Out and About – Week of July 7th

This is the season, and this is probably the month, when high school class reunions take place. The first reunion that normally happens is the “Ten-Year Reunion”. This is probably the one when the classmates try to impress each other with the accomplishments they’ve made in the ten years since graduation. College is in the history books, and those that went on to earn their Masters and Doctorate degrees have completed them but will be paying off their loans for a few more years. This reunion might better be titled the “Bragging Reunion”. Those who didn’t go on to college went on to other feats worth bragging about.

The “Twenty-Year Reunion” is the one when classmates show off baby pictures or divorce documents. They have realized that high school romances don’t always work out, though I know more than several high school romances, from my class, that are still blooming.

The “Thirty-Year Reunion” was the first one that I attended. Everyone has changed a bit over the past thirty years. The guys have lost some of their hair, and the girls show evidence of bearing two or three children. To my female classmates, you are still looking very good, and I kick myself for not ever asking you out for a date. I was very shy, and to this day, I have difficulty handling rejection. Anyway, at our thirty year reunion, I received the “Who the Heck Are You?” award. I had grown a beard and had put on a few pounds.

I have suspicions that class reunions are a thing of the past. I don’t think classmates bond like they used to back in the day. This is really too bad, because a person’s high school years should be the years when you made best friends forever. You and your classmates experienced puberty together, and most of you fell in love for the first time. There’s a lot of individuality out there today. It has become a “Me” world, and this is unfortunate.

My classmates gather once a year for, what we call, a “Birthday Bash”. This celebration was started when we all turned sixty years old. We celebrated our fiftieth class reunion two years ago. I’m not sure when our next class reunion will take place, but I’m looking forward to this year’s “Birthday Bash”. It will be held at a classmate’s home, and we’ll call it a night around 9 PM, because that’s when the bus picks us up and takes us back to the “Home”.

We should all be aware of the fact that, if you’re thirsty, drinking plain water is the best way to quench that thirst. We should all drink more water. I prefer flavored water, and my doctor agrees that flavored water is just fine. Drinking water at the right time is very important, because keeping yourself properly hydrated is the healthy thing to do. Here are some suggested times when water will be most beneficial to you:

Drinking two glasses of water after waking up will help activate your internal organs.

One glass of water thirty minutes before a meal will help in your digestion.

If you drink a glass of water before taking a bath/shower, it will help lower your blood pressure.

By drinking a glass of water before you go to bed, you have less of a chance of suffering a stroke or heart attack. Of course, you will probably have the need to get up sometime during the night and make use of your bathroom facilities.

Throughout our busy lives, we have the opportunity to make choices. Some are good and, of course, some are liable to be not so good. Multiple choices are my favorite. Here are several:

Busy can be a productive choice.

Stress is definitely not a good choice.

Joy is a very good choice, if it is available.

Take time to make your choice wisely.

See you Out and About!

Submitted by Norm Stutesman

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