by BJ Armstrong

Let us all welcome in the year 2004 with a reflective smile (as we think back over the past year.) Look upon this new year as another opportunity to complete what you did not complete.

Let this year be a year of success!! As the year ends, we find ourselves another year older. But ...

Age is quality of mind.
But you've left your drams behind,
If hope is cold,
If you no longer look ahead,
If your ambition's fires are dead,
Then you are old.
But if from life you take the best,
If in life you keep the zest;
If love you hold no matter how the years go by,
No matter how the birthdays fly,
You're not old. ---Edward Tuck

Growing older is a process of growth toward maturity. In recent years, much attention has been given to the study of aging with much emphasis on how to keep growing, yet staying younger and looking younger. Let us focus on how to

live to a ripe old age:

Of course, good health is very essential and our primary concern. At the very top of the list is .....  Food.

Eat right! Let us mix in healthful food with color: Red - apples, beets, cherries, and peppers. Green - spinach, beans, peas, kale, and lettuce. Yellow - Bananas, grapefruit, sweet potatoes, and squash. White - milk, turnips, onions, and fish. Don't leave out brown and black beans and brown rice.

Of course, this is not complete; the list goes on... So let us eat right and watch our weight. Avoid obesity which affects 80 million people.

Yogurt is hailed as contributing to longevity. Large doses of vitamins C and B have been

credited to aiding older people in maintaining mental ability.

Let us not forget Exercise. It definitely helps us stay young and feel better. It should be geared to age and ability. You be the judge of the activity and amount. Walking and swimming daily should be a Must-Do!

In the growing old stage, skin becomes wrinkled due to loss of fat. It becomes thinner, thus more likely and easier to be damaged. Therefore, protection is a must. Regardless of magazine ads of anti-wrinkle creams, such products do not work on a permanent basis. Some items do help temporarily though.

Welcome the new year with a smile! Do not frown ... it will wrinkle the skin. Its been said over and over that it takes 27 muscles to smile and 62 to frown, so give your smiles frequently.

We will need to adjust to the aging process. We surely will grow older as the year progresses along. Our energy and strength will decrease, but we can keep both to an adequate level. Living longer requires planning and doing. Life is a journey!

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world... Anonymous.

You might retire from your job, but don't retire from life. Marie Dressler said: "It is not how old you are that matters. It's how you are old." Age has a certain dignity, that dignity should be maintained and displayed. Life is intended to be a daily celebration with the climax at God's appointed time.

Squeeze life to the last drop .. and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. -- Hebrews 12:1

Have a happy and productive 2004 year all year long!!!!!