The Carousel of Life

Posted on January 24, 2015 by Chronicles of a Blogaholic

“And the seasons, they go round and round,
And the painted ponies go up and down.
We’re captive on the carousel of time.”
Joni Mitchell

Life is like a carousel
That spins within our life
And we are only passengers
Riding along up and down
While the world spins slowly around

Life is such a carousel
Brilliant colors, shiny objects
For all to see and touch
Music from every style and range
For all to hear and love

Life was once a carousel
For all the young and old
No worries or cares
Just simple joys
Love once made our world go around

Life is just a carousel
With all it’s ups and downs
You must hold on
Until the ride is over
And then you must step down

By: J R

Shine On

And Away They Go

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Chronicles of a Blogaholic

“The profession of book writing
makes horse racing seem
like a solid, stable business.”
John Steinbeck

Santa Anita Thoroughbred Race Track located in Arcadia, California.

Every once in a while, I find myself watching horse racing on “TVG”, our local horse racing channel. It’s fun to pick a horse and not be emotionally involved with actually winning or losing. I guess I’m more mesmerized by the beautiful horses than anything. To be honest, I really don’t like the business of horse racing. Having worked briefly in the industry with the horses, I don’t like how the thousands of discarded race horses are treated. Unless they are one of the few and fortunate horses that become successful and famous. This is an entire story in itself.

The closest track to us is Santa Anita Race Track. It is a beautiful old track built in 1934, just six years before Seabiscuit won the Santa Anita Handicap. It is also where Affirmed and Laffit Pincay Jr. won the Santa Anita Handicap to set them on their run towards the 1978 Triple Crown title. Affirmed would go on to claim all three Triple Crown races that year — being the last horse to do so.

The first time I visited Santa Anita race track it wasn’t to see horse racing. It was during the 1984 Summer Olympics. They held the dressage Olympic events there. I was fortunate enough to witness Hilda Gurney, along with other US dressage athletes win sixth place for the US Olympic Dressage Team.

Watching the horses race on TV is easier than going to the track, but not quite as exciting. Often after my husband and I have got the racing bug, we’ll drive over to Santa Anita race track for some live action. Sometimes we win and sometimes we lose, but we always have a great day at Santa Anita win or lose.

No matter how many times I see the horses race at Santa Anita, I still get goosebumps when I hear the track announcer, Trevor Denman say, “And away they go.”

Shine On

New York Pizza Made in California

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Chronicles of a Blogaholic

“Like sex there is no such thing as bad pizza.
It just is an extraordinary taste treat.”
Andrew Zimmern

Our Homemade Pizza Pie

Who doesn’t love pizza. In fact, I don’t think I know one person that says they hate pizza. It’s been a staple in my family and my husband’s family all our life.

My husband is from New York, so he knows that the best pizza comes from New York. We have been searching for good pizza in Southern California for the past 23 years. It’s mission impossible when it comes to good pizza made in California. I’ve been telling my husband that the reason is the water. California water is so horrible compared with New York’s water. That’s the only ingredient that is missing from California pizza. But, he never believed me until we were at Cortina’s and an Italian women from New York City agreed with me about my water theory.

We decided to try our hand at home made pizza. I made the crust from scratch; I bought fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh homemade sauce. We cooked it at 500 degrees on our grill. I thought it tasted pretty good. My husband said it was good, but it still didn’t taste like New York pizza. He agreed with me that it must be the New York water that makes “real” New York pizza so delicious.

Our next attempt at pizza will be using New York water. We just haven’t figured out how our New York City friends can send us some New York tap water. When we do figure out how to get the water, we’ll have the best “real” New York pizza made in California.

Shine On

I’m Happy

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Chronicles of a Blogaholic

“Being happy
enables one
to be freed,
or largely freed,
from the domination
of outward conditions.”
Robert Louis Stevenson

Comedian, Jake Johannsen has a funny comedy routine about the subject of being happy. He tells about his little daughter who announces out of the blue, that she is happy. Life is just that simple, as this comedian points out. Life is about, being happy.

Being happy may sound simple and easy, but most people don’t even know what makes them happy. That’s why I believe there are so many people on Prozac. Some people believe that someone else can make them happy. Others believe that having lots of money will make them happy. I believe that everyone, first of all, needs to know what makes them happy, to become a happy person.

There are a lot of generous people that help less fortunate people and that’s what makes them happy. Volunteer work is a great way to give back and get back. The other way to give back is a “pay it forward” type of giving.

The concept of “pay it forward” goes back as far as ancient Athens in 317 BC. It was also written about by Benjamin Franklin in 1784. Not until the book and movie, “Pay it Forward” written by Catherine Ryan Hyde came out, did people begin talking about this concept.

In her book, the author describes “pay it forward” as: . . . an obligation to do three good deeds for others in response to a good deed that one receives. Such good deeds should accomplish things that the other person cannot accomplish on their own. In this way, the practice of helping one another can spread geometrically through society, at a ratio of three to one, creating a social movement with an impact of making the world a better place.

It’s always amazing to me how life can sometimes imitate art. Because of the impact of the novel and movie, an organization “The Pay it Forward Movement and Foundation” was founded in the USA helping start a positive ripple effect of kindness acts in many places around the world.

It doesn’t take much effort to be happy and to make others happy. A smile, a “how are you”, a nod of approval or just telling someone you love them, can make all the difference in someone’s life.

I feel very fortunate because I know what makes me happy. What makes me happy? Usually, they are little moments in the day, but those moments last a life time.

That’s why, “I’m Happy !”.

Shine On