Judy's MIRTH & MEANING BLOG

12 Rules for a Civil Society, Courtesy of George Washington

My husband and I found a gem of a little book while browsing the gift shop at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. It’s called George Washington’s Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation, (Applewood Books) and in 30 miniature pages it contains a wealth of wisdom. The language may seem quaint but the ideas are timeless. Our first president found the time to record these 110 rules at age 14, not being distracted by maintaining Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts.

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Anti-Aging Skin Creams—Financing Available!

While I was diligently working to make my face fit to be seen at a swanky restaurant, my husband became impatient. I don’t know why. I had been in the bathroom only for an hour and a half. When he reminded me that we were in danger of losing our restaurant reservation, I cracked open the bathroom door and assured him that I’d only need another ten minutes. Fifteen, max.

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In Praise of the Chocoholic

If there’s one thing that really steams my potatoes, it’s so-called “health experts” who warn me against eating chocolate. Next to my Jumpy Java coffee, chocolate is one of my essential food groups, the others being frozen yogurt; hamburgers grilled medium rare and slathered with onions; spinach calzones; and fresh, lightly sauteed broccoli. After all, I believe in a balanced diet.

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Great Expectations

Have you ever wanted something really badly, so badly it almost made you feel like a fool? Have you ever prayed and schemed and toiled to get it, but when you actually got it, you thought you were dreaming?

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Saving Mr. Banks

For Walt Disney, things didn’t always go so smoothly even in his own “Magic Kingdom.” For example, it took him nearly 20 years to fulfill a promise to his daughter and make a movie based on the popular Mary Poppins books that his daughter adored. That’s because the author, P.L. Travers, was a tough and cantankerous woman who abhorred the very idea of her work being “Disneyfied,” and refused the mogul’s repeated offers to buy the rights to her work.