How many of you remember Felix Tyszko? I admired that man and I have some of his writings. He wrote:

1. Forsake not the honey, for fear of the sting. 2. Judge me not by my deeds, but by my intentions. This one is cute: “When my cup of joy is filled to the brim, someone always hits my elbow!”

What a sense of humor!

Remember when I wrote that Russ was going to put on my tombstone, “Here lies Margaret Valone, who couldn’t stand waste?”

Well, he died first, so I doubt whether it will be done, but he was right. On Aug. 1, I shared with you several productive things you can do while watching soap operas. Here are a few more: 1. Stand up and swing each leg back and forth. 2. String beans. 3. Make an afghan. 4. Crochet. 5. Stretch. 6. Get out your Twister (I have one for sale). I’m sure you can think of more.

Now I’m sure you don’t expect me to do all those things at my age, but I still do some. Here’s one I forgot – you can soak your feet as long as you like. It’s nice to get a lot of small chores out of the way like that. As you get older, you’re not as disciplined.

I’ve given you some thoughts to make you feel productive. Here are some to make you feel thoughtful and happy with yourself. 1. If you see someone in poverty, you can give him money if you have it. (This can be the easiest thing to do or the hardest thing to do). 2. You can always give of your time and yourself. 3. Call up people who are lonely. 4. Cook something for a sick person and deliver it. 5. Run errands for people who are incapacitated. 6. This is great for males shovel snow or mow lawns for those who can’t. 7. Wash clothes. 8. Give away clothes you don’t wear anymore. 9. Open up your home to the needy or for fun. 10. Be a good listener. 11. Use your car for transportation (When you don’t have one, you’re a prisoner. I know). 12. Encourage the discouraged. 13. Don’t do this once. Keep in touch and see what their needs are. You do these things and those people will see love in action. Love never fails.

Here I am talking about all that good stuff and I haven’t mentioned that beautiful word “respect.” If you do any of the things we’ve mentioned, you will respect yourself and others will respect you, too. These are people you can show respect to all your life – they are yourself, your family, your neighbors, your fellow workers – everybody you come into contact with. These are all groups of people, but let’s not forget property – other people’s as well as your own. Don’t forget these things will bring happiness to you and others.

Being helpful is rewarding and contagious. What’s to stop each one of us from getting the ball rolling? Let me tell you what just happened. I’m living in the same house with six college boys. I love it. Well, I’m trying to line everybody up for a Sunday spaghetti dinner. I heard someone in the apartment across the hall. I thought I’d go over and check his schedule. Well, I’m about to take the last step of my stairs and a student comes rushing in the back door! What perfect timing! I went down like a ton of bricks and then I started laughing. It was unbelievable! The poor kid kept asking, “Are you all right?”

I assured him I was OK and signed him up for dinner and he’s going to line up everybody else.

Ah, it’s things like this that keep life interesting! We made a memory.

I’ll leave you with this last thought. He who throws the first punch is at fault, but he who does something constructive is a leader.