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DEAR ABBY: Congratulations to "Trying to Be Nice" (June 6) for her random acts of kindness. The world needs more of it. Let me point out, however, that being nice isn't just about doing specific charitable tasks. It is something that applies every moment of every day, and as the axiom says, "Charity begins at home."

It can mean paying a compliment to a family member or friend, refraining from a hurtful comment at work or in school, smiling to a stranger on the street, willingly doing a chore at home (even if it's "not my job"), or something as simple as cleaning up one's own mess after lunch. To quote another axiom: Little things mean a lot. -- RHEAL IN OTTAWA, CANADA



DEAR RHEAL: I agree. Sometimes they can be the simplest things, opportunities we take for granted that are right in front of us.

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Hubby and I getting ready to hit the road. You see, I'm along for the ride in real life.



(photo was taken this past Sunday afternoon)

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September 05, 2013

Leo (7/23-8/22)



Don't be surprised if you are feeling more introverted than usual today. The energy in your life is slowing down, and you won't be in a very outgoing mood. Things have started to quiet down again in your social life, making it the perfect time to recharge your batteries with some quality 'alone' time. Stay inside of your shell and don't feel obligated to accept social invitations just because they've been extended to you. If you don't want to go out, then don't. People will understand.



.

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Cliff notes:

World's top 10 scariest cliff walks | World's top 9 scariest cliff walks - Yahoo! Travel

Would you dare to go there?

September 07, 2013

LeoLeo (7/23-8/22)



Today your charms are like magic -- downright intoxicating, but dangerous in large quantities! Like putty in your hands, those to whom your charms are applied will be all too happy to comply with your wishes. You don't have to go for the hard sell in order to get what you want. You just have to tell them how much fun they can have if they do what you are telling them to do. This power you have makes it a great day for planning a new social outing. Any idea you come up with will be met with applause.



:wah:

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Good Morning! :-6

Lovely song. I found the silver lining and took photos of it.

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We're seeing these critters everywhere this time of year:

Marianne Faithfull on painful Jagger split: 'I had to move on' | Story | Wonderwall

good place you have been !!

You are always welcome Lemon-Sunwing!

Here's some interesting photos for today...........

'Day to Night': 24 hours in one photo on MSN Photos

Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky





TGIF anyhoo!

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Yahoo Shine - Women's Lifestyle | Healthy Living and Fashion Blogs



If you found one, would you take it out and read it?

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RIP Shorty

World's oldest man dies in NY at age 112

This is the week to get out and take a look at the Harvest Moon - NBC News.com

MSN Entertainment -

"Try to remember the kind of September

When life was slow and oh so mellow

Try to remember the kind of September

When grass was green and grain so yellow

Try to remember the kind of September

When you were a young and a callow fellow

Try to remember and if you remember

Then follow--follow, oh-oh."

- Try to Remember, Lyrics by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

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Could you pass the U.S. citizenship test? | MNN - Mother Nature Network



7 out of 10 correct for me. :yh_flag

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Today...another cautionary tale for drivers with cell phones:

By Abigail Van Buren



Dear Abby: The other day, while backing out of a parking space, I nearly hit a woman who was walking behind my car with her toddler son. I didn’t see them because I was dialing my cellphone and was distracted.

The woman rightfully yelled at me to pay attention and get off my phone, and although she was gracious and encouraged me to consider it a “wake-up call, I didn’t react as kindly to her out of embarrassment. Instead, I became defensive and didn’t apologize, even though it was my fault.

I shudder to think of what might have happened, and I admit this wasn’t the first close call I’ve had. I’m a married mother of two and should know better.

While I can’t go back and find her, I hope the woman sees this letter. I want her to know that because of that incident, I now lock my purse and phone in the trunk or place them on the backseat out of reach before I start my car. This way, I avoid the temptation to look at messages or make a call.

I have also asked my kids to keep me accountable by reminding me if I happen to forget. They will be driving in a few years, and I want to set a good example for them. Please pass this idea along — especially to moms like me who try to multitask in the car. — Hands on the Wheel in California

Dear Hands on the Wheel: Your suggestion of placing your purse and phone on the backseat out of reach is a good one. You are really lucky you didn’t kill or seriously injure that mother and her child. Regardless of whether or not the woman sees your letter, I hope it will remind other drivers of the danger of driving while distracted.

And while I’m on the subject, I read an article recently that discussed distracted walking. According to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, this has caused an increase in pedestrian deaths. In 2011, more than 1,500 pedestrians were treated in emergency rooms because of injuries they suffered while using a portable electronic device.

The safest course of action for drivers and pedestrians is to do only one thing at a time, and to be fully present while doing it.

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Welcome Autumn!

The best fall foliage in the U.S. - MSN Living - Life Unleashed

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September 23, 2013

Leo (7/23-8/22)



No matter what anyone else tells you, you really know what's best for you. Your friends and family mean well when they give you their opinions, but in the end, it's up to you. Put all of your options out on the table and then choose the very best one. At times like these, it might seem like you have a huge weight on your shoulders, but the sooner you begin taking responsibility for your actions, the easier it will be to keep making the right choices with confidence.

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http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/20/travel/ok ... pt=hp_bn10



I have lived in Germany for awhile. Festive fun time.

I've been to the Hofbrau House...with female co-workers . A little beer...alot of laughs.



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You never know what you're going to find here.





Here's to all our Truckers and other Midnight Riders!

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Leaving tomorrow on our annual Autumn Quest vacation in the Smokies.

She was born in the summer of her 47th year,

coming home to a place she'd never been before.

She left yesterday behind her

you might say she was born again,

might says she found a key for every door.

When she first came to the mountains

Her life was far away

on the road and hanging by a song.

But the strings already broken

and she doesn't really care,

it keeps changin' fast, and it don't last for long.

It's a Carolina Smokey Mountain High,

I've seen it raining fire in the sky

The shadows from the starlight are softer than a lullabye.

Smokey Mountain High, ...in Carolina

Smokey Mountain High.

She climbed cathedral mountains, she saw silver clouds below,

saw everything as far as you can see.

And they say that she got crazy once and that she

tried to touch the sun,

and she lost a friend, but kept the memory.

Now she walks in quiet solitude, the forest and the stream,

seeking grace in every step she takes,

his sight is turned inside himself, to try and

understand, the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake.

And the Carolina Smokey Mountain High,

I've seen it raining fire in the sky

You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply.

Smokey Mountain High, ....in Carolina...

Smokey Mountain High.

Now her life is full of wonder,

but her heart still knows some fear,

of the simple things she can not comprehend.

Why they try to tear the mountains down

to bring in a couple more.

More people, more scars upon the land.

It's the Carolina Smokey Mountain High,

I've seen it raining fire in the sky

I know she'd be a poorer soul if she never saw an Eagle fly

Smokey mountain high

It's the Carolina Smokey Mountain High,

I've seen it raining fire in the sky.

Friend around the camp fire and everybody's high....

Smokey Mountain High, Smokey Mountain High,

Smokey Mountain High,

Smokey Mountain High.

(Apologies to the late John Denver)

along-for-the-ride;1436732 wrote:





Leaving tomorrow on our annual Autumn Quest vacation in the Smokies.


I envy YOU!!!!

the videos were awesome...did you shoot both of them? Camping people....those who feel nature and live nature are so down to earth. No pun intended.

I hope you have a great time and come back with lots of images and stories.

I have read that the foliage will not be that brilliant this year cuz of lack of rain....what have you heard?

I wish you the best of a fall! Enjoy!!!:guitarist

Be Safe.

Lady J

I'm back! With just a few of the photos from our vacation. Hubby and I had a great time. :-4

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I captured these photos of a herd of elk grazing in North Carolina. One male, several females and a few young ones.

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A parade down the main street of Cherokee.........

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More of the parade.............

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"I love a parade!"



There were many spectators along the street; mostly Cherokee natives. Candy was tossed out from the parade participants. A day of pride and celebration.

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More scenes from our vacation...........

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Awesome!!! I love water wheels.

Hey fuzzy..glad you dropped by!





:yh_chickn More vacation photos with a common theme :yh_chickn

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You can find art anywhere......................

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I was in Cherokee, NC with my parents when I was a teenager. Loved it. Funny memory---we were at a local amusement park & took the Ferris Wheel & when we got to the top we overlooked the parking lot & saw a few boys breaking into our car! We still had a few laps to go around the Wheel!

They didn't get anything though, our trunk was empty. The "robbers" saw a New York plate & guessed they'd get a haul from the tourists, but our stuff was at the motel.

Such a freaky feeling though to see that happen!

The pictures of Cherokee brought back fond memories of the town, the area, the Smokies, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Cherokee area is almost like visiting an old friend.

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Part 1 of some animals we saw................

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Part 2...more animals....

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Just entering and leaving one of the many tunnels on the mountain road:



(Hubby and I always marvel at what it took to make these tunnels.)

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October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations above them once again.

Hal Borland

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MSN Entertainment -



I like cheetahs.......This photographer is my hero.

Government shutdown ruin your vacation? Don't blame the rangers - chicagotribune.com



The "shut-down" did not spoil our vacation. But it does sort of ruin my faith in our government.

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The famous Gettysburg Address:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

DEAR ABBY: I work at a senior retirement community, and the residents have a Halloween party each year. In the past, there were prizes for the three best costumes. However, last year they stopped giving prizes because one of the residents is a professional artist and costume maker, and the association felt it would be unfair to the others to have him compete.



This year it was decided not to hold the contest at all. The residents are disappointed. How can they continue to have the costume contest and include the professional? -- DRESSED UP IN LOUISIANA



DEAR DRESSED UP: Ask the artist/costume designer to be the judge.

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Floyd Nordhagen and Margaret Nordhagen, elderly couple, found holding hands in car crash wreckage

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An October Evening



The woods are haggard and lonely,

The skies are hooded for snow,

The moon is cold in Heaven,

And the grasses are sere below.

The bearded swamps are breathing

A mist from meres afar,

And grimly the Great Bear circles

Under the pale Pole Star.

There is never a voice in Heaven,

Nor ever a sound on earth,

Where the spectres of winter are rising

Over the night's wan girth.

There is slumber and death in the silence,

There is hate in the winds so keen;

And the flash of the north's great sword-blade

Circles its cruel sheen.

The world grows agèd and wintry,

Love's face peakèd and white;

And death is kind to the tired ones

Who sleep in the north to-night.

William Wilfred Campbell

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Today...just for fun:

What do you know about Halloween? | MNN - Mother Nature Network



:yh_pumpkn



I got 10 out of 15.

"Not too shabby! Not quite a Halloween genius, but you know more than the average ghoul."

I got the same score, AFTR ... I didn't know Illinois produced so many pumpkins! :yh_pumpkn