Find your own particular talent. (2) Be big. (3) Be honest. (4) Live with enthusiasm. (5) Don't let your possessions possess you. (6) Don't worry about your problems. (7) Look up to people when you can – down to no one. (8) Don't cling to the past. (9) Assume your full share of responsibility in the world. (10) Pray consistently and confidently.



Twenty ways to be miserable in life: (1) Use "I" as often as possible. (2) Always be sensitive to slights. (3) Be jealous and envious. (4) Think only about yourself. (5) Talk only about yourself. (6) Trust no one. (7) Never forget a criticism. (8) Always expect to be appreciated. (9) Be suspicious. (10) Listen greedily to what others say of you.



(11) Always look for faults in others. (12) Do as little as possible for others. (13) Shirk your duties if you can. (14) Never forget a service you may have rendered. (15) Sulk if people aren't grateful for your favor. (16) Insist on consideration and respect. (17) Demand agreement with your own views on everything. (18) Always look for a good time. (10) Love yourself first. (20) Be selfish at all times.



Six mistakes of human beings: (1) The delusion that personal gain is made by crushing others. (2) The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected. (3) Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it. (4) Refusing to set aside trivial preferences. (5) Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and study. (6) Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.



Eleven rules in public speaking: (1) Know what you're going to say in advance. (2) Look your listeners in the eye. (3) Take your time. Talk clearly, concisely, and deliberately. (4) Use an outline instead of memorizing a speech. (5) Be constructive. Stress the merits of your viewpoint, not the flaws in someone else's. (6) Use visual aids to engage your audience's eye as well as ears, and capitalize by using gestures to emphasize important points. (7) Go beyond self-interest. Showing the audience how you can help them achieve what they want is much more effective than putting yourself in the limelight. (8) Be specific. (9) Be yourself. You can learn from others, but don't make the mistake of trying to imitate a successful speaker. (10) Use a positive approach. (11) Stop at the right time. When you sense that you have scored your points and that the audience gets the message, stop talking.

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THIS PURPOSE-DRIVEN LIFE

AND so it came to pass that a farmer planted three trees in his farm. Growing together, the trees talked with each other about their hopes and dreams. "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty," said the first one.



The second tree shared, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."



The third tree has this ambition, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."



Several years later, the farmer was ready to harvest his trees. "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter," the farmer said and cut it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.



To the second tree, the farmer said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." Again, the second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.



When the farmer came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. The farmer said, "I don't know what to do with this one but I still have to cut it anyway."



When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had hoped for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat; his dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.



Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.



Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.



Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus Christ had been crucified on it.



Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. "Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements," Napoleon Hill reiterated.



Years ago, while unearthing an ancient Egyptian tomb, an archaeologist came upon seeds buried in a piece of wood. Planted, the seeds realized their potential after more than 3,000 years!



"I visualized where I wanted to be, what kind of player I wanted to become," American basketball superstar Michael Jordan disclosed. "I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there."



We are who we are because that is what we want ourselves to be. Some of us would to become stars but not everyone could reach the "unreachable star." If you cannot be a star, then settle just being a tree but be a tree that bears fruits. And if you can't still be a tree, then be a grass. But don't just be contented of being an ordinary grass; instead, be the best grass of all grasses.



Don't be a mediocre – even in the work you have chosen. Martin Luther King Jr. reminds, "We are challenged on every hand to work untiringly to achieve excellence in our lifework. Not all men are called to specialized or professional jobs; even fewer rise to the heights of genius in arts and sciences; many are called to be laborers in factories. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"



Of course, you know Pablo Picasso. At one time, his mother told him when he was still a teenager, "If you become a soldier, you'll be a general; if you become a monk, you'll end up as the Pope." Instead, he became a painter and became one of the world's greatest painters.



Our purpose in this life differs from each other. But we are the one who shape our destiny. "The human race may be compared to a writer," Felix Adler once wrote. "At the outset a writer has often only a vague general notion of the plan of his work, and of the thought he intends to elaborate. As he proceeds, penetrating his material, laboring to express himself fitly, he lays a firmer grasp on his thought; he finds himself. So the human race is writing its story, finding itself, discovering its own underlying purpose, revising, recasting a tale pathetic often, yet none the less sublime."



We only have one life to live in this world. We are here to uplift our fellow beings. We have to follow the golden rule: Do to others what you would like others do to you. You reap what you sow.



An unknown author penned these golden rules for living: If you open it, close it. If you turn it on, turn it off. If y
ou unlock it, lock it up. If you break it, admit it. If you can't fix it, call in someone who can. If you borrow it, return it. If you value it, take care of it. If you make a mess, clean it up. If you move it, put it back. If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission. If you don't know how to operate it, leave it alone. If it's none of your business, don't ask questions. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If it will brighten someone's day, say it. If it will tarnish someone's reputation, keep it to yourself."

Just remember this. "The purpose of life," said Robert Byrne, "is a life of purpose."
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THE LOOMING RICE CRISIS

"Give us this day, our daily bread," so goes the line of the Lord's Prayer. In the Philippines, our daily bread is the rice. As the late food epicure Doreen Fernandez wrote: "If we did not have rice, our deepest comfort food, we would probably feel less Filipino."

"One more rice, please." That call, which rings at dining time in almost all restaurants and kitchenettes all over the country, sums up the eating habits of the typical Filipino to whom eating is a matter of filling up. Since most people can't fill up with ulam (viand), they fill up with rice.

But Filipinos are not the only people in the world that eat rice. In fact, rice is the principal food for over 60 percent of mankind, according to the Laguna-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). In Asia alone, about 3 billion people depend on rice to survive.

"Rice is the one thing that truly defines Asia," said former IRRI Director-General Dr Ronald Cantrell. In China and Korea, where elders recall times when food was hard to come by, some still greet each other with the question, "Have you had your rice today?"

"Many eat as much as 214 kilograms of rice each year (more than half a kilogram a day), providing them with up to 76 percent of their daily calories, and half their iron and zinc," says Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio, a rice plant breeder working at IRRI.

In the 1950s, the specter of mass famine loomed over the Asian region. But thanks to IR8 – so named because it was the eighth crossing done in IRRI – the famine did not happen and brought to the era of Green Revolution.

"The result was a doubling in the supply of rice," said IRRI in a statement. "Eighty percent of the increase was attributed to improved productivity as well as the development of IR8 and numerous new semi-dwarf varieties that featured faster growth rates, greater resistance to diseases and insects, and a greater responsiveness to fertilizers than existing strains."

But thanks to the ever growing population, rice production was not able to keep up the demand. With Asia's population growing by some 56 million a year, domestic demand for rice is expected to top 770 million tons by the year 2025.

"To meet rice demand over the coming years, the yield ceiling of irrigated rice in Asia will need to increase from its late-1980s level of about 10 tons per hectare to around 13 tons per hectare, while average yields will need to reach about 6 tons per hectare, nearly twice the current level. And this will have to be achieved using less land, less water, less labor and fewer chemical inputs, particularly pesticides."

The link between population and rice production is more obvious in the Philippines. The United Nations demographers in 2002 projected that the population would reach between 75 and 85 million. But the population overshot the high projection and now stands at 89 million. What these figures show "is population growth is faster that anyone expected," to quote the words of Martha Madison Campbell, founding president of Venture Strategies for Health Development, a nonprofit organization based in Berkeley, California.

"Rice is the staple food of Filipinos in most parts of the country, although corn also contributes 20 percent or more of caloric intake from cereals in parts of Visayas and Mindanao," IRRI said. "For the country as a whole, rice accounts for 41 percent of total caloric intake and 31 percent of total protein intake."

Just recently, the country is having rice shortage. Although Secretary Arthur Yap of the Department of Agriculture said the country is not experiencing it, he asked fast-food chains to offer half portion serving of rice to its customer. Filipinos consumes a total of 11.9 million metric tons of rice annually, most of which is grown domestically.

Although the Philippines is one of the world's top rice producers, it is also one of the world's biggest rice importers, being among the top three in 1999 and fifth highest in 2004. With the potential increase in the importation of rice grains by China, the Philippines is now heading for trouble.

"Despite these imports, rice prices for consumers are the highest in developing Asia," noted the rice almanac published by IRRI. A. Balisacan and M. L. V. Ravago in their paper, 'The rice problem in the Philippines: Trends, constraints and policy imperatives,' wrote: "Rice has become more expensive in the Philippines than in other East Asian countries, owing principally to the government's ill-advised self-sufficiency objective. Liberalizing rice trade enhances the welfare of the poor, especially landless workers and urban consumers, although the short-term cost to the rice sector in terms of reduced incomes and labor displacement may be quite substantial."

In another paper, D. Dawe contends: "Rice trade liberalization should be a domestic priority, even if it not dictated by international agreements. If the Philippines does substantially liberalize its domestic market to allow more imports, it will be able to source those suppliers reliably without endangering its food security. With more imports, domestic prices will decline substantially and these lower prices will reduce poverty by allowing many poor households to afford food security."

In a survey done for the World Bank, it was found that eighty-percent of all respondents consumed rice three or more times a day. Sixteen percent said they ate rice twice a day while only one percent said once. Most of those who ate rice thrice a day belonged to the middle class (81 percent) and the rich (79 percent).

The Washington Post described rice farming as "the most important economic activity on the planet." Dr. Cantrell, however, that most rice farmers are poor. Why is this so? "They are being left behind economically in almost every country where they work, and yet they are 'supposedly recognized' as the backbone of not only their nations but their own cultures," he explained. "They're considered ignorant and backward by many in the cities and no one wants their job, when really they are the simple, hard working custodians of some of the world's greatest cultures."

Rice contains carbohydrates, protein, minerals, vitamins, and fiber. Most of the white rice available in the supermarket is enriched, which means, besides its other assets, it is also supplemented with iron, niacin and thiamine. But most of these added nutrients are lost if rice is washed before cooking or drained afterward. Brown rice, with its healthful bran layers, contains all these nutrients naturally, plus fiber, oil and vitamin E. Low in sodium and fat, with no cholesterol, rice is a boon to weight worriers and those allergic to other grains.

Rice, a member of the grass family and known scientifically as Oryza sativa, has devotees all over the region. India is famous for its pulaus, which is served with all kinds of meat, poultry and seafood. A popular Japanese rice dish is sushi, rice flavored with sweet rice vinegar and wrapped with fish and vegetables. Indonesians set a whole table with rice and assorted goodies that go with the grain; the feast is called rijstafel. The Filipinos are known for its bibingka or rice cake. The Chinese make cakes, noodles and paste from rice.

Writing about rice, Chinese poet Yang Ji penned: "Grain upon grain, / Fresh and delightful as frost, / A dazzling jewel, / To what can I compare this treasure?" -- ###

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GOUT: INVASION OF CRGOUT: INVASION OF CRYSTAL ATTACKERSYSTAL ATTACKERS

DON'T dismiss gout as just another heath problem. To be a gout patient is no joke. Listen to the words of one sufferer: "Today, I am home and probably be home for the whole week or more. The gout has attacked again and this time it is really painful. I didn't know I had one until I went to see my doctor last month. At first, I thought I was just over working or I was putting a lot of pressure on my toe therefore it hurts. For me, I literally could not stand for as much as a sheet to touch my feet and walking is impossible."



Once known as the "king's disease" because it almost always afflicted the well heeled, this form of arthritis is an equal opportunity deployer: It delivers a royal pain to the toe, knee and other joints. American statesman Benjamin Franklin described gout as an enemy which "would not only torment my body to death, but ruin my good name."



Aside from Franklin, other famous of the arthritic condition include numerous Charles Dickens characters along with real-life sufferers Henry VIII, George IV, Charles V, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Immanuel Kant, Samuel Johnson, John Milton, Isaac Newton, Nostradamus, and Thomas Jefferson.



Gout is also mentioned in the following books: Jane Austen's 'Lady Susan,' Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick,' Jonathan Swift's 'Gulliver's Travels,' Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Kidnapped,' Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'From Twice Told Tales,' George Eliot's Middlemarch, Wilkie Collins' 'Law and the Lady,' Anne Bronte's 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall,' H.G. Wells' 'The War of the Worlds,' and Victor Hugo's 'Notre-Dame de Paris.'



Gout is caused by very plebeian uric acid. We all have it in our bloodstream. But if you suffer from gout, "either you produce too much or you produce a normal amount and don't excrete enough," says Dr. Branton Lechman, a clinical assistant professor of pharmacy at the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy. Either way, the excess turns into tiny, troublemaking crystals that inflame your joints.



The onset of gout is usually quick and unexpected. Often, people who develop gout will do so during the night while sleeping, after having gone to bed in good health. During the night, they are awakened by acute pain in the big toe or, more rarely, in the heel, ankle or instep. This pain has been described as feeling at first like a bucket of cold water has been poured over the affected area, with the pain increasing to a violent stretching, tearing sensation. There is also a pressure and tightness around the area, and the pain becomes unbearable.



"We're talking about pain so intense that the weight of the bed sheet feels excruciating," explains Dr. Paul Caldron, a clinical rheumatologist and researcher at the Arthritis Center in Phoenix, Arizona.



The soft tissues, such as the muscles and tendons, around the joint can become hot, red and swollen, and wearing of a regular shoe may become impossible. This megagrief can last for hours or days, but a gout bout can vanish almost as swiftly as it comes, leaving the person totally pain-free until the next episode.



Why are some people more susceptible to gouty attacks? For some, it may due to hereditary in nature. For others, it may be due to some risk factors, among these are obesity and sudden weight gain, abnormal kidney function, and certain types of cancer.



Alcohol is a double whammy for those with gout, because it boosts the production of uric acid, says rheumatologist John G. Fort, clinical associate professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Beer is particularly bad, because it has even higher purine content than wine or other spirits.



A study of nearly 50,000 men has found those who over-indulge in beer, in particular, are at heightened risk. Men who drank two or more beers per day were 2.5 times more likely to develop gout than those who did not drink. The research, published in 'The Lancet,' was carried out by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital.



But it's not only alcoholic beverages that make you more susceptible to gouty attacks but drinking sugar-sweetened soft drinks as well, according to another study published online by the 'British Medical Journal.' Those least likely to develop gout are men who drink less than one serving per month. Compared with that group, men who drank five to six servings a week were 29 percent likelier to develop gout. This probability rose to 45 percent among those who had one serving per day, and to 85 percent among those who drank two servings or more.



If you have high blood pressure (hypertension) in addition to gout, you have double trouble. That's because certain drugs prescribed to lower blood pressure – such as diuretics – actually raise uric acid levels, says Dr. Lachman. His advice: Try to control your blood pressure naturally by decreasing sodium intake, exercising regularly, reducing excess weight and controlling stress.



Some foods that are rich in purines can lead to attacks. Purine-rich foods include organ meats and all meat products. (In an episode of 'King of the Hill,' the leading character develops gout in the big toe as a result of eating chopped liver on a daily basis.) "You can't get away from purine, because it's in most foods," says Dr Caldron. "But it's useful to avoid red meat, especially organ meats and some types of fish."



If you have gout, you should also avoid tea, coffee, cocoa, and chocolate. Some dark, green leafy vegetables, asparagus, cauliflower, mushroom, and those rich in protein (like dry beans and peas) may also present a problem.



Despite the advance of science, people are still suffering from gout. However, there are some traditional solutions which can lessen pains. One of these is the virgin coconut oil (VCO). Multi-awarded Filipino columnist Conrado de Quiros is one of those who believe in the therapeutic value of VCO.



"Taking virgin coconut oil has not made my gout disappear, or lessened its visits," de Quiros wrote in his widely-read column. "But it has made walking much easier, something I've been at pains to do for some time now, my left knee in particular having become a little stiff. A rheumatologist once explained to me that gout attacks deplete the joints of fluids, which makes for stiffness. The equivalent, he said, is motor oil slowly drying up on a car engine, which causes friction among the pistons. Who knows? Maybe the virgin coconut oil is replenishing the lost fluids on my knee? That is pure speculation, of course. But I personally don't care; I like what I'm feeling right now."



Another traditional solution is eating mangosteen. The Chinese have used this fruit for thousands of years to help heal inflammation, parasites, wounds, burns, pain, diarrhea, bacteria and fungal ailments, and fever and headaches, among others. Recently, some practitioners are recommending mangosteen to those suffering from muscle problems and gout. It is currently being studied by medical experts as it contains xanthones, which are the highest concentration of antioxidants found in nature. Since mangosteen is a fruit, it is touted to be a safer alternative. As one old saying goes, "Why use a drug when a food will do the same thing?"



But one best solution is drinking lots of water. Large amounts of fluid can help flush excess uric acid from your system before it can do any harm. Dr. Robert H. Davis, a professor of physiology at Pennsylvania College of Podiatric Medicine, recommends plain old water. "Most people just don't drink enough water," he points out. "For best results, have five or six glasses a day."



As a bonus, lots of water may also help discourage the kidney stones that gout patients are prone to. -- ###
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HAVE FUN, WILL TRAVEL

WHEN Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said of "a journey of a thousand miles" that should be started "with a single step," he was referring to travel, of course. "Traveling is almost like talking with men of other centuries," said René Descartes.

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living," explained Miriam Beard. "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go," commented novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. "I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."

Unknown to many, the word "travel" has a common origin with the word "travail." At one point in time, travel was exceedingly uncomfortable and often dangerous. Indeed, the ultimate source of the word "travel" is a medieval instrument of torture - the so-called "trepalium" -- a contraption would pierce its victim's flesh with three sharp stakes ("tres" for three and "palus" for stake).

Later on, the word "trepalium" became a verb, "trepaliare," which meant any form of torture. It was from torture that the Old French concept of "travailler" came into existence - or "putting oneself to pain or trouble." In time, "travailler" came to mean "work hard" in French. English borrowed the word as "travail" and this, in turn, was used to describe a wearisome journey — travel.

On the other hand, journey is a "day's travel." The word comes originally from Latin via French. The Latin word "dies," meaning "day." led to "diurnus" or "daily" and then to the vulgar Latin word "diurmata" (modern Italian "giornata") which became "jornee" in Old French ("journee today). The specific notion of a day's travel appears to have faded out of English during the 16th century.

Traveling is a serious matter, indeed. But some people cannot help but poke fun on it. "Travel is the frivolous part of serious lives, and the serious part of frivolous ones," said Anne Sophie Swetchine. "But why, oh why, do the wrong people travel, when the right people stay at home?" Noel Coward asked.

Most travelers will definitely agree with Robert Thomas Allen's observation: "Most of my treasured memories of travel are recollections of sitting." Novelist John Steinbeck can't stop himself from writing: "A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it."

Murphy's Law states: If something can go wrong, it will. This would most likely happen to when you are traveling. Don Rutledge, one of America's most awarded photojournalists, and his journalist friend were seated aboard a plane bound for mainland China from Hong Kong. His friend was sitting next to an emergency exit door and Rutledge was sitting next to him in the aisle seat.

A flight attendant came to their seat row and asked Rutledge's friend, "Pardon me, sir, but can you open this door?" She, of course, meant if he could open the door in case of an emergency. "Yes, I think so," he answered and before she could say anything, he grabbed the door lever and swung it into the open position. Fortunately, this happened when the passengers were still loading and the airplane was not moving on the runway.

The door bounced out of its frame and Rutledge's friend held it by the lever. The attendant's mouth flew open wide as she screamed, "I meant could you open it in case of an emergency." She quickly tried to help get the door back into the frame but, even together, they were unable to do so. While he continued holding the door to keep it from falling to the pavement, she rushed to the cockpit and got the flight engineer to return the door into its proper place and reset it. When it was already in the locked position, the flight engineer told him, "Don't do that again."

But I think, the persons who enjoy the most about traveling are the travel agents. Here's a collection of stories, which I am sure you have heard before but still will somehow tickle your pain away. The only hitch is that they happened in the United States. But most Filipinos can relate to the anecdotes since the people involved are - yes, you're right! politicians.

At one time, a travel agent got a call from a candidate's staffer, who wanted to go to Cape Town. The travel agent started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information when she interrupted him with these words: "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Cape Town is in Massachusetts."

Without trying to make the staffer look like the stupid one, the travel agent calmly explained, "Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Cape Town is in South Africa." Her response was a click of the phone.

Meanwhile, a New York lawmaker called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?" The travel agent answered negatively. "Why do you ask?" he inquired.

The lawmaker replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I'm overweight. I think that is very rude?" After putting her on hold for a minute while the travel agent "looked into it" (he was actually laughing), he came back and explained the city code for Fresno, California is FAT, and that the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.

Still on New York: A New Mexico congresswoman called to make reservations, "I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York." The travel agent was at a loss for words. Finally, the agent said, "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" The lady lawmaker replied, "Yes, what flights do you have?"

After some searching, the travel agent came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Rhino anywhere." The lady retorted, "Oh, don't be silly! Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!"

The travel agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?" The lawmaker replied, "That's it! I knew it was a big animal."

Now, it came to pass that a lady senator called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?" The travel agent asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, Florida on a commuter plane. She said, "Yeah, whatever!"

Then, there was the case of a senior senator, who called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, the travel agent reminded him that he needed a visa.

"Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." Hearing this, the travel agent double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When the agent told him this, the senator declared, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!"

American humorist Mark Twain said it right, "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

But on second thought, Lin Yutang told us: "No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow."