Greetings from Mark in Hawaii
One of the
things that makes living in (or visiting) Hawaii so special is the
aloha spirit. I was surprised to learn that the aloha spirit is
actually mandated by law. I'll tell you more about the law in a future
issue. In this often cynical world, it astounds and pleases me that a
state legislature could actually pass a law requiring its citizens to
act in loving ways for the good of the whole society.
I have this bumper sticker on my car:
I don't try to "Live
Aloha", because it is mandated by law - it's just the right way to
live. No matter where you live, it is possible to "Live Aloha." I often
notice the aloha spirit when I am driving on this island. Much more
often than not, drivers are nice here. Imagine that you are stuck in
traffic; your lane is ending and you need to merge; everyone in the
moving lane seems to be peripherally blind; no driver seems to see that
you need to enter the flow, too. That rarely happens here. I don't even
have to wear a banana nose for people to let me in. People just seem to
realize that being kind is more important than getting home ten seconds
earlier. But in case we forget, there is this wonderful elderly man who
rides his bicycle along the highway in Hilo picking up trash. He's a
gentle reminder to us all.
 The world becomes a better place if each of us
remembers to "Drive with Aloha." I have a few extra "Live Aloha" bumper
stickers. If you'd like one, email me - and send along a funny story
from your life. I have a limited supply, so act fast. Remember to
include your postal address.
I would like to "grow" the newsletter list with your help. Please
forward this issue to a friend or relative who might enjoy it. At the
bottom of the newsletter there is a "Forward email" button. Let them
know they have to click on the "SUBSCRIBE" button to confirm they would
like future issues. I do only "permission-based" emails, but even with
permission, getting by the spam filters today is hard.
I'm off to North Dakota this week to speak to 350 social workers. This
is my second time with them, so I already know they will be a fun
group. I'm keynoting on "Creating Joy in Your Life and Your Work" and
then doing one of my favorite breakout sessions - "Playing to Renew
Your Spirit."
Send your stories. Next month's issue will deal with learning to laugh
at ourselves and our embarrassing moments. I've had lots of those
moments, but I'd like to hear your stories, too.
Aloha,
Mark
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But have fun!
Notice that there is no fishing allowed (or much else, really) on the top
sign, but on the bottom sign the daily catch limit is 6. Which is it?
Photo taken by Scot Eisenhouer at a pond behind the Naperville, Il
police station. Thanks, Scot!
Send me your funny photos.
Red
Light District
David Keown shared this funny story. "My wife and I were visiting
Washington D.C. for the first time. During our cab ride from the
airport to our hotel we drove right past the Washington Monument. When
the driver dropped us off at the hotel, my wife asked him, 'If we want
to walk back to the Washington Monument, can we just walk right back on
the street you brought us on?' The cab driver replied, 'No ma'am, take
the street one block over. The street I brought you on goes through the
red light district.'
We took our luggage, checked in at the hotel and then went back outside
to walk to the Washington Monument. My wife started to walk down the
street that the cab driver had warned us not to take. I stopped her and
said, 'No, that street goes through the red light district.' My wife
replied, 'Oh it's okay. Since we're walking we won't have to worry
about stop lights.'"
(editor's note: When I shared this story with my wife, she said, "Oh,
that sounds like something I could have said." And she is right about
that.)
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Want to improve meetings?
Shiela Bowen sends this along:
"My accolades to you for a job well done in Kansas City for the Heart
Healthy Women conference. You were a welcome speaker in and amidst
some pretty dry data.
I wanted to share an idea I have for making people relax in groups, for
instance when traveling with others or in staff meetings, etc. I hold
out tootsie pop suckers in a variety of flavors for people to pick. The
sugar seems to make people generally happy and it's hard to be grumpy
when you're sitting there licking or sucking on a lollipop in front of
other people who are doing the same. It's always been a great ice
breaker for me. Adults nearly always become kids when I pass these
out. :)"
Peanut
Butter Balls JOY!
Thanks to Teri Haynes for sending this photo.
Do these kids faces not make you smile ear to ear?
Notice the bowl covers on their. Clever way to keep the peanut butter
out of the hair. (Please send me your photos of joy. I'll share.)
Hitting the Jackpot!
"I have to tell you this humorous story about my four year old (almost
5, he would tell you). The day of our conference he was quite ill with
the flu - I had reservations about going to the conference, but left
him in the good care of my mother. I talked to him throughout the day
via cell phone, but he was in bed sleeping by the time I got home.
Of course, somewhere around 4 in the morning, he woke up with a very
high fever. We got the medicine, armed ourselves with the bucket, etc.
He looked at me with rosy cheeks and quite a lot of excitement in his
voice and said, 'Mom, you missed it today - I hit the jackpot!' Not
knowing what he was talking about, I asked him what he meant. 'Well, I
threw up at Grandma's and got it almost all into the toilet!' I
couldn't help but laugh. No matter how sick kids are, they always have
a sense of humor." Barb Carlson
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EXPERIENCE HAWAII
We love just driving around this beautiful island. This photo was taken
from a hike we took last week around the rim of Waipio Valley. So
beautiful! 
Mostly the temperatures on the Big Island are in the low 80s year
round. But recently we got to experience SNOW! . The Big Island is one
of the few places in the US (world?) where you can be swimming in the
ocean in the morning, drive 38 miles, and a few hours later, be hiking
the summit of a 13,796 foot mountain. We drove up to tour the astronomy
observatories at the top of Mauna Kea. The telescopes in the Keck
observatories are eight stories high and weigh 300 tons! They may look
like golf balls in the photo, but they are huge.
After touring them, we decided to hike to the true summit of this
beautiful mountain. When we started the hike, the ground was brown.
When we got to the top, it was blizzard conditions!
We then drove down to the Visitors Center at 9,000 feet where we
watched the sunset and did some amazing star gazing through the
telescopes - much, much smaller- that they have set up for the public.
Total cost? It was all free.
We love sharing this piece of paradise through the vacation rentals of
our two guest houses. Cick here to see the guest houses |
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Spelling
Error!
Mary Jesunas
sent in a photo taken outside of Indianapolis. I wish I could print it
here, but since she didn't know who took the photo, I can only describe
it for you. Someone at Allisonville Nurseries was asked to change the
sign board to say, "Fresh cut Peonies." This someone didn't know how to
spell "peonies" - probably wasn't on a grade school spelling list. What
ended up on the sign for about two hours before a customer pointed out
the spelling error was, "Fresh cut Penis." Mary said the sign caused
her to wonder many things:
"I wonder if they come in different colors? Fragrances? Would it help
to add those little preservative packets to the water? Would they look
better on the kitchen table or the entry hall? Are they cheaper by the
dozen? I wonder if they come in long-stemmed."
Mary is quite the "wonderer", isn't she? Made me LOL. (I didn't figure
out until last year that LOL means "laugh out loud.")
Survivor
Wisconsin
If you are from Wisconsin, you will ROL (roar out loud - I made it up)
if you click on this link. It is about the bumper stickers the
Illinois resident contestants (driving pink Volvos) would have to have
on their car to play the game. Just hysterical. click here
Life Ambition
"I own and operate a day care in Royal Oak, MI, I was attending a
conference where you were the keynote. It was wonderful. I just have a
quick one today, but when they happen I will pass them along. We had
our local dentist come in for a visit yesterday. For story time we read
a book on careers and asked the three year olds what they wanted to be
when they grew up, our smallest little 3 year old replied, "Bigger,"
that made me laugh, Carolyn
Grandson's apology
Marcia Denney wrote: "Congratulations on the move.We'll definitely keep
you in mind for future IAEOP conferences. You get my vote for the best!
While my husband and I were visiting our daughter and family in Austin,
Texas our two-year-old grandson had a bad case of gas. After several
'explosions,' he turned to me and said, 'Grandma, my bottom is soooo
sorry.' Needless to say, I lost it. Grandchildren - nothing like them." |
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Message
Sunrise out my office window
ENJOY LIFE!
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