The 4 Reasons Tom Cruise And Katie Holmes Are Getting Divorced

Kaput! It’s over…but it was over before the wedding.

The media is acting bewildered by “What went wrong?” in the five-year marriage of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.  I know the answers.  Although I’ve never met either, like millions around the globe, I’ve been subjected to ridiculous amounts of media hype about this couple.  Also, I’ve interviewed hundreds of couples married over 50 years, 75 whom are featured in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Widom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More. Here are the four main reasons Tom and Katie are getting divorced:

1. Tom jumped on Oprah’s couch.  This should have been the first red flag for Katie.  Sure, any woman would be smitten by a man who so boldly professes his love for her on Oprah’s couch with millions viewing worldwide.  But Tom really had to do something big.  At that time, 2005 and in his early 40’s, he was already divorced twice and had multiple failed “serious” relationships.  50% of first marriages fail.  67% of second marriages fail.  And 74% of third marriages fail.  A divorcee takes their baggage with them to each subsequent relationship.  Tom had a volcano full.  Naïve Katie, 16 years his junior, didn’t do her homework.
2. Katie converted to Scientology.  She was raised Roman Catholic.  For those who are devout in their faith, as Katie was, it is a big part of their identity and a lifestyle.  She gave up both when she converted to Scientology.  Big mistake that turns into hate and resentment.  (This is not to say interfaith marriages can’t be successful.  Many are.  But any couple in a loving interfaith marriage will tell you it’s a huge challenge that’s harder than they ever thought it would be.  Interfaith marriages that are smoothest occur when one spouse is not deeply rooted in their religion and therefore, at ease to be faith flexible.)
3. Tom and Katie were doomed by money and materialism.  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having an abundance of wealth and possessions.  But, if you want to find out if you really love somebody, imagine having barely anything.  Do you still love the core person?  The majority of couples married 50-plus years ago who I interviewed started off nearly broke.  A place to live, a decent bed, and a kitchen table and chairs were treasured.  They loved each other and looked forward to building a life together.  I doubt Tom and Katie ever looked at their relationship from this perspective.  Money and materialism — shed them, and if you don’t have each other, you have nothing.
4. Tom is a control freak.  News reports say Tom is “shocked” that Katie filed for divorce.  Either Tom has had his head in the sand or he has such an enormous ego he believes all the problems are with her or he’s lying.  Probably all three.  Note to Tom: Katie is sick and tired of you running her life!  Intuition tells me, for example: When Katie was in “All My Sons” on Broadway in 2008, Tom was a news headliner again (like on Oprah), making more bold statements about how phenomenal his wife was in the show.  I can guarantee you that on the homefront he was telling her everything she did wrong on stage and how to do it right.  Multiply this crap a few thousand times over and, sooner or later, the abused spouse either shuts down and stays in the relationship because they’re too embarrassed or intimidated or financially dependent to leave, or they get enough balls to say, “Shove it up your ass.  I’m out of here you fool!”  Finally, Katie has done the latter.

Get Along Better provides you relationship tips with a twist of humor.  Want more?  4,000+ years’ worth of advice are documented in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More, a coffee-table book by Sheryl Kurland.  Makes an excellent gift for weddings, anniversaries, engagements…or just because!

New Olympic Sport, Synchronized Sex

Olympic buzz is building as we countdown to July 27, the day of opening ceremonies in London.  Visions of watching synchronized swimming creep out of my memory.  I always think that TV broadcasters covering this competition have to restrain themselves from giggling.  The sport is frequently the butte of jokes by late-night comedians.

Often, people confide their relationship and marriage problems in me since I’ve absorbed knowledge through interviews with hundreds of couples married 50-plus years, 75 of whom are featured in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More.  A common theme among these confidants is “synchronized sex.”

I’ve been told…..

“My partner wants sex in the early morning to start the day off with a bang but I want it at night to help soothe me so I can fall asleep.”

“My husband puts in a hard day’s work at the office and says he needs a stress reliever.  I want sleep after a full day’s work with the kids.  I can’t even fathom a romantic impulse.  I moan ‘Move over’ and pull the covers over my head.  He has another type of moaning in mind.” 

“My partner always wants to do it on Sunday mornings.  I say ‘I’ll be late for church.’”

“I suggest ‘Let’s have a quickie during lunch time.’  He says ‘I’ve got a lunch appointment.’”

“The door is locked.  The bedroom is dark.  The radio plays soft music.  Then there’s a knock on the door and a small voice squeals, ‘Mommy, I don’t feel good.’”

“In the middle of the night I hear a whisper, ‘Honey, I can’t sleep.’  I can.”

“Synchronized sex” is not defined as people simultaneously doing the same thing like synchronized swimming but rather a challenge that on the surface sounds much simpler — two people just getting together to do the “sport.”

There are some predictable schedule times for synchronized sex success.  Such as when a hurricane hits.  Stuck indoors, what can we do?  Or when a soldier returns home from his/her tour of duty.  Nine months later, there’s a baby.  Ironically though, the problem becomes worse than ever.

I asked some mental health counselors for their advice to couples dealing with the problem of finding time for sex.  Their advice ranged from scheduling appointments with each other just as you schedule everything else in your life to “planned spontaneity,” such as going on a schedule-free vacation.  One emphasized, “Men don’t realize that picking up their own socks, remembering to put the toilet seat down, and helping clean around the house are aphrodisiacs.  These efforts encourage their female partner to feel thought of, considered, and loved.  In return, she is delighted to be intertwined with her man as a way of conveying ‘thank-you for thinking of me.’”

I had the honor of interviewing world-renowned psychosexual therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer a few years ago.  I asked her the $6 million question every couple wants to know, “What’s normal?”  Dr. Ruth said, “It doesn’t matter whether what two people do is ‘normal,’ it only matters that the couple is pleased with the results.’”

(Dr. Ruth also shared her thoughts about sex versus affection.  To this she said, “Sex and affection are not mutually exclusive.  People need to be hugged, to feel the emotion of affection, and they also need to find sexual satisfaction.  They’re both components of a sexual relationship, but they’re also separate needs.  They’re both important, though to a different degree to each partner in a relationship.”)

During the Olympics, TV commentators give immense attention to explaining what athletes do to master their sport.  Synchronized swimming takes relentless dedication and focus as well as physical and mental agility to achieve harmony with each other.  Couples need to borrow these skills to master “synchronized sex”!

Get Along Better provides you relationship tips with a twist of humor.  Want more?  4,000+ years’ worth of advice are documented in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More, a coffee-table book by Sheryl Kurland.  Makes an excellent gift for weddings, anniversaries, engagements…or just because!

Best Father’s Day Gifts Cost Less Than A Dime

In divorce court, dads get the shaft.  In TV commercials, dads are characterized as stupid buffoons.  In the movies, dads are portrayed as slime balls hungry for the woman (not their wife) with the biggest bosoms.  This Father’s Day, it’s time to quit giving dads a bad rap.  What dads truly want on Father’s Day (June 17) and all other days of the year is both simple and free: to be appreciated.

Listed below are 10 of the best “gifts” to give Dad that cost little or nothing.  No assembly required.  But first, a brief history lesson…..

Where did Father’s Day come from?  Father’s Day was created in gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with their own day just like we honor mothers on Mother’s Day.  Born in 1882, Sonora Smart Dodd was raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died giving birth to a sibling.  In her teenage years, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her, to show appreciation for all his parental sacrifices and for being such a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington, on June 19, 1910.

In 1926, a National Father’s Day Committee was formed in New York City.  Father’s Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956.  In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father’s Day to be celebrated annually on the third Sunday of June.

Best Father’s Day Gifts For Less Than A Dime

Skip the tie.  Forego the cologne and gizmos.  Make it a day Dad will never forget:

1. Let Dad channel surf to his heart’s content!  Only he picks the TV shows.  No one argues or complains.
2. Give Dad 3 sincere compliments sprinkled throughout the day.
3. Tell Dad 3 things you deeply appreciate that he does for you without him giving them a second thought.
4. Give Dad a big Papa Bear hug.  Add a family group hug with Dad sandwiched in the middle.
5. What’s been on his mind lately? What’s been stressing him out?  Think of ways you can help relieve the situation, accomplish the goal, or provide emotional support.
6. Determine 2 topics of importance to you, and have a real conversation about them with Dad.   Ask him for his words of wisdom.  Listen attentively.  Be respectful.
7. Invite Dad to go for a walk, jog, or bike ride with you.
8. If you live miles apart and can only call Dad, commit to a light-hearted phone conversation.  Make him laugh.  Keep it positive.  No complaints or talk about personal or business problems, physical ailments, or money issues allowed.
9. At the family dinner, make a special toast to Dad.  Make him feel like a king by focusing the conversation on boosting his ego.
10. What chores does Dad always do?  Pick 2 and do them for him.  Meet his standards.

Bonus: Display greater patience and tolerance for the things Dad does that annoy you.

Get Along Better provides you relationship “tips” with a twist of humor.  Want more?  4,000+ years’ worth of advice from “real-life experts” are documented in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More, a coffee-table book by Sheryl Kurland.  Makes an excellent gift for weddings, anniversaries, engagements…or just because!

First Graders Cure Depression*

Sometimes you find remedies for ailments in the most unexpected places.

Michelle’s legs were spread eagle 180 degrees while she sat with an easy-read book on the floor.  “Are you a gymnast?” I asked.  Her tiny little voice answered, “Yes, how do you know?”

Robert read to me while we sat in the school hallway just outside his classroom.  Ever since 1960, Sam I Am still doesn’t like Green Eggs and Ham!  Syllable by syllable, Robert worked hard to keep pace with the tongue-tying rhymes.  “Do you know I have head lice?” he asked.  Whaaaaaaaaaat?  This sentence wasn’t on the page.  Calmly, I responded, “The End.”  Suddenly itching all over, I escorted him back into the classroom and discussed the matter with his teacher.

I led a treasure-chest board game involving matching prefixes to word endings.  In group rotation, group three, comprised of five students, the conversation among the children drifted to religion.  Lord Have Mercy!  “God is in the sky.”  “No he isn’t.  God is Jesus.”  “God isn’t a person, silly.”  “You know there’s a devil.”  A secular debate was underway.

I got invited to Mitchell’s 7^th birthday party.  But due to the last minute notification – he blurted it out from the lunch line, I had a schedule conflict.  Mitchell was a spelling wizard.  He could spell anything, and I do mean a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g.

Sassy Susie wore chic eyeglasses.  Alternating between purple passion and perky pink.  Then none.  I inquired why they were missing.  Ticked off, she responded, “They were expensive, $200 for two pairs at Eyeglass Superstore.  I broke them both.  My mom says next time she’s going to get me army eyeglasses.”

There’s a famous book called Tuesdays With Morrie.  I think I should write one, Mondays With Mrs. Mofair.  My last day of one-hour weekly volunteering for her first-grade class at a local elementary school was yesterday.  Most people dread Mondays, back-to-the-grind day.  I have loved them.  If I was feeling blue or stressed before 9:45 am, I was happy as a lark by 10:45 am.

On my last day, the class presented me with a flowering plant planted in a clay pot.  Around the pot’s rim was inscribed, “Thank you for helping us bloom.”  And every child autographed the pot.

And lest I should never forget the joy, they left me with one final memory to embed.  A group hug.  20 angels squeezing me.  One boy ordered (and they all obeyed), “Okay everybody, let’s lean to the right!”

*All of these events happened but actual names have been changed.

Get Along Better provides you relationship “tips” with a twist of humor.  Want more?  4,000+ years’ worth of advice from “real-life experts” are documented in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More, a coffee-table book by Sheryl Kurland.  Makes an excellent gift for weddings, anniversaries, engagements…or just because!

The Odd Thing You Don’t Know About Donna Summer

You shouldn’t be embarrassed about or ashamed of your fears.

 

Sadness weighs heavy in the hearts of millions of fans mourning the passing of disco icon Donna Summer.  Although I parted with my silky smooth, wrinkle-free brown, black, blue, and red quiana wrap-around dance skirts decades ago, the memories have never faded.

In the late 1970’s, innumerable hours were spent every Saturday night as the lovelorn, me included, jammed into discotheques………

Lookin’ for some hot stuff, baby, this evenin’
I need some hot stuff, baby, tonight
I want some hot stuff, baby, this evenin’

If you found yourself some hot stuff, expectations in the bedroom were incredibly challenged in Love To Love You Baby.

Donna Summer’s music tackled social woes, i.e., prostitution – She Worked Hard For The Money, divorce – Starting Over Again, but I think most of us paid more attention to the thumping beat than the song lyrics.

One night in the early 1990’s, my husband and I went to a Donna Summer concert at an outdoor amphitheatre in the Washington, D.C. area.  Summers was a unifying force, as the audience was largely a mix of straight and gay couples.  One song after another, her powerhouse vocals revived memories of flashing lights and the spinning silver ball.  Suddenly, somewhere inbetween the toot toot, hey, beep beep, Summers screamed.  A big scream.  The music instantly stopped.  The crowd was agasp.  No one knew what was going on.  Terror rippled through the audience.  Summer’s pointed at something and her drummer got up.  He walked toward the front of the stage, reached down, cupped one hand and moved it in a scooping motion.  It was a bug!  Summers was afraid of bugs and one had landed on the stage.  With the bug gone, Summers reconvened.

Donna Summer, thank you for all the good times and may you rest in peace.

“I Do” and So Can You

Thank you, President Obama, for endorsing same-sex marriage this past week.  You unleashed the souls of many, allowing them to love freely.

Don announced to me, “I’m getting a divorce.”  Don worked for the printing company that printed the bank’s employee newsletter, which I was editor of.   In addition to our serious professional relationship we had a very fun, casual friendship.  He knew I was single and looking, and I knew he was married with three wonderful children.  His news caught me by complete surprise.

A few months passed, and based on where we were in the newsletter production process, Don continued to stop by.  I always inquired “How are you doing?” knowing that divorce is a nightmare.  He always showed his cheerful side but one day he was smiling from ear to ear.  “I met someone super special and I want to introduce you to each other,” he said.  We set a date and time and picked a restaurant.  When I arrived at the restaurant, Don was alone, sitting in a booth.

“So where is this she?” I asked.

“Have a seat,” said Don.  “‘She’ is a ‘he.’”

It took the wind out of my sails.  Not because he revealed he’s gay, but I lost my breath scanning through the decades in my mind in which he had had to live a lie.

Don moved in with his significant other shortly after.  In subsequent visits to the bank, he would always tell me he was happier than ever.

We lost touch over the years because I, too, found my special someone, married him exchanging “I do’s,” and we moved away.

This took place in the late 1980’s.

Some 20-plus years later, slowly but surely same-sex couples are finally making strides.  Obama’s banner for change is bittersweet; it should have happened a long time ago.

I am baffled by the anomoly in our society:  Straight people have the freedom to marry and fair pretty pitifully while gay couples desperately want to commit forever and, in most states, can’t.   Approximately 50% of heterosexual marriages end in divorce (and odds are worse for second and third marriages) and many more are miserably married.  Homosexual couples, despite the obstacles they face — prejudice, bullying, discrimination, harassment, and more — seem to have a true grasp of everlasting love.

Marriage is not for everyone but if you want to marry you should be able to.

Get Along Better provides you relationship “tips” with a twist of humor.  Want more?  4,000+ years’ worth of advice from “real-life experts” are documented in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More, a coffee-table book by Sheryl Kurland.  Makes an excellent gift for weddings, anniversaries, engagements…or just because!

The Other Side of ‘13’

Help can come from unexpected voices if you’re listening.

Theresa stopped the entire Zumba class.  Someone’s husband was talking to her so loudly she couldn’t function.  But he was nowhere to be seen.  She had to deliver his message to his wife.  She did.  Then class resumed like normal.

I was channel surfing last night when I came across TLC’s “Long Island Medium” starring Theresa Caputo.  She’s a mom, married with children, and possesses the gift of psychic medium.  Either you think she’s a nutcase or you want to invite her over for dinner so you can reconnect with loved ones who’ve passed away and, ultimately, find peace.

In the episode I watched, in the midst of everyone shaking their booties, a voice from beyond spoke to Theresa.  She apologetically introduced herself when she halted class and proceeded to provide the spirit’s very distinct and specific information.  The recipient it fit identified herself.   Theresa continued fluently.  The woman was stunned and tearful and comforted; everything made sense.

Last week I was cleaning out old files when I came across a booklet, “Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association,” dated 1986-1987.  One day in that time frame I knocked on the door of Marie B. Lilla at 171 Lova Way, Cassadaga, without appointment.  (I kept her business card.)  The psychics welcome walk-ins because that way there’s no chance of you thinking they researched anything about you prior.  I have four pages of notes that I took during the reading and one line says, “gift of writing, published works, special message relating in form of a story touching people in need.”  Fast forward to 2007, I published my first book consisting of interviews with 75 couples married 50-plus years.  The secrets to successful relationships are revealed by the real-life experts.  Eeeeeeeeeeeery!

“13” is significant in my life and my mom and sisters, too.  My dad passed away on the 13^th of August in 1996.  Ever since then, he has “spoken” to us through the number 13.  I didn’t want to believe it for a long time because I was a total skeptic.  But way too many “13” things have happened over the years for me to question its validity.  My dad’s “visits” are comforting and reassuring and help me continue moving forward.  For example, several years ago one of my sisters called the fire department due to a potential gas leak at her home.  The firemen came from fire station #12.  Afterward, as a thank-you, my sister ordered a cookie cake with the #12 on it to take to the fire station.  When she picked up the cookie cake and opened the box to make sure it was engraved accurately, it read #13.  Another example, a couple of years ago, one evening, my mom and I were visiting a relative in the hospital.  Afterward, we exited the hospital to the wrong parking lot.  It was dark outside so we went back into the hospital and tried figuring the right way out of the maze.  We ended up leaving through the emergency room doors, and, at that moment, up drove ambulance #13.

Get Along Better provides you relationship “tips” with a twist of humor.  Want more?  4,000+ years’ worth of advice from “real-life experts” are documented in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More, a coffee-table book by Sheryl Kurland.  Makes an excellent gift for weddings, anniversaries, engagements…or just because!

The Safe Affair

It’s epidemic! Spreading in bedrooms, board rooms, and hotel rooms across the universe. Seductive. Delectable. Delirious. With curves and cuddles in all the right places.

eHarmony and Match.com, you’ve got serious competition.

“I barely have time for my wife anymore,” men are whispering.

“It’s perfect because he does what I want when I want it,” women are bragging amongst themselves.

Surveys abound on the percentage of married couples who cheat. The Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy reports that approximately 50% of married women and 60% of married men will have an extramarital affair at some time in their married life. Cheating statistics for unmarried couples are hard to come by, but we all know these trysts are happening, too.

Toss the statistics to the wind. Now there is the “Safe Affair”: the iPad.

Man + iPad = Utmost exhilaration; Woman + iPad = Pleasure perfected.

A touch with your fingertips, and ooooooooooh, aaaaaaaaaaaaah. Ask anyone who owns one or has used someone else’s. Most will agree, few things, if any, are better.

Giggles of joy are heard in odd places. Like in the famous scene in the movie Harry Met Sally, you look around to see who’s so lucky. It’s only one person…holding an iPad.

On one web site forum I found about iPad addiction, comments included, “I tried to figure out a way to bring it in the shower with me”; “I spend way too many hours with it”; “I can’t believe how magical it is. I love it so much”; “I can’t live without it.” How many people say these things about their significant other?

Get Along Better provides you relationship “tips” with a twist of humor.  Want more?  4,000+ years’ worth of advice from“real-life experts” are documented in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More, a coffee-table book by Sheryl Kurland.  Makes an excellent gift for weddings, anniversaries, engagements…or just because!

Bingo, Bongo, Bonzo

National Pet Week is May 6-12, a little over a week away.  Mark your calendar and celebrate!

“I hate being stuck inside this gate all day, every day.  A dog’s gotta do what a dog’s gotta do.  I want to find myself a new master.  Let me figure out how to break out.  Success!  Aaaaaaaaah, the air.   So much sniffing to do.  So many fire hydrants to…..  I’m going to run around the neighborhood and see what’s up.  Wow!  Look at all the mud puddles.  (Roll, roll, roll, get filthy and stinky.)  This is the life every dog deserves.  Wait, who’s that?  That lady in her front yard pulling weeds.  I’m gonna go check her out.  Maybe I can win her heart.  (I show her my sad-eyes trick.  She approaches me.)  Bingo!”

Bongo
July 2, 2007

I heard a clinking sound, turned around, and saw this adorable, shy dog, obviously lost.  I coaxed him toward me and noticed he had tags on his collar, Bongo.  One tag had Bongo’s address.  I walked him home, about three blocks away.  Bongo walked in heel-mode the entire way, leashless.  My heart is beginning to melt.  I rang the doorbell.  No one answered.  A neighbor was outside and I asked, “Do you know who lives here?”  She answered “yes.”  I asked, “Can you call and see if anyone’s home?”  She did.  No answer.  I compared the phone number on Bongo’s tag to the number the neighbor had called.  Not the same.  I sat in Bongo’s grass a minute pondering what to do next.  Bongo cuddled beside me and patiently waited while I pondered.  My heart is melting some more.  The trash guys drove by and I waved them down,  “Do any of you have a cell phone I can borrow for a minute?”  The driver handed me his and I called the number on Bongo’s tag.  It was a pet rescue organization and the woman on the other end said she would call Bongo’s owner.  I told her I would walk Bongo back to my home and gave her my phone number for the (soon to be former) owner to call me.  I decided to see how smart he was.  “Stop.”  “Sit.”  “Stay.”  “Down.”  Bongo did every command perfectly.  My heart is going pitter-patter, pitter-patter.  Bongo’s master called me and expressed enormous apologies for “her” dog getting loose.  I nonchalantly said, “He’s so sweet, I might keep him.”  Her next words sent my heart almost into cardiac arrest: “If you want him, you can have him.”  She explained to me that she adopted Bongo from the pet rescue organization a year before, and she and her husband recently divorced, and she kept this furry four-legged gem.  But her work demanded a lot of travel and long hours.  She had been looking for a new owner for Bongo but it had to be just the right person.  Grabbing some kleenex to wipe away these tears of joy!

About a year later, I actually bothered to look at the original adoption papers that the previous owner had given me when Bongo became mine.  Deciphering the cursive handwriting of the agency person whose signature was on the form, I realized it read Bonzo, not Bongo!  Oh well, as Shakespeare wrote in Romeo & Juliet, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Pets:

• Teach us how to Love
• Show us the true meaning of Compassion
• Make us Kids Again
• Support us through the Rough Patches of Life
• Help us Get Along Better

 

Get Along Better provides you relationship “tips” with a twist of humor.  Want more?  4,000+ years’ worth of advice from“real-life experts” are documented in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More, a coffee-table book by Sheryl Kurland.  Makes an excellent gift for weddings, anniversaries, engagements…or just because!

Silent Voice Is Sometimes The Loudest

Yesterday I spent the gorgeous afternoon working with the 100% Living team at Earth Day at Lake Eola (Orlando, Florida).  100% Living, owned by my sister and brother-in-law, Kim and Darrell Smith, promotes the message of “indulge in the bounty of the great outdoors in harmony with nature.”  We enjoyed introducing a few thousand attendees to the company’s line of 100% organic cotton shirts (the softest shirts ever!) with graphics that ignite the senses.   All different kinds of people stopped by who share a common denominator: preservation and protection of Mother Nature.  We answered questions galore: “What makes a shirt ‘organic’?  How is the cotton grown?  Why did you start the company?  What does ‘100% Living’ mean?  Would you be interested in being a guest speaker?*, etc., etc., etc.”  Very introspective inquiries.

Darrell Smith,
Outdoor Enthusiast

One visitor was particularly memorable.  The young man, on the thin side, probably in his 20’s, alone, walked into the 100% Living tent-booth.  Darrell greeted him.  The man said nothing.  A series unfolded: Feel the 100% Living shirts on display.  Read the descriptive signage.  Look around.  Think.  Feel again.  Re-read.  Look around again.  Think some more.  Then some more.  And more.  The man of zero words repeated these same actions over a period of about five minutes.

We three got the same vibe — this man was doing things his way, leave him be.  It was like an episode right out of Seinfeld.  A bit absurd…not that there’s anything wrong with that!  Then the earth shook.  The man pointed and spoke, “I’ll take one.  Size medium.  The ‘tread’ style.”  He took out his wallet, paid, my sister thanked him, and he was lost back into the crowd.

We three looked at each other and smiled.  Sometimes what you don’t say is as important as what you do say.

 

*Need a guest speaker?  Darrell Smith, outdoor enthusiast and co-owner of 100% Living,” is an expert on a diversity of topics related to environmental consciousness and living an active, healthy lifestyle in unity with nature.  Contact: dsmith@100percentliving.com.

Get Along Better provides you relationship “tips” with a twist of humor.  Want more?  4,000+ years’ worth of advice from“real-life experts” are documented in Everlasting Matrimony: Pearls Of Wisdom From Couples Married 50 Years Or More, a coffee-table book by Sheryl Kurland.  Makes an excellent gift for weddings, anniversaries, engagements…or just because!