On Saturday, March 27th at Playmobil FunPark in Palm Beach Gardens, the owner/inventor of Lechuza indoor planters and Playmobil toys, Horst Brandstätter , visited from Germany to cut the ribbon on the beautifully re-modeled new Playmobil castle. Brandstätter cut the ribbon and then shared a few words with us. For more information about the event, see our “Photo Galleries.”
April, 2010 – My Facebook Family Reunion
As I Was Saying
My Facebook Family Reunion
By Alan Williamson
It was a Thursday night and The Office was coming on in two minutes, which meant that the only place you’d normally find me would be on the sofa waiting for the show to start. Except I wasn’t there. And things were far from normal.
Instead of settling in to catch one of my favorite sitcoms, I was in front of my computer scanning a picture of an old family pet that everyone had long since forgotten, so I could post it on Facebook. Why in the world would I bother to do this you ask? Well, if you really need to know, it’s because my brother Jim had posted two other old photos of family pets on Facebook leading my cousin Dawn to speculate about the name of a dog that we kept in a coup outside a corral fence by the barn in our backyard.
So there you have it. I had a perfectly logical reason for my actions . . . or at least that’s what I tell myself. But then, you tell yourself a lot of things to justify your bizarre behavior once you’ve turned into a love slave of the Facebook gods.
Facebook addicts will confirm that it all starts innocently enough. In my case, the ad agency I worked at wanted me to become more familiar with social media and suggested I get a Facebook page up and running. I got it “up” alright, but “running” would be a generous way to describe my initial activity level in the land of social media. For months, my Facebook page sat frozen – just another lifeless mannequin posing in the cyberspace storefront. Meanwhile, I noticed that several of my co-workers had already amassed a couple hundred “friends” in their Facebook networks while my network still consisted of my colleague Stu down the hall, our receptionist, my brother Jim and sister-in-law Sandy, and someone pretending to be Mystery Science Theater head writer Michael J. Nelson.
Sensing I actually needed to “do something” to get more out of my Facebook experience, I started posting short, thought-provoking messages on my home page wall like the following:
What is the purpose of Chinese buffets? Do we really need a choice of 29 different chicken and rice dishes?
FACT: When handed a new pen to try, nine out of ten people will write their own names. The tenth person will write “Bon voyage Mimi.” No one knows why.
Is it “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” or “the flesh is willing, but the spirit is weak”? I’m getting pretty tired of the spirit and the flesh pointing fingers at each other and bickering about who’s a team player.
Anyway, you get the idea. This approach, of course, failed miserably and cut my network of friends from eight down to four. I even lost the fake Michael J. Nelson. After another long period of Facebook inertia, I was on the brink of pulling the plug on my woeful little page when the following short sentence posted to my wall caught my eye:
Alan and Andy McGrane are now friends.
Hello. It was my good buddy Andy. The real Andy. The Andy I had struggled to keep in touch with in the years since he moved away. Suddenly, Facebook’s potential to connect and keep up with friends and family hit me like a pie in the face thrown by some cosmic prankster/pie-maker. A slew of similar messages followed.
Alan and Eric Williamson are now friends.
Alan and Kristen Williamson are now friends.
Alan and Rachel Williamson are now friends.
Alan and Marjorie Bornkamp Williamson are now friends. (Hi Mom.)
Alan and Dawn Bornkamp Barbacci are now friends.
Alan and Sue Calia are now friends.
Before I knew it, I had an entire family reunion at my fingertips whenever I wanted it. The compelling upshot of that unprecedented possibility was that I wanted it more and more. I wanted to see the rare picture my brother posted of our long-gone grandfather and Great Aunt Shirley. I wanted to see (and poke fun at) the profile picture my mom posted of her as a patriotic four year old saluting the photographer. I wanted to trade wisecracks on family photos from years gone by showing alarming hair styles and drop-dead hilarious fashion statements.
Most of all, I wanted to enjoy the new world of quick and easy conversations that Facebook made possible with relatives I hadn’t had contact with in years. Consider this recent exchange with my cousin Dawn after I posted a picture of me running a 5K race during my college days.
Me: This showcases my ability to pass older, heavyset guys and young children during the home stretch.
Dawn: r u wearing JOX sneakers?
Me: I don’t think so – back then I wore Pumas a lot.
Dawn: Classic blue suede-ish style . . . nice.
See? Nothing earth-shaking or newsworthy. But that’s precisely the beauty of it. With Facebook, suddenly you’re sitting at a family reunion and that dusty old photo album that someone flips open starts the quips and comments flying.
Which brings me back to that Thursday night when I almost missed an episode of The Office while posting a photo on Facebook of a dog my grandmother Bessie gave us because he was eating all her furniture. The dog’s name was Thor and we kept him in the backyard by the barn where furniture was scarce and the chances to bark at horses and whiffle ball-playing kids were unlimited.
Somewhere, in that big dog coup in the sky, I’d like to think Thor is looking down at his Facebook photo album and thinking:
“Nice family reunion guys – thanks for remembering me. And while I have everyone’s attention, I just want to set the record straight: I only ate furniture when Bessie forgot to feed me.”
Alan Williamson is an award-winning writer with 27 years in the field of true fiction (advertising). A practical man who knows that writing for a living is risky going, he has taken steps to pursue a second, more stable career as a leggy super model. Alan can be reached at alwilly@bellsouth.net.
April, 2010 – Strolling into Spring Cleaning
Mommy Moments
Strolling into Spring Cleaning
By Shakira Muneswar
We all have them, as much as we are in denial and reluctant to acknowledge. It’s the monster in the house that’s never mentioned. What is it? It’s known as the catch all, the place that should be cordoned off as a crime scene and where the ‘I don’t know what to do with this’ items go to retire; also known as the spare room. These seemingly uncontrollable beasts have spawned a slew of reality based television shows where a crew of experts come into the unorganized home and transforms a room or even the entire house back to a livable space. Evidence that it’s not just you who has been seduced by the excessive consumerism that seems to be an off-shoot of an affluent society. It’s created a whole new industry where organization is the new hobby and in some cases, a profession.
In my efforts to tame my unruly monster, which I’ve taken to calling ‘Bedlam’, I’ve set myself the task of once and for all purging my spare room of all the paraphernalia that’s been stored there over the years. The intention is to be better off than when I started because I’m at a point where it’s not an option for it to grow ever bigger and more unruly. And what better time to get started than the time of year that signifies renewal and reawakening – Spring{!
How to approach Bedlam? Very carefully, albeit with courage and determination. And the reward? Hopefully, a habitable, functioning space and the relief and satisfaction of having tamed Bedlam into one you can live with as a healthy contributor to your home rather than as a source of disquiet and stress.
I had intend to chronicle my daily monster training activities for two weeks but decided that would be as tedious to read as it may be to write. Instead, I’ve summarized some of the observations made and lessons learned as I went through this process.
Before I started my purge project, I determined what I wanted to use the spare room for and designated areas for specific uses. I had a corner where the computer would stay and built my home office area there. I also wanted a crafting area which would primarily be set up as storage and a work surface. I also needed a space for ironing clothes and it had to have an unobstructed view of the television. Ironing is not very entertaining. Some people use the extra space as a guest room or play room. This really helped to organize the room and I was able to plan for the storage I would need once I knew where everything belonged.
My approach was to divide and conquer. This is possibly the only way to keep from feeling overwhelmed. Well, denial works too, but there comes a time when Bedlam can’t be denied any longer. Breaking down the entire project into manageable tasks was really important to my success since the feeling of being overwhelmed was the one thing that had kept Bedlam well-fed to the extent where it could not be contained any longer.
The first part of this process was to set aside a small amount of time every day that I could commit to the task. Between fifteen and thirty minutes each day is usually all it takes. A timer can be helpful to keep you on track. Of course if you go a little over because you’ve hit a stride or can’t quite make the fifteen minutes because you haven’t got it in you that day, it’s all okay. The important thing is to devote some time to Bedlam every day.
It’s also helpful to minimize the potential for distractions by choosing a time of day where you’re sure to not be interrupted. Being called away because your two-year-old wondered how far he could shove a raisin up his nose warrants immediate attention and will effectively squelch attention to Bedlam for that day.
The next step I took in dividing and conquering was to sort my items into appropriate groups. These can be specific to an ultimate goal, but generally fall into a few categories: Keep, Toss, Give Away or Sell. Between keep and toss, the rule of thumb I adopted is anything I had not used in one to two years was a good candidate for the toss pile. Some common sense applies here as there are some exceptions such as documents used to prepare tax returns and of course important identification documents and papers. When disposing of sensitive documents such as pay stubs or credit card statements, be preventative and shred them before recycling.
Once I had decided between keep and toss, I had to decide where to toss: Sell, Donate or Garbage. The condition of items usually determines in which bin they will be placed.
One thing I learned is that re-organization is not the same as organization. Moving one pile from one place to another or breaking it down to smaller piles did not prove to be a very effective way of eliminating Bedlam. By the third day, when Bedlam was not looking any smaller than when I started, I decided some tough love was in order. My solution became “If I held it, I had to immediately and definitively put it in the category it belonged – no questions asked and no looking back. If it was a keep, it would immediately be put in its place. An item that was ‘toss’, ‘sell’ or ‘give away’ was put in a bin outside the room. This included the book on home organization that had been buried under a stack of other books I had intended to read. There is no place for sentimentality when purging. This includes everything from the kids’ schoolwork to chintzy memorabilia and baby clothes. My compromise with myself was to allow myself to keep one or two significant items for each category and let the rest go. Because really, do you think your daughter is going to remember (or even want to keep) all those test papers and daily assignments above the Math project for which she interviewed you and everyone she could tackle? I couldn’t even list half of what I got rid of – that’s how much it meant to me!
Upkeep is an essential key to preventing Bedlam from moving back into your home. I routinely sort the incoming mail right at the recycle bin in the garage before bringing it into the house rather than putting it in a pile to deal with later. I will also think twice before making a new purchase asking myself if it is a want or a need. Honesty is crucial here. The old adage, ‘A place for everything and everything in its place,’ can go a long way to helping stay organized. None of these habits are very time consuming, but go a long way towards saving you a lot of time and unnecessary headaches. Remember the keys you’re always looking for? I’ve found a simple solution is to have a key hook placed at the door you use most often when entering and leaving your home.
As I came to the end of my experiment, I can say that I was very satisfied with my efforts. My Bedlam is going to take a little more time and attention, but it’s not nearly as overwhelming as it was when I started. If I, who is a self-proclaimed master procrastinator can do this, then really and truly, anyone can.
While embarking on this project there are some helpful tips I came across that may serve as motivation. Women, being social beings are more prone to success when a task is attempted en masse. As with diets and attempts to exercise, success for de-cluttering may be more achievable with a buddy. Not only are you now accountable to someone else, you are in a race to accomplish your task before your de-clutter buddy which is a great incentive to keep you on track. You can also share ideas and tips you have learned through your own experiences. Perhaps you can take turns with each other’s monster where you both can tackle the beast together, keeping in mind the object is to pare down the amount of ‘stuff’ and to not add to your own. So that pretty floral basket encrusted in ribbons and dust should stay in the toss pile and not in your ‘found’ pile.
Participate in Spring Cleaning events that may be held at your child’s school, in your community or at church, or plan one yourself. The same rule applies here as with the buddy system: the object is to give, not receive. There are many places where there is need and if you have something you’re not using that may benefit someone else, the sooner it’s donated, the better.
Now that I have the wisdom of my experience, what’s next? Well, there’s a certain closet under the stairs that’s making some strange noises. I wonder what it could be?
Places to recycle old equipment including old computers and peripherals:
1) Best Buy will accept most of your old equipment including ‘TVs, DVD players, computer monitors, audio and video cables, cell phones, and more’; visit www.bestbuy.com for more details
2) Office Depot Tech Recycling Services
Available for purchase are a small, medium or large box that you can fill with old phones, computers, printers, cords, etc. and drop off at your local Office Depot; for more details, visit www.officedepot.com
3) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has some good information and links to places where you can recycle or donate your old electronics.
Go to: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm
4) Eco-officiency.com. This web site has a comprehensive list of almost all items people want to donate or recycle and the places that accept them.
http://www.eco-officiency.com/resources_recycling.html
Shakira is Mom to two vibrant children who have taught me as much as I hope to have taught them. I love to keep active biking or playing sports with my kids and also enjoy knitting or reading when I get the chance to. I’ve always loved to write as a hobby and am relishing the opportunity to contribute to AroundWellington.com.
April, 2010 – Dickinson on “Spring”
Poem #812
By Emily Dickinson
A Light exists in Spring
Not present on the Year
At any other period —
When March is scarcely here
A Color stands abroad
On Solitary Fields
That Science cannot overtake
But Human Nature feels.
It waits upon the Lawn,
It shows the furthest Tree
Upon the furthest Slope you know
It almost speaks to you.
Then as Horizons step
Or Noons report away
Without the Formula of sound
It passes and we stay —
A quality of loss
Affecting our Content
As Trade had suddenly encroached
Upon a Sacrament.
April, 2010 – When There’s a Plan, There’s a Way
Ultimate Productivity
When There’s a Plan, There’s a Way
By Claudine Motto
When it comes to changing habits, getting started is usually the toughest part – partly because we “set” the new habit casually. We think about what we want to change and all the reasons why it would be good to change, and then leave it up to willpower to pull us in the right direction.
But waiting for willpower to whisk us into better habits is just another form of procrastination, and in some ways, of avoiding responsibility – it’s like this “thing” that we either have or don’t have.
The key to developing habits is to not rely on willpower, but to make a plan – and to make that plan as soon as you commit to making that change. So for example, if you’ve been meaning to start a fitness routine, you need to think about the chain of steps you’ll need to take to make that happen.
Because the reality is that comfort zones are stronger than willpower. So as determined as you felt the night before to hit the gym first thing in the morning, it is likely you will wake up and “just not feel like going.” So what usually happens is that you take a deep breath, and try to summon up all your willpower (mixed in with some guilt and feelings of hopelessness that you’ll ever get back into shape), and go through the motions of getting ready for the gym.
But then you realize that you don’t have pants that fit you well any more, or that are that flattering. Or that your sneakers look old and probably no longer give you proper support. Or maybe everything fits fine but you can’t find your gym bag.
Now, when you’ve got a good habit going and it has become part of how you live, none of the above is really a problem. It might make you pause for a second, and you might think “I should really get some new sneakers” but the hesitation is short-lived and moments later you’re out the door on the way to the gym.
When you’re trying to kick start a new habit, though, each of these small issues is like a layer that will weigh your willpower down just a little bit more each time one pops up. And before you know it, you’re telling yourself that you can’t go to the gym because you don’t have the right clothes.
So try on those clothes the night before, set your sneakers aside, grab
your gym bag. The power of doing this before the “comfort zone
temptation” strikes is that you can make a plan around the issues when you’re in the right frame of mind to make a decision that will support what you’re trying to create. That might mean deciding you’ll bike ride around the neighborhood or do an exercise tape at home until you make it to the store to get your new clothes.
Of course you still need willpower, you still need to believe that the new habit is worth the sacrifice, and your “why” has to be big enough for you. But when you plan around the reality of what it takes to actually do what you want to start doing, you are supporting yourself to follow through – and setting yourself up for success.
2010 Claudine Motto, All Rights Reserved.
Productivity Coach and Professional Organizer Claudine Motto helps home office geniuses, entrepreneurs, and independent professionals get organized and in control of their workload so they can reach their goals with less struggle and less stress. She offers one-on-one coaching and group training programs – please visit http://www.vistalnorte.com or call 561-641-9500 for more information, to sign up for her monthly newsletter, or to schedule a complimentary 20-minute consultation.
April, 2010 – “Fast, Free and Easy!”
Cantankerously Yours
“Fast, Free and Easy!”
(*@%!?*#+!)
By Wendell Abern
Dear Internet Fans,
Confession: I am just barely computer-literate. I can use my computer as a word processor, I can send and receive e-mails, I can play bridge on an international bridge site, and I can Google.
Not much else.
My expertise is further hampered by Borbick, the miniaturized terrorist who lives inside my computer. Borbick gets his jollies by disrupting me frequently.
Recently, my friend Alan sent me an e-mail requesting that I vote for him in a contest being conducted online by the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel: a BOB, or Best of Blogs, competition. I thought to myself … okay, this shouldn’t be too hard. I clicked on the link Alan provided.
I found myself staring at a long series of Blog titles in categories ranging from Art to Travel, found the Humor section and Alan’s entry. I clicked on “Vote,” and now found myself staring at a Sun-Sentinel site that read, “We’re saving your BOB Awards Information! But to continue, please enter your Sun-Sentinel.com login information, or set up a new account below if you don’t have one.”
Wait. What did this mean? Did “saving your BOB information” mean my vote was counted?
Not being certain, I typed in my login information, and was informed (in red ink, thank you), “The e-mail address you entered is not in our system.”
I stared at my computer for a few seconds and then shouted, “Are you working for the Sun-Sentinel now, Borbick?”
I went back to my e-mail site and sent a quick note to Alan, telling him I was trying, but wasn’t sure if my vote counted. He sent a quick e-mail back, assuring me the newspaper was just using the contest to get people to register with the Sun-Sentinel, that it was free and there were no strings attached.
The next day, I voted again. I think. Still not certain, I went to register with the Sun-Sentinel. Up pops a page headlined, “Registering for South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com is fast, free and easy!”
Yeah. Right.
I filled out a form, typing in my e-mail address, gender, zip code et al, and was then asked to agree to the newspaper’s privacy policy and terms of service. Because I wanted to see just how fast, free and easy it was to register, I read every word of their terms. Took me seventeen minutes.
However, I felt I was now set, and clicked on the box marked, “Register.” And was quickly informed, once again in red ink, “The e-mail address you entered is not in our system.”
I cut loose with a loud stream of some of my favorite expletives, ending with, “Okay, Borbick, how much is Comcast paying you?”
I waited another day. Filled out another form to register with the Sun-Sentinel, and was rejected once again. However, the newspaper posted a note saying “… for further assistance, contact kpellegrino@sun-sentinel.com.
I went back to my e-mail site and composed the following:
“Dear Ms. (or Mr.) Pellegrino,
I have been trying to register on your site in order to vote in a contest. I keep getting a pop-up that reads, ‘The e-mail you registered is not in our system.’ Please advise.”
When I returned to my e-mails later that afternoon, I quickly went to an e-mail from a Kathleen Pellegrino.
“Dear Wendell,
I am referring your inquiry to the appropriate editor involved in the contest.”
“What, appropriate?!” I shouted. “How appropriate does an editor have to be!? I’m not trying to reach some diplomat in the Bulgarian embassy or something, for God’s sake, I just want to vote in a contest!”
I scanned through my incoming e-mail list and found an e-mail from one Seth Liss at the Sun-Sentinel. He wrote:
“Hi Wendell,
Your user name is: dendyabern. I set up a new password for you
at ********. You can go ahead and change your password after you log on. Thanks, Seth.”
I spent the next few minutes wondering if anyone in the world has as much trouble navigating the Internet as I do. How many friends of Alan were trying to vote, and then giving up? How many votes was he getting?
With some trepidation, I clicked on the link to the BOB contest site. I voted again (I think), then went to the Sun-Sentinel site, typed in my e-mail address and my new password and was once again informed, “The e-mail you registered is not in our system.”
I cursed the Sun-Sentinel, Ms. Kathleen Pellegrino, Mr. Seth Liss, Alan, Borbick, Bill Gates and the Bulgarian ambassador, and went back to my inbox.
I wrote another e-mail to Ms. Pellegrino, with a copy to Seth Liss.
Dear Ms. Pellegrino,
Your associate, Mr. Seth Liss, told me I could vote with the
username dendyabern and a new password. I tried, and was
once again informed, “The e-mail you registered is not in
our system.” Please try to understand something:
I AM JUST TRYING TO VOTE FOR MR. WILLIAMSON’S BLOG!
THAT’S ALL! WHAT IS THE BIG PROBLEM?!!!!
Very cantankersouly yours, and rightfully so. Wendell Abern
P.S. Do you happen to have a very small cousin named Borbick?
To her credit, Ms. Pellegrino answered right away with a compassionate e-mail that infomed me she was sorry I continued to have this problem and had asked Seth Liss to help resolve it. She disavowed any knowledge of Borbick.
Seth Liss, almost simultaneously, sent an e-mail saying, “You don’t have to register. Just sign in. You are already registered.”
Okay, we’ll see. I went back to the voting page and voted for Alan. Then I voted for him again. And again. And again.
Heeding Seth Liss’s comforting e-mail, I did not even venture to the site for registering. I was already registered, right?
To this day, I vote for Alan daily. As long as that voting page
remains posted, I will continue to vote for him.
Alan, if you happen to be reading this, I have now voted for you 138 times. Or not at all. I have no way of knowing if my votes have been counted. My feeling about the whole experience is that if you don’t win this contest, you can blame it on Borbick.
Cantankerously Yours,
Wendell Abern
Wendell Abern can be reached at dendyabern@comcast.net.
Editor’s Note: If you’d like a truly fast & easy “subscribe” experience, just click on “Subscribe” on this site, aroundwellington.com! No strings attached. And you can always “Unsubscribe” at the bottom of any email, if needed. Also, the Alan Williamson that Wendell is referring to in this article writes “As I Was Saying” for AroundWellington.com…check out his article too.
April, 2010 – Questioning Back Pain
Health & Fitness
Questioning Back Pain
By Cheryl Alker
My lower back pain is making my life miserable. I have an office job and sit at a computer for long hours. Is there anything I can do that might help? Susan – Back Pain Sufferer
Join the club! There are approximately 31 million Americans today suffering with back pain. It is the second highest reason for visiting the doctor (upper respiratory problems being the first) and a staggering $50 billion is spent each year – and that is just for the more easily identified costs.
How about this statistic though?
Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic, meaning they are not caused by conditions such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture or cancer.
So what is the number one cause of so much pain?
SHORT, TIGHT MUSCLES – the majority of people’s back problems are a direct result of poor postural alignment.
It is that simple – the fact is that when muscles become short and tight they draw bones closer together resulting in poor joint mobility, pain and discomfort. Tight muscles will literally hold your body in a restricted position.
Tight muscles = poor mobility = pain and discomfort.
Pain and discomfort = poor mobility = even tighter muscles.
It really is a vicious circle!
Your lifestyle is not uncommon in today’s society. The computer age has made many of our jobs sedentary; we literally sit for hours each day, week after week, month after month and year after year. This position will eventually force the body out of alignment, leading to lower and upper back problems, lack of energy, a collapsed ribcage, loss of waistline, loss of abdominal support, shoulders rolling forward and the head sitting in an incorrect position.
Let me give you an example:-
We have a muscle called iliopsoas; it is our hip flexor muscle and is responsible for hip flexion i.e. lifting the leg to climb stairs. Sitting for long periods will shorten this muscle. Our muscles are attached to bone and originate in one area (the origin) and insert into another area (insertion). Iliopsoas originates at the vertebrae in our lumbar region of our spine, it threads through our pelvis and attaches to our femur bone on the front of our leg. Now when this muscle is short and tight it will draw the pelvis into a posterior tilt i.e. your bottom will push back and the lower curve of your spine will be deeper forcing your abdominals out. When your pelvis is being held in this restricted position day in day out the vertebrae in your lower back will be compressed causing the surrounding muscles to tighten causing pain and poor mobility in this area. Over time the gel within the discs will start to bulge causing herniation/slipped discs – now you really are in pain!
To reduce this forced lordotic curve of the lower back you need to stretch this muscle. Regularly stretching iliopsoas will move the origin of the muscle further away from the insertion of the muscle allowing the pelvis to sit in a more neutral position. You will regain mobility, the gel within the discs will be massaged evenly around the disc and your abdominals will pull in. So not only will you be pain free you will have a flatter abdomen!
To receive your FREE DOWNLOAD on how to stretch this muscle and more information please visit www.stretchresults.com.
This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Around Wellington Magazine, the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.
Cheryl Alker specializes in flexibility training, core strength and postural alignment, working with a select clientele across Palm Beach County. Her company, Stretch Results International, certifies health professionals in her results-based stretching program, educates consumers through public speaking and offers private or class consultations to clients who wish to lose their muscular pain and gain flexibility to achieve full and active lifestyles. For more information, please call Cheryl at (561) 889-3738 or visit www.stretchresults.com.
April, 2010 – Lechuza Ribbon Cutting
On Saturday, March 27th at Playmobil FunPark in Palm Beach Gardens, Wolfgang Goesswein, who chairs the marketing for Lechuza indoor planters in our area, spoke at the Lechuza/Playmobil ribbon cutting about what he likes best about Lechuza planters. For photos of the Lechuza/Playmobil ribbon cutting, visit our “Archives,” then Photo Galleries.
April, 2010 – Choosing Green with Solar Panels
Living Green
Choosing Green with Solar Panels
By Jathy Garcia
Choosing Solar Panels
Few projects in the home improvement sector are greener than installing solar panels. After all, our reliance on fossil fuels can be blamed on everything from skyrocketing home heating and cooling costs to the potentially devastating effects of global warming, making it clear that anything a homeowner can do to reduce our dependency on non-renewable resources is a smart move from a green perspective. Add to that the fact that the sun is the most renewable energy resource in the solar system, and there’s no doubt that going solar is as green as it gets.
The Cost of Solar Panel Installations
Thanks to the rapidly advancing rate of technology, variations in the cost of solar from city to city and region to region, and the wide range of needs presented by different projects, it’s nearly impossible to pin down an average cost for solar panels across the board. Your best bet is to collect bids from several local contractors experienced in solar panel installation to get a specific estimate for your home. What we can tell you is that the benefits of solar panels reach far beyond your initial investment. Solar panels are guaranteed to reduce your home energy bills for the next 20 to 30 years, making them an excellent example of a home improvement that is certain to pay for itself over time— and then some.
The True Value of Solar Panels
That being said, a wise homeowner looks beyond investments and returns when considering whether to go green. Making your money back is a big incentive, but there are other aspects of going green which are far more valuable. For example, what value would you place on freeing yourself from the mental burden of worrying about next month’s electricity bill, reducing your contribution to the production of harmful greenhouse gasses, or passing a better world onto your kids and grandkids? The truth is that these things have value far greater than any energy savings you might enjoy, making the real value of going green far greater than any figure using dollars and cents. Here’s a quick breakdown of the economic, health, and environmental benefits of going solar.
Energy Savings and Solar Panels
Obviously, going solar has some nice financial benefits related to lower energy costs, though how those savings play out is largely determined by the type of photovoltaic system you install on your home.
·Grid-Connected Solar Panels—Grid connected systems are plugged into the wider utility grid in your area. When your solar panels are producing more electricity than you’re using, the excess is diverted to the utility company and your meter runs backwards, reducing your energy bill accordingly. (Check with FPL to see if they have a “net metering” program.) When you use more electricity than your solar panels can provide, you draw from the larger system and your meter runs forward. Not only does a grid connected system substitute clean solar energy for the energy provided by your utility, but it provides incentive to conserve and reduce energy usage as well, since it’s in your best interests to draw as little power as possible beyond what your solar panels provide.
·Off-Grid Photovoltaic Systems—These systems run independently of your larger utility hookup. An off-grid system costs a little bit more than a grid connected system, mostly due to the installation and upkeep of batteries required for storing energy. Nevertheless, having an independent source of energy can come in extremely handy and will reduce your energy bills by supplementing your municipal utilities with a nearly free post-installation energy source.
Other Benefits of Solar Energy
· Emergency—Off-grid systems can provide a welcome supply of electricity during times when service from the utility company is interrupted thanks to storms or other problems. That can come in pretty handy, whether you’re looking for a post-hurricane cup of coffee or need to protect computer equipment and keep your home office up and running.
·Supplemental Energy—Off-grid systems are also a good solution for outdoor lighting, electric fences, or other low-demand energy needs.
·Remote Locations—If you live more than one-fourth of a mile away from existing electric lines, off-grid systems are often just as economical as paying to extend utility services to your location.
·The Environment—Whether you choose a grid connected or off-grid system, installing photovoltaic solar panels will reduce your dependency on fossil fuels and help curb the production of greenhouse gases and other fossil fuel related pollutants. Multiply that by the 20 to 30 years of operation you can expect from a quality set of photovoltaic solar panels, and the substantial environmental benefits of going solar start looking pretty impressive.
Making the Leap: Solar Panel Installation
Be aware that installing a photovoltaic system in your home isn’t a piece of cake. It can be tricky, and requires that your plumbing contractor understands the ins and outs of local regulations, acquiring the proper permits, working with your utility company, and making the most of any rebates that your municipality or utility provider may offer. Furthermore, since installing solar panels involves your home’s electrical system, roofing, and the installation of the panels themselves, it’s important that your plumbing contractor has intimate knowledge of all three aspects (or works with roofing contractors and electricians, as well) to ensure that your solar panels and the rest of your home operate at peak efficiency when the project is finished.
If you think going solar is the right choice for you, be sure to call Hi-Tech Plumbing for a complimentary analysis at 561-790-6966. Either way remember if you have a plumbing mess, Hi-Tech Plumbing is here to relieve your stress, whether it’s your Home, Business or Boat, at Hi-Tech we keep you afloat, so Don’t Fret…Call Hi-Tech Plumbing today.
Also, visit us online at www.hi-techplumbing.com for more information.
April, 2010 – Chris Bohjalian, a Prolific American Writer
Cultural Corner
Chris Bohjalian, a Prolific American Writer
By Marla E. Schwartz
Photos by Leonard Sukienik
There’s no doubt that Chris Bohjalian is one of America’s most
prolific writers of our generation. There’s no doubt that most writers go on national book tours to promote their work. And there’s no doubt that nobody enjoys it more than Chris Bohjalian.
The JCC of the Palm Beaches recently invited Chris to speak in An Evening with Chris Bohjalian, author of Skeletons at the Feast held at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Ron and Tammy Smith of Wellington, FL. They opened their lovely home for this private book reading that would have made Charles Dickens proud. Dickens (who by the way studied at Wellington House Academy in London) was a man who enthusiastically toured Europe and America, not just promoting his books, but lecturing and reading in a way that mesmerized, entertained and brought joy to his fans.
And this is exactly what Chris does and demonstrated so well that evening in the Smith home, which was his third presentation in two days in southeast Florida, including stops at Books and Books in Coral Gables and the JCC in West Boca. In fact, he is still on his book tour and manages to continue his weekly column in The Burlington Free Press, called “Idyll Banter” which he has been doing for the past fifteen-years, during many his book tours. “I’ve written a column for the newspaper every single Sunday going back to February 1992. I’ve been writing for the paper since 1988,” Chris said. “I’ve been writing that column longer than I’ve had novels published. I haven’t missed a Sunday when I’ve been on tour. It takes more than twenty-four cities in twenty-four days for me not to file my Sunday column!”
Skeletons at the Feast is Chris’ twelfth novel centers on the lives of three individuals attempting to flee from the advance of the Russian Army during the last months of World War II. One of the characters is Uri Singer, a young Jewish man who is trying to pass himself off as a German solider. He meets up with Anna Emmerich, a young woman from a wealthy Prussian family and Callum Finella, a Scottish POW. The book is one of the greatest novels ever written in terms of depicting the horrors of the time period. Not to read it would be a travesty. It’s inspired in part by an actual diary a friend asked Chris to
read in 1998 that had been kept by his friend’s grandmother from 1920 to 1945.
“The reality is that the Anne Frank’s of this world were few and far between,” he said. “The diary that I looked at was about 180 typed-pages single-spaced and I’d say about 150 of those pages were about sugar beets. His grandmother was a matriarch of a sugar plantation. But thirty pages were about the Second World War and fifteen pages were among the most riveting I’d ever read.”
Chris also briefly spoke to the crowd about his newest book, recently released in hardback, Secrets of Eden, a book that focuses on domestic violence in a small town. This one particular act of violence that’s depicted in the novel is an action that’s immersed in secrets, gossip, seduction, betrayal and intrigue that will have you reading it from cover to cover in one fell swoop! The ending is pure literary brilliance and it will leave you satisfied yet at the same time yearning for more. Secrets of Eden is his thirteenth book and it debuted at No. 6 on both The New York Times and the Publishers Weekly bestseller lists!
Chris began speaking to the crowd and immediately his appealing, laid back yet commanding presence was awe-inspiring to witness. The ambiance of being in a private home during his lecture was very impressive. Tammy Smith, while introducing Chris, personally invited him to come back and speak in her home the same time every year. He thanked her for her lovely introduction and asked if she could travel with him everywhere he goes to introduce him.
“I’ve written thirteen books and certainly Secrets of Eden and Midwives will always be among my favorites,” Chris said. “But I think even if given the privilege of writing twenty-five books, Skeletons at the Feast is always going to be my absolute favorite. It’s the only time I’ve ever finished a book where I felt a postpartum sadness that I was saying goodbye to these characters. And if you’ve read the novel you know the last line. And that last line is my favorite sentence I’ve ever written in thirteen books and nearly 850 newspaper columns. But it’s also the first sentence to the sequel that I will write at some point over the next two to three years.”
After speaking to the audience, many adoring fans, local and loyal book club members and friends of the hosts, Chris stayed around for a while and spoke to these people and signed many books. Previous to his presentation he was thoughtful enough to answer some questions in a quiet setting nestled comfortably outside in the Smith’s enclosed pool area, specifically for readers of AroundWellington.com.
Around Wellington: What’s the craziest question someone has asked you any book tour?
Chris Bohjalian: Once when I was in Austin, TX on the program that precedes Good Morning America at 6:43 AM – the woman interviewing me says (he imitates a perfect southern drawl), ‘Now, I know your books are set in Vermont, can our viewers in Texas find them right here?’
AW: Do you think violence comes from control? A need to control? A lack of control?
CB: You’re onto something when you say control, lack of control. A number of the women I interviewed who survived abusive relationships and in some cases were still in abusive relationships – would say things to me that would lead me to shuddering for them; such as ‘He’s only mean when he’d drinking.’ ‘He didn’t used to be mean but he’s been out of work.’ ‘He’s under a lot of pressure at the office. When he’s not under pressure at the office he’s a good man.’ The reality is that none of those are valid excuses for abuse. There are no valid excuses for abuse. But when you said the lack of control I think you were onto something really interesting. And one of the things that victims rights advocates and state’s attorneys said to me is that there’s often one incident that causes the batterer to explode like a furnace. One incident is often the ‘I’m leaving’. It’s the ‘I’m going to get a restraining order’ or it’s the ‘I’m serving you with divorce papers.’
AW: And this makes it especially hard on children such as in your book, Secrets of Eden.
CB: And that is one of the reasons why Katie Hayward is in the book. Katie is the literary descendant in some way of Connie Danforth in Midwives. Originally, Katie’s role in the book was simply to be that Greek chorus. Someone who has been inside the house and has seen George and Alice and can report to the reader on what she witnessed. But her voice grew in my mind as I got to know her better. What I love about Katie – is this is the first time my teenage daughter provided direct editorial consultation. My daughter Grace read the manuscript and told me what was and wasn’t authentic. She’s a good reader. A good writer. But I don’t think writing is her calling because she’s interested in the performing arts.
AW: I want to ask you about the word ‘there’.
CB: Sure.
AW: Do you remember where you were or what you were doing when you came up with the idea of using that particular word in Secrets of Eden? It’s very moving. It’s very haunting.
CB: I actually don’t. I can tell you a lot of details about other scenes in the books and I knew I had that vision of the baptismal pond when I was thinking of early scenes in the book. But I don’t know where I came across the idea of ‘there’. It’s certainly a word that will haunt the fictional Stephen Drew – that sense of grim resignation on Alice Hayward’s face when she emerges from the pond and knows that now she won’t be kept from the kingdom from any ecclesiastical technicality.
AW: Did you write the first draft before you had chosen all of your narrators?
CB: I might have written about forty or fifty pages when I was having lunch with Lauren Bowerman, a former Vermont State’s Attorney, because I needed to understand firearms and what you might see at a crime scene that might give you an indication that maybe this wasn’t a suicide? She said, ‘Oh I get it, blowback. You want to know how much of the bastards brains were up the gun barrel?’ I loved everything about the sentence. I love the alliteration. I love the rhythm and I love the bluntness. Because in some ways Secrets of Eden is four interlinking novellas and each novella begins essentially where the previous one ends in some way. When I was first writing the book it had two narrators in alternate chapters. First, Stephen gives you a version of some part of the story and then Heather Laurent gives you a version of some part of the story. And our conversation during lunch that day changed everything.
AW: How many drafts would you say you write of each book, does it vary?
CB: It varies, but as Gabriel García Márquez says, ‘the only reason writers publish is to stop re-writing’ – my books go through many drafts because I don’t know how they’re going to end. What that means is that I’m halfway through the book when I get an understanding of where my characters are leading me.
AW: Do you ever have time to meet other writers – you know, people of your caliber?
CB: (He chuckles.) Actually, I meet other writers all the time who are much better then me and way beyond my caliber!
AW: Such as?
CB: I know a lot of writers. Here’s a fun fact. I’ve had six New York Times bestsellers, counting Secrets of Eden, two movies, two books in the process of becoming movies and I’m the least successful writer from my Alma Mater.
AW: From Amherst College?
CD: Amherst in a strange, wonderful five-year period produced the following – Harlan Coben, a terrific mystery writer; the late David Foster Wallace, one of the most important writers of our generation; two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Read of The Portland Oregonian; one-time Pulitzer Prize winner of The Wall Street Journal Betsy McKay; Academy Award–winning screenwriter Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich); Emmy Award-winning TV writer Dick Levin; FoxTrot cartoonist Bill Amend and oh yes, Dan Brown of The Da Vinci Code.
AW: Is it true that Secrets of Eden previously had another title?
CB: I was going to call it Remind Me Who I Am, then I was going to call it Remedies for Sorrow, but I wasn’t really wild about either of those titles. When I was editing the book yet again I came across that scene you’ll recall when Stephen has fled the pulpit and left the church and taken up with Heather. He’s talking about the Garden of Eden and what we’ve lost and how unbelievably stressful it must’ve been for Adam and Eve when they’re waiting to be discovered. That’s when I came up with the notion of secrets. And I do view this novel as a literary thriller and all of the characters have got secrets and that’s when I decided I’d call the book Secrets of Eden.
AW: Do you have any actors in mind to portray specific characters when your books are adapted into film?
CB: I don’t and I don’t envision my books becoming movies. It’s not because I don’t love movies, because … oh my gosh I love movies! As a matter of fact Secrets of Eden will be a movie released in February 2011. It will air on the Lifetime Movie Network and in all likelihood coinciding with the paperback release. They did a beautiful job of Midwives with Sissy Spacek, and the same person who produced Midwives, Craig Anderson, will be producing Secrets of Eden. Craig does great work!
AW: Did Oprah Winfrey actually call you and talk to you?
CB: Oprah Winfrey actually called me to tell me that Midwives was going to be a part of her book club. Oprah is every bit as telegenic, intelligent, charismatic and funny in person as she is on television. And in my opinion no one has done as much for fiction in this country as Oprah Winfrey. Oprah has reminded all of us of what words and reading and books can mean to the soul.
AW: There’s something about books. They’re very magical.
CB: They are magical. I don’t know what they’re going to look like in ten years.
AW: What happens when someone comes to you and asks you to autograph their kindle? Where do you sign?
CB: You’re getting at something very important. It’s not so much that you can’t sign a kindle it’s the idea that there’s something in our soul that wants to have a book signed. I love it when my friends who are writers sign their books. I can turn around in the library in my house and look at the books on the shelves and just from the spine I know where I was when I first read the book and I think there are a lot of us who feel the same way.
AW: I don’t know if you can answer this, but if you can pick one writer whose books will last forever – who would that be?
CB: I know you said one – but I’m going to give you two. I’m going to give you F. Scott Fitzgerald for the best short novel I can think of, The Great Gatsby. I don’t think anyone understood as well as he did the connection between class and culture and the human heart. I don’t think anyone wrote sentences as consistently luminescent as he – and okay, I’ll give you just one. You said one and we’ll play by your rules. There’s the one.
AW: You can break that rule.
CB: No. There’s the one.
Thank you, Chris Bohjalian!
For all things Chris – go to his website: www.chrisbohjalian.com.
***
A native of Toledo, OH and a graduate of Kent State, Marla E. Schwartz has been a professional journalist since her teenage years and is a Senior Writer for Miami Living Magazine, and a freelance writer for CRAVINGS South Florida in Aventura, as well as Around Wellington Magazine and Lighthouse Point Magazine. An avid photographer, her images have appeared in numerous Ohio publications, as well as in Miami Living, The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post. She has had numerous plays published and produced around the country. Her short play, America’s Working? was originally read at First Stage in Los Angeles and in the same city produced at the Lone Star Ensemble. It was then produced at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL and then taken to an Off-Broadway playhouse by its producers Adam and Carrie Simpson. Her piece, The Lunch Time Café, was a finalist for the Heideman Award, Actors Theatre of Louisville. Feel free to contact her at: meschwartz1@hotmail.com.