Once you hit 90, your average life expectancy is 95!

If you intend to live forever (well, nearly), the key is to live healthfully now. Here are the top 10 steps to reaching 90 in good health and great shape:

1. Stay active. That daily 30-minute walk is vital to keeping you young.

Get enough of these to keep body and brain humming: whole grains, fruits, and veggies; vitamin D3 (1,000 IU; 1,200 after age 60); DHA omega-3s (600-900 mg); low-dose aspirin (talk to your doc first).

Get next to none of these: saturated fats, trans fats, added sugars.

Sleep 7 1/2 hours to 8 hours a night. Every night.

Manage stress. Meditate (here's an easy way) or take two 10- or 15-minute deep-breathing breaks daily.

Do. Not. Smoke.

Stimulate your brain. Do puzzles, learn languages, and take on new challenges. Stay sharp with these nifty (and fun) brain games.

Support "village" movements: neighbors-helping-neighbors programs that let people live independently at home.

Harass your legislators to get health costs under control and affordable. At some point, you'll need it. Meanwhile, here are 6 ways to cut your own healthcare costs.

Move to North Dakota, Hawaii, or California. They're meccas for 90-year-olds.

Then plan on blowing out more than 90 candles. Once you hit 90, your average life expectancy is 95!

Douglas becomes the first African-American to win the Olympic women's all around.

USA's Gabby Douglas crowned Olympic champion in dramatic gymnastics all-around final

Getty Images - LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Gabrielle Douglas of the United States competes on the balance …more  beam in the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)  less 

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LONDON – With a big smile and even bigger performance, Gabby Douglas, the high-flying 16-year-old out of Virginia Beach, held off a strong and dramatic challenge by Russian Victoria Komova to win gold in the women's gymnastics all-around final on Thursday.

Douglas led throughout but needed to deliver a near flawless routine on the floor exercise, the final of four rotations, and then wait out the floor effort by Komova, who needed a 15.360 to win gold.
She got only a 15.100.
As the score dramatically flashed on the screen, Komova broke into tears in her coaches' arms and Douglas flashed one of her signature grins and jumped in celebration as chants of "U-S-A, U-S-A" rained down.

(Getty)Douglas finished with a score of 62.232, just .259 ahead of Komova. Russia's Aliya Mustafina won the bronze.
American Aly Raisman, of suburban Boston, actually tied Mustafina at 59.566, but she finished in a heart-breaking fourth place after losing the tiebreaker. In case of a tie, the lowest score is thrown out and each competitors' top three are calculated. Mustafina was higher.
Douglas took the overall lead on the vault, the first of her four rotations, and then never relinquished it despite strong challenges from the Russians, who were determined to excel at the all around after being blown out by the Americans in the team competition on Tuesday.
Douglas, deemed "The Flying Squirrel" due to high-wire routines, landed a meet-best 15.966 on the vault to assume the early lead. She followed it with a sharp 15.733 on the uneven bars, managing to maintain a gap.
Douglas then delivered a brilliant performance on the balance beam, scoring a meet-best 15.500 to give herself a 0.326 cushion going into the floor exercise. Her best moment was landing a full flip with a twist on beam just moments after Mustafina, the 2010 world champion, fell attempting the same complex maneuver.
Douglas then delivered a 15.033 on the floor, but had to wait nervously as Raisman and Komova got the final two chances. It's common in gymnastics for scores to increase as the competition goes on. In this case, it wasn't enough.

Douglas becomes the first African-American to win the Olympic women's all around. She follows Nastia Liukin (2008) and Carly Patterson (2004) to give America the overall individual champion three Olympics running.
Raisman was the surprise in qualifying, posting the best score of the Americans and effectively knocking out 2011 world champion Jordyn Wieber. Each nation is capped at having just two participants in the finals.

Raisman was unable to equal her performance on Sunday, however, delivering a few too many mistakes to keep up with Douglas, Komova and Mustafina.
Needing a huge performance in her strongest event, floor, Raisman registered a meet-best 15.133. It turned out to be just 0.001 too low or she would have earned bronze.
Women's gymnastics will stage its individual event finals on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with all five of the American gymnasts qualified in at least one event, so the United States' haul of gold should continue into next week.
Douglas, however, is now the unquestioned champion of women's gymnastics.

Why is Reading Aloud So Important?

Why is Reading Aloud So Important?

                                             Building A Better World

An interview with Mary McLeod Bethune

“Bethune: My mother kept in rather close contact with the people she served as a slave. She continued to cook for her master until she [saved enough to purchase] five acres of land. [Her former master] deeded her five acres. The cabin, my father and brothers built. It was the cabin in which I was born. She kept up these relations. Very often I was taken along [to my mother's job] after I was old enough, and on one of these occasions I remember my mother went over to do some special work for this family of Wilsons, and I was with her.

I went out into what they called their play house in the yard where they did their studying. They had pencils, slates, magazines and books. I picked up one of the books and one of the girls said to me -- "You can't read that -- put that down. I will show you some pictures over here," and when she said to me, "You can't read that -- put that down," it just did something to my pride and to my heart that made me feel that some day I would read just as she was reading. I did put it down, and followed her lead and looked at the picture book that she had. But I went away from there determined to learn how to read and that some day I would master for myself just what they were getting and it was that aim that I followed.

One day we were out in the field picking cotton and the mission teacher came from Maysville, five miles away, and told mother and father that the Presbyterian church had established a mission where the Negro children could go and that the children would be allowed to go. I was among the first of the young ones to enroll, and... so it seemed to me.

That first morning on my way to school I kept the thought uppermost, "Put that down -- you can't read," and I felt that I was on my way to read and it was one of the incentives that fired me in my determination to read. And I think that because of that I grasped my lessons and my words better than the average child and it was not long before I was able to read and write”.

Charles S. Johnson, [abridged] (1940) in Mary McLeod Bethune: Building A Better World: Essays and Selected Documents. McCluskey, Audrey Thomas and Smith, Elaine M., eds., (University of Indiana Press, Bloomington, IN, 1999): pg. 36.

Tips to Encourage a Love of Books and Reading in Young Children

• Hearing stories helps children learn new words.
• Helps develop children’s speaking and listening skills.
• Reading experts tell us that children need to hear 1,000 stories aloud before they can begin to read themselves.
• Reading aloud with a child creates important cuddling time for you and your child.

What Kind of Books do I Choose?

• Look for books with repetition: it helps children feel smart when they can figure out what comes next. 
• Use books that have lots of rhyme and rhythm which is soothing and helps to calm children.
• Non-fiction (books about real subjects) help children relate to the world around them.
• Look for bright, beautiful illustrations that will ‘catch’ your child’s attention.

How do I Get Started?

• Get a Public Library card!
• Relax and enjoy yourself: the best way to help a child learn to love reading is to love it yourself.
• Read with enthusiasm.
• Read slowly and enjoy your time together with the book
• Ask questions about the story as you go along.
• Read books over and over again: children love hearing their favorite stories again.

  Read to your child 20 minutes each day!

Farewell to Paris!

Farewell to Paris!

My companion for 15 years

Paris my mixed breed dog was given to me in

 in April 1987 as a gift from my nephew who

was leaving to join the Marines.

This little tannish white puppy was put in my

care and for the last 15 years we walked, ran,

he swam in every stream, pond, lake or pool of water

we walked by and when we finished our water walks,

Paris looked forward to being hosed down on the front lawn.

As he grew to know me and I to know him, whenever

you saw him, you saw me.  We knew when it was

time to wake up and walk in the morning and we knew

when time it was time to walk in the evening.

Paris knew when I was dressing for work, walking, or bed,

just by snipping the clothes I were wearing and he would adjust

himself according to what I was wearing….work clothes….short walk.

walking clothes….long walk and evening walks in between.

Paris would look into my eyes and I into his and I could the spirit of life,

loyalty and living.  Paris was a great companion to me.  We walked for 15 years.   

Paris and I walked 5 miles of more daily; during all seasons and all weather.  I hope I was a great companion to Paris as he was to me.

Thank you Paris for 15 years of life, love, living, and loyalty!

Why Celebrate Juneteenth?

Why Celebrate Juneteenth?

Juneteenth today, celebrates Black descents of slave’s freedom in American and their achievement, while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all cultures. As it takes on a more national, symbolic and even global perspective, the events of 1865 in Texas are not forgotten, for all of the roots tie back to this fertile soil from which a national day of pride is growing.

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19^th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863.

In the early years, little interest existed outside the Black American community in participation in the celebrations. In some cases, there was outwardly exhibited resistance by barring the use of public property for the festivities. Most of the festivities found themselves out in rural areas around rivers and creeks that could provide for additional activities such as fishing, horseback riding and barbecues. Often the church ground was the site for such activities. Eventually, as Black Americans became land owners, land was donated and dedicated for these festivities. One of the earliest documented land purchases in the name of Juneteenth was organized by Rev. Jack Yates. This fund-raising effort yielded $1000 and the purchase of Emancipation Park in Houston, Texas. In Mexia, the local Juneteenth organization purchased Booker T. Washington Park, which had become the Juneteenth celebration site in 1898.

Economic and cultural forces provided for a decline in Juneteenth activities and participants beginning in the early 1900’s. Classroom and textbook education in lieu of traditional home and family-taught practices stifled the interest of the youth due to less emphasis and detail on the activities of former slaves. Classroom text books proclaimed Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 as the date signaling the ending of slavery - and little or nothing on the impact of General Granger’s arrival on June 19^th. 

The Depression forced many Black people off the farms and into the cities to find work. In these urban environments, employers were less eager to grant leaves to celebrate this date. Thus, unless June 19^th fell on a weekend or holiday, there were very few participants available. July 4^th was the already established Independence holiday and a rise in patriotism steered more toward this celebration.

The Civil Rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s yielded both positive and negative results for the Juneteenth celebrations. While it pulled many of the Black American youth away and into the struggle for racial equality, many linked these struggles to the historical struggles of their ancestors. This was evidenced by student demonstrators involved in the Atlanta civil rights campaign in the early 1960’s, whom wore Juneteenth freedom buttons.

Again in 1968, Juneteenth received another strong resurgence through Poor Peoples March to Washington D.C.   Many of these attendees returned home and initiated Juneteenth celebrations in areas previously absent of such activity. In fact, two of the largest Juneteenth celebrations founded after this March are now held in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

The nine different symbols of Kwanzaa: their significance to the celebration.

The nine different symbols of Kwanzaa:  their significance to the celebration.  

Kwanzaa, is an Black-American celebration of cultural reaffirmation, is one of the fastest-growing holidays in the history of the world.   Not a religious holiday, Kwanzaa is, rather, a seven-day celebration that begins on Dec. 26 and continues through Jan. 1.

1.      TABLE CLOTH/ THE BLACK NATIONAL FLAG (BENDERA).  The Bendera (Bendera Ya Taifa) is the traditional Kwanzaa flag, symbolized by black, red and green colors. Designated to represent the struggle of the people, the black represents the people celebrating Kwanzaa. The red color in the bendera represents the struggle of the African people through history and the green represents hope for a better future. Benderas can be purchased, but making your own can be a great family project.

2.      A Straw Mat/A very important part of the Kwanzaa celebration is the MKEKA. The Mkeka which is pronounced mm-Kay-kah is a straw mat or "MKEKA" symbolizes the foundation of true knowledge and understanding are built. It also symbolizes the foundation which all else rest for self and generations to come.

3.      A Candle Holder/The word kinara is a Swahili word that means candle holder.

4.       Seven Candles/ Mishumaa saba are the seven candles are ceremonial objects with two primary purposes: to re-create symbolically the sun's power and to provide light. The celebration of fire through candle burning is not limited to one particular group or country; it occurs everywhere. Mishumaa saba are the seven candles: three red, three green, and one black. The back candle symbolizes Umoja (unity), the basis of success, and is lit on December 26. The three green candles, representing Nia, Ujima, and Imani, are placed to the right of the Umoja candle, while the three red candles, representing Kujichagulia, Ujamaa, and Kuumba, are placed to the left of it. During Kwanzaa, on candle, representing one principle is lit each day. Then the other candles are relit to give off more light and vision. The numbers of candles burning also indicate the principle that is being celebrated. The illuminating fire of the candles is a basic element of the universe, and every celebration and festival includes fire in some form. Fire's mystique, like the sun, is irresistible and can destroy or create with its mesmerizing, frightening, mystifying power.Mishumaa saba's symbolic colors are from the red, black, and green flag (bendara) created by Marcus Garvey. The colors also represent African gods. Red is the color of Shango, the Yoruba god of fire, thunder, and lightning, who lives in the clouds and sends down his thunderbolt whenever he is angry or offended, iIt also represents the struggle for self-determination and freedom by people of color. Black is the people, the earth, the source of life, representing hope, creativity, and faith and denoting messages and the opening and closing of doors. Green represents the earth that sustains our lives and provides hope, divination, employment, and the fruits of the harvest.

5.        The crops (fruits, nuts, and vegetables)/ Mazao symbolize work and the basis of the holiday. It represents the historical foundation for Kwanzaa, the gathering of the people that is patterned after African harvest festivals in which joy, sharing, unity, and thanksgiving are the fruits of collective planning and work.   Ancient Africans did not care how large the family was, but there was only one leader - the oldest male of the strongest group. For this reason, an entire village may have been composed of one family. The family is a limb of a tribe; they share common customs, cultural traditions, and political unity, and are   descended from common ancestors. The tribe lives by traditions that provide continuity and identity. Tribal laws often determine the value system, laws, and customs encompassing birth, adolescence, marriage, parenthood, maturity, and death. Through personal sacrifice and hard work, the farmers sow seeds that bringt forth new plant life to feed the people and other animals of the earth.  Nuts, fruit, and vegetables, representing work, are placed on the mkeka.

6.      The stalk of corn/ vibunzi or mihindi represents fertility and symbolizes that through the reproduction of children, the future hopes of the family are brought to life. One ear is called vibunzi, and two or more ears are called mihindi. Each ear symbolizes a child in the family, and thus one ear is placed on the mkeka for each child in the family. If there are no children in the home, two ears are still set on the mkeka because each person is responsible for the children of the community.  Children are essential to Kwanzaa, for they are the future, the seed bearers that will carry cultural values and practices into the next generation. For this reason, children are cared for communally and individually within a tribal village. The biological family is ultimately responsible for raising its own children, but every person in the village is responsible for the safety and welfare of all the children.

7.      A Unity Cup/ The kikombe cha umoja is a special cup that is used to perform the libation.  A large Kwanzaa gatherings may operate just as communion services in most churches, for which it is common for celebrants to have individual cups and to drink the libation together as a sign of unity.  Then, the eldest person present pours the libation, usually water, juice, or wine, in the direction of the four winds - north, south, east, and west - to honor the ancestors. The eldest asks the gods and ancestors to share in the festivities and, in return, to bless all the people who are not at the gathering. After asking for this blessing, the elder pours the libation on the ground and the group says “Amen”.

8.      NGUZO SABA POSTER - The Seven Principles Poster/Symbolize the key role they play in kwanza

9.      Gifts/ Zawadi means giving meaning gifts.  When we celebrate on the seventh day of Kwanzaa, we give meaningful zawadi (gifts) to encourage growth, self-determination, achievement, and success. We exchange the gifts with members of our immediate family, especially the children, to promote or reward accomplishments and commitments kept, as well as with our guests. Handmade gifts are encouraged to promote self-determination, purpose, and creativity and to avoid the chaos of shopping and conspicuous consumption during the December holiday season. A family may spend the year making kinaras or may create cards, dolls, or mkekas to give to their guests. Accepting a gift implies a moral obligation to fulfill the promise of the gift; it obliges the recipient to follow the training of the host. The gift cements social relationships, allowing the receiver to share the duties and the rights of a family member. Accepting a gift makes the receiver part of the family and promotes Unity.

There is no such thing as low self-esteem!

Could I have low self-esteem?

Dear Ruby

I look in the mirror, what do I see? I see someone who is tired, someone who is barely making ends meet living paycheck to paycheck, someone who is praying for a better tomorrow. I feel like a failure and others see me in this manner as well.  I want to feel great about myself then others will think I am great also.  I have all of the latest fashion, shoes, purses, hair, lashes, nails, and I feel empty.  What am I experiencing? What am I going through? Why is this happening to me? Do you think I may have a low self-esteem?

-- I Feel Empty in Newark, NJ
Dear I Feel Empty:

This is no such thing as low self-esteem.  Since the world has given credence to a word that has no meaning.  The words that have true meaning are the lack of confidence and an inferiority complex.   Your confidence is the "value" you put on yourself.  You have  acquired an inferiority complex and lack of confidence, here are some of the causes of both:  Being criticized; not receiving affection, encouragement, and support; Being or having been teased, ridiculed, punished, shamed, ignored, compared unfavorably, threatened, abandoned, rejected, or victimized; Being compared to others; and being continually reminded of your past or your future.

Take a look at the type of friends you attract - they are your mirror. Do they all have problems, or are they successfully happy people.  Remember the Law of Attraction works for negatives as well as positives. Just as happy successful people attract happy successful people, people with unresolved problems attract people with unresolved problems.

Here are a few tips and ideas to help you overcome both an inferiority complex and lack of confidence:

1.      Despite any imperfections you may have, you must love yourself. How can you ever feel great and full of life to anyone else, if you have no love for yourself? This is possibly the most important factor in overcoming an inferiority complex and lack of confidence. Love who you are.

2.      Look at yourself in the mirror. No, not your appearance but deeper. Look into your eyes. Your eyes tell a story. Your eyes are the windows into our souls. Your appearance is just the surface, but your soul is "who" you are. Get to know yourself all over again. Take pride in yourself and in all you do. Always feel good about who you are. Keep in mind you may go through hardships in you life but the way you choose to deal with your hardships is what makes or breaks you.

3.      Accept what you can control in your life. You must create your future by effort. No one can do it for you. Unfortunately, most people are looking for instant this, instant that, instant success and instant cash. Well, in the world today the only thing you can get instantly is failure. If you are not willing to work for your success, so what do you do? You give up and why? Because it is so much easier to fail than to succeed.  You have to take back the control of the life you deserve because you can achieve as much success as you want. You just have to believe that you deserve it.

4.      You are what is important here. Often without meaning to, your friends and family will handicap you with their opinions. You are not here to please the world; family; or friends.   You are here to please yourself. What others think of you is unimportant, but what you think of yourself is. You have a mind of your own; however seeking wisdom from your elders or someone who really cares about you is good, but randomly seeking others opinions should be done with caution.  So from now on you do what makes you happy and pleases you without seeking to hurt or destroy other people lives.

5.      Self Confidence needs to be cultivated - this is why the concept of personal development is so important - the basis of improving your own Self Awareness is you helping you.  Every time you achieve a goal, every time you overcome a fear or phobia and every time you choose a positive over a negative – you will feel good because you are improving your self confidence. Remember "Nothing succeeds like success” and that's the feeling you want to cultivate.

Now that you have a few tips about how to overcome an inferiority complex and lack of confidence: Lets talk about self confidence meaning, feeling good about yourself, not just when you have been praised for something, but all the time.  You are worthy of getting the most you can out of life, to be the best you can. So, the goal is to open the flow of success and abundance in your life by developing high Self Confidence, which means:   This is the way you talk to yourself about yourself. I Believe in Myself; I have Self Respect; I have Personal Worth; I have a Sense of Purpose; I have a Sense of Belonging; I have Self Confidence; and I have a positive Self Image.
Eleanor Roosevelt said it best: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
Now go conquer the world, it is waiting for you!