he Art of Chewing Loudly

Anyone that knows me, knows I harbor some serious resentment towards people that chew gum as if it was their meal on Earth. But because you can read about that here, I’m going to bypass the whole synthetic rubber topic and focus strictly on The Art of Chewing Loudly – sort of sounds like a book title, doesn’t it?

Here’s the thing, I get that certain foods are going to be louder to chew than others (and no, I’m not suggesting everyone eat nothing but oatmeal) but, IF you are going to eat something crunchy, could you at least close your mouth? God gave you a nose – please, use it to breathe while chewing loudly.

What? Have I offended someone? Oh, come on – seriously? Look, I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but I promise, your friends and family will be happier for it. Yes, I’m having one of THOSE days …



“It seems that every life form on this planet strives toward its maximum potential…except human beings. A tree does not grow to half its potential size and then say, “l guess that will do.” A tree will drive its roots as deep as possible. It will soak up as much nourishment as it can, stretch as high and as wide as nature will allow, and then look down as if to remind us of how much each of us could become if we would only do all that we can.” Jim Rohn – Five Major Pieces To the Life Puzzle

Just a little something for y’all to think about this Monday – now, go do something great … and whatever you do, make sure you surround yourself with at least five people you enjoy, admire, even envy, a bit. Let them inspire you to be great.

Today’s post inspired by The Daily Prompt: Circle of Five – Awriter once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” If this is true, which five people would you like to spend your time with?



There is nothing that compares to a first kiss. OK. Wait a minute … now that I think about it, some first kisses can suck (no pun intended) – but even the crappy ones have the same level of anticipation. That heart-pounding, belly-twisting, nervousness that makes your body shake at the mere thought of it. That’s the feeling I’m talking about – that’s the one that’s nonpareil.

But there are other things that can cause a rush of adrenaline to shoot through your very core. For some people, it could be public speaking. Remember that first speech you gave in middle school? For others it might be crossing a bridge, or looking out windows of a tall building, or heck, maybe Girl Scouts (I mean those little heathens and their cookies can make anyone a little nervous.)  Or maybe it’s boarding an airplane, or a cruise ship – I mean have you been watching the news? Did you see Titanic? I’m just sayin’.

Either way, whatever causes adrenaline to escape from its safe little hideaway inside your body, it’s different for everyone. Not everyone starts sweating when they see a full box of Thin Mints just like not everyone stresses out before flying the friendly skies. But, I would almost guarantee that everyone’s felt that fight or flight response before a first kiss. Too bad we can’t bottle it.

Today’s post inspired by The Daily Prompt: Fight or Flight – write about your strongest memory of   heart-pounding, belly-twisting, nervousness. And yea, yea, I know. I took a hiatus … believe it or not, I had to visit some relatives on Mars and well, I sort of got lost on my way back … and since they don’t have the internet there so I couldn’t post. But I’m back now – you are so excited.