Fountain of Youth

What is your favorite way to stay young?

2009-05-17T22:51:00.005-04:00

For most of my life, people told me that I didn't look my age. A few people tell me that now, but not quite as many! I do think that genetics has a lot to do with how youthful people remain. When I was married in 1971, people thought that Charles and I looked like kids even though we were 23 and 21 respectively. The others in this picture are my younger siblings.

I believe that a person's attitude to life and their fellow earthly citizens plays a large role in how gracefully they age? How are YOU doing? What are some of your secrets to staying young?

Have a great week next week! ALICE

Having fun keeps you young, doesn't it?

2009-03-22T22:36:00.006-04:00

Life Is Too Short,

Break The Rules,

Forgive Quickly,

Kiss Slowly,

Love Truly,

Laugh Uncontrollably,

And Never Regret AnythingThat Made You Smile.

Life May Not Be The PartyWe Hoped For,

But While We're Here, We Should Dance...

THIS is SCOTT WADE. Check out what he does with the dirty cars by carefully and artfully removing portions of the dirt. According to his website, he lives real close to a dirt road in San Marcos,Texas....

Benefits of Age

2009-02-05T20:34:00.001-05:00

I was just thinking that we all prize youth so highly and yet age also has tremendous benefits. I know that personally, I would trade the wisdom that has become a highly prized gift, for any amount of youth, smooth skin, beautiful hair and boundless energy. At 60 I still feel amazingly energetic and when I look in the mirror most days, I don't feel too bad about what looks back at me.

Unfortunately, advertizers and beauty product creators would have us believe that unless we look "young" we can't really look beautiful. It seems like a commonplace to say "beauty is only skin-deep" and "beauty is on the inside" but really, I think beauty and youthfulness can't hold a candle to wisdom. And that only comes with age. Your opinion?

Could Music Be a Path to the Fountain of Youth?

2008-12-26T16:27:00.003-05:00

We live in a culture that really values youth and youthful faces, bodies, and interests. Every year, people spend thousands of dollars on surgeries, products, physical trainers, and special foods and diets so that they can look younger and cheat old age and even death. Why the obsession with beauty and youth? I believe that as we age, we look back to our youth with longing and wistfulness; we think of things we did and didn't do. We think of our first loves and our unrequited loves. We wish we could go back in time with the benefit of what we know now, but of course, we can't. If ever there were such a thing as a time machine, however, it would be music! You know how you feel when you hear music that you danced to in high school, or the music that was popular when you fell in love for the very first time.
Social scientists have studied the phenomenon of people in their "senior year" who are put into an environment of, say, 40-50 years earlier. They walk straighter, see and hear better, and generally feel better! So what does this say? Well, you can't redecorate your house in the style of 50 years ago, but you can certainly listen to lots of music from that era. I'll include an excerpt of some of my favorite music from high school! Enjoy!

After "Femme Sistina"

2008-10-25T20:42:00.001-04:00

Then we went to a fabulous pizza place right across from the Spanish Steps!

Final Photo of Crystal at Femme Sistina

2008-10-25T20:27:00.002-04:00

Here's the Lady Crystal with "Ivano" a very nice Italian man!

Femme Sistina, Ch. 6

2008-10-25T19:44:00.000-04:00

Beeeaa-uuuuu-ti-ful!!!!!

Femme Sistina, Ch. 5

2008-10-25T19:43:00.000-04:00

Oh Boy!!!

Femme Sistina, Ch. 4

2008-10-25T19:40:00.000-04:00

Almost there!

Femme Sistina, Ch. 3

2008-10-24T23:01:00.001-04:00

Enjoy the progress!

Femme Sistina, Ch. 2

2008-10-24T22:15:00.001-04:00

Enjoy the second chapter of this Roman adventure.

Crystal gets her hair done in Rome!

2008-10-24T16:11:00.002-04:00

Here's Chapter 1. Sorry you have to get sideways to see it! There are 6 or 8 chapters so just be patient!

Alice

Caribbean Cruise, Day 4

2008-08-25T22:27:00.008-04:00

Our fourth day of the cruise was again, a day at sea. Of course Carnival's "Fascination" had so many fun things to do that we were anything but bored! On Thursday morning, several of us went to the very top deck to play putt-putt. This is a picture of me with my oldest daughter, Julia. I do believe we found the Fountain of Youth on this trip because we all looked a little younger and had a little more energy on each succesive day! I highly recommend a tropical cruise.

The two handsome guys are my sons-in-law and we all had such a fun time with snorkeling, swimming, working out in the cruise gym, biking, playing Trivial Pursuit every night in the ship library and bingo on the last night! I highly recommend traveling with your children and their spouses!

2008-07-13T11:31:00.002-04:00

Last night I had the fantastic opportunity to go see and hear Julie Andrews in person. I was so excited when I heard she was coming to Louisville because I've been a huge fan of hers ever since I saw Mary Poppins many moons ago. I've followed her career with great interest and found her voice and her songs to be very healing for me. Among classically-trained musicians, Dame Julie seems to be somewhat controversial. I don't have any idea what the downside of her career or style might be but I'm not ashamed to say that I've always love her!

When she walked onstage last night at the KY Center for the Arts, she was just beautiful and breathtaking! I felt like laughing and crying all at once because it seemed like the dream of a lifetime coming true. She could not have been more gracious or more "real" talking about the surgical mishap that took her fantastic four-octave voice away from her. She actually did sing a little both alone and with her "friends" onstage and although it was beautiful, her range is just gone. She seemed to have barely more than an octave and was constantly dropping down an octave in most every thing she sang. Still, it was a thrill to see her looking so beautiful and vibrant and to hear her speak and act and interact. I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

9-year-old girl composes song about cancer

2008-06-19T21:04:00.002-04:00

Eleanor Bothwell, 9, of Raleigh, and music therapist Elizabeth Fawcett perform a song Eleanor wrote about her experience fighting cancer. Eleanor took part in music therapy offered by Fawcett at the North Carolina Children's Hospital.

Music has the power to heal. That's the theory behind the music therapy program at the North Carolina Children's Hospital. And one 9-year-old cancer patient has proven that true by becoming a budding songwriter.
In April, Eleanor Bothwell, of Raleigh, had surgery for bone cancer in her left arm and has since undergone chemotherapy. Through all that, she spent a lot of time in her room at UNC Hospitals.
And there, one day, inspiration struck.
"I just got bored one day, and I decided to write a song," Eleanor said.
(Click here to hear Eleanor sing her song or read the lyrics.)
The song that poured out of her – entitled "'Cause You Are Yourself" – is about Eleanor's experience battling cancer: "You feel the hurt inside you. It's wanting to come out," she sings.
Eleanor is among the children who work three days a week with UNC music therapist Elizabeth Fawcett.
"She comes down, and it makes me feel better," Eleanor said. "It makes me feel like I am cared about."
Fawcett said her only regret about the program is that there's only enough funding for her to be there 19 hours a week.
"Kids like Eleanor want me here everyday, and, unfortunately, I can't be," Fawcett said.
However, the Rock Against Cancer program has given $20,000 to expand UNC's music therapy program. The organization has helped a handful of similar programs around the country.
Fawcett helps young patients discover their musical talents, such as playing an instrument or banging away on the drums. Or, as in Eleanor's case, songwriting.
"It's an amazing song, and I think it will be great to share with other kids if she's up to it," Fawcett said.
Eleanor said she feels "proud" about her song but doesn't know if it signals the beginning a musical career. For now, she just wants to get home and play with her dog, Eleanor said.
From the N.C. Children's Hospital, she'll take a lesson that she set to song: "You are yourself, and you're gonna be all of your life."

Chantdoc visits Fountain on Youth on 60th Birthday

2008-05-22T23:18:00.002-04:00

What a fantastic birthday I have had today! It started out at 7:30 a.m. with a call from my dear 82 y.o. mother singing "Happy Birthday" to me. this was followed by a call and song from a sister and then a call and song from a daughter!! Fantastic. I can't even begin to name each call and hilarious and touching cards I got from all my friends and family. Even when I got to jury duty today, some new friends had tied helium balloons to my chair and put a beautiful white rose on my seat! What fun and dear people we have here in Louisville!

Tonight was my little party and we had such a great time. I've enclosed a little video clip from my party. Thanks to everyone who remembered me today on this very special milestone birthday!

It definitely felt like a trip to the Fountain of Youth!

There really IS a Fountain of Youth!!!

2008-04-06T20:00:00.002-04:00

The Fountain of Youth Archeological Park is a 15 acre, Historical attraction in St. Augustine, Florida. Open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We are closed on Christmas day.

When you enter the site at 11 Magnolia Avenue, you will pass beneath the archway of this world famous attraction, you are stepping onto the very property on which U.S. history began.

Seloy was the name of the Timucua Village, before the arrival of the Spanish in 1513, and with Ponce de Leon’s claim of possession for the Spanish King, La Florida was born. No Spanish attempts that came later to colonize were successful…until the arrival of Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles on September 8, 1565. It is within the boundaries of this property that the oldest continuously occupied European settlement within our continental United States was formed – St. Augustine.

Over the next 350 years the property was farmed and citrus orchards grew here until 1901 and with the arrival of Diamond Lil’, Dr. Louella Day McConnell, who traveled here from the Klondike and purchased the estate. Being a bright and enterprising woman of the day, she began to charge an admission price to drink from the waters of the free flowing spring found on the property

Can Love Songs Keep You Young?

2008-02-13T22:16:00.005-05:00

What are some of your favorite love songs? There are so many that have been written just over the last hundred years that it's hard to know where to start. Probably decade by decade, or maybe generation by generation. Starting in my early teens, I remember, "Theme from a Summer Place," "Cupid,""Soldier Boy," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and sooooooooo many more. These were over four decades ago but just hearing them take me back to my youth and childhood and for the period that I'm listening, I feel a lot younger! Try looking in the mirror as you listen to some of your favorite lovesongs. Notice how your face and body change! Music is one great tool for accessing the fountain of youth. Take advantage of my special Valentine's offer on my Valentine's ebook "Creating Love and Passion in Your Relationsip with Music."

Click HERE now! Time limited!

Is there music that leads to the Fountain of Youth?

2008-01-12T20:46:00.000-05:00

Many,many people will tell you that listening to the music of their "courting years" makes them feel younger. There's just something about listening to the music of your teen years and college years or early adulthood, that brings floods of feelings, emotions and memories. Hopefully they'r good memories for you.

Today it is very easy to use a search engine (like Google) to find the top 40 hit tunes of any year from 1920 forward. For me, just looking at these titles often brings the tune back, and remembering the tune, brings the words back! Give it a try! You'll feel as though you've visited the Fountain of Youth!

Fountain of Youth in Washington, D.C.

2007-12-26T22:26:00.000-05:00

As usual, I was looking for another way to find the Fountain of Youth when I went to D.C. to visit my daughter and son-in-law for Christmas. By the end of the visit, I decided that just visiting my child and her husband was like visiting the Fountain of Youth!! We played Wii on Christmas Eve and went to fun movies like "The Golden Compass" and "National Treasure: Book of Secrets." Each day I got younger and younger! I think it's a great discovery...hanging around with the younger members in your family can definitely make YOU younger!!

Music in the Fountain of Youth

2007-12-07T22:55:00.000-05:00

Last night I went to a wonderful Christmas Party/Dinner at the assisted living center where my mother lives. There, a 92 y.o. resident who has sung a solo every Christmas since he was in third grade, sang "Sweet Little Jesus Boy." It was absolutely beautiful! If there is any doubt that music keeps you young, just look at this face while he's singing. The tone and pitch were excellent and we were all just thrilled as well as touched by this man's beautiful singing! Bravo!
Later, my mother conducted the residents' choir in "Away in a Manger." Even though she could not see them, she conducted beautifully and kept them all together! If music keeps you young, play on! Sing on!

Who needs plastic surgery?

2007-11-09T17:51:00.000-05:00

Kate Chelmensky wrote this for the Daily Iowan. Enjoy!

Juan Ponce de León's quest for the mythical Fountain of Youth ended in the early 1500s with fruitless results, but America has continued this quest for agelessness with increasing zeal 500 years later. The myth of the Fountain of Youth says that Ponce de León sailed off in search of the Island Beniny with dreams of glimmering waters granting endless youthfulness with one sip. Instead, he found the sticky, swampy wetlands of Florida and forests teeming with stinging insects and indigenous tribes, which we can gather were anything but youth-granting.The Fountain of Youth may be a myth, but modern culture refuses to stop the search for the secret of ageless beauty. Instead of sailing across the world for fountains, we turn to modern technology to bestow the power of nearly endless beauty at the cost of heinously painful operations. Modern culture's obsession with youthfulness is expanding to terrifying new heights.If you flip through television stations most nights, you will find a horrifying collection of shows that glorify perfection and agelessness: "True Life: I'm Getting Plastic Surgery," "Dr. 90210," "Nip/Tuck," and the most deranged of them all, "I Want a Famous Face." In some of these shows, skinny 18-year-old girls go into the plastic surgeon's office wanting breast implants and receive suggestions from the pseudo-doctors for liposuction under their belly button and between their tiny thighs in addition to what they came for. We see face lifts, liposuction, tummy tucks, lip injections, nose jobs, boob jobs, butt jobs. There is an actual procedure that exists for calf-implantation.What kind of people are so insecure they need to implant calves? Who wants to live in this kind of culture that promotes trading your God-given features for Jennifer Aniston's cheekbones and Jessica Simpson's nose? What ever happened to self-acceptance? It has obviously been lost somewhere between Rogaine and Botox.

Have you considered plastic surgery?

2007-10-22T13:12:00.000-04:00

Lots of people consider and have plastic surgery! All surgery today is safer than ever before and especially with the advent of taking favorite music into the O.R.! If you're one of the millions of men and women thinking about undergoing the procedure just know that you are so fortunate to have access to hundreds of wonderful websites that are medically-based and reputable and accurate! Today you can even consider going to S. America or to Mexico or Central America for high-quality procedures at a much more reasonable fee that what you will pay in the U.S.
Of course a lot depends on whether you're having plastic surgery just to be more beautiful or handsome or whether you're dealing with a malformation in the body or a burn or accident. Of course I always use Google to find out whatever information I need, but you can also go to my http://www.babyboomerarticles.com/ site and click on surgery, and then plastic surgery. All of the information you could ever want is right there! Do let me know how it goes for you!

Does your physical age match your energetic age?

2007-10-07T20:45:00.000-04:00

Good evening! You know, every time I think about my calendar age I feel just a little bit horrified. I'll admit it, I'll be 60 on my next birthday, but I'll also admit that I feel not that different from when I was a teenager! I do believe that I have been blessed with excellent health and an optimistic temperament and I believe that this makes a big difference in how I look. Now I'm not searchingfor compliments, but look at these pictures and tell me if I look like a 59 y.o. mother of 3 grown daughters. Really??? So I think that qualifies me to talk about the Fountain of Youth, don't you??

What are you willing to do to feel younger?

2007-10-05T16:52:00.000-04:00

I've always been fascinated with the idea of a fountain of youth. I heard about it as a child and though it sounded like a plausible idea. I've since come to believe firmly that we are as old as we feel so I've chosen to invest my energy in things that help me to feel young. There's little or no chance that I would invest in plastic surgery, botox injections, or expensive creams or potions. However, I would buy myself a nice bicycle, health club membership and surround myself with my favorite music that I love and listen to that makes me feel like a teenager again! How about you??