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Mike Alstott did an interview this morning on WDAE 620-AM and hinted that he will retire from football. He cited his neck injuries and his family as his motivation.

Now, I don’t follow Alstott’s football career, but I am assuming he has more than enough money ferreted away from playing 12 seasons. Of course, add all of the local and national endorsements. Last, but more than likely not least, if you have ever been chased and hounded to join the YTB (Your Travel Biz) pyramid scheme, those people LOVE to drop Alstott’s name. He is apparently involved in this scam at some level.

Alstott is loved locally by sports fans and considered one of the “classiest” players on the field. I agree that he has been a pleasant local personality, but if I have to tell the truth, I have no love for a society that pays athletes the kinds of money we do. I look around my own neighborhood and see far too many intelligent, talented people struggling to make enough money to pay their property taxes and I just don’t have the patience for people who get paid to play a game. I’m no fan of professional athletes in general and just like anyone else, I am absolutely entitled to that opinion.

NOTE: I’m adding this little addendum in response to the flocks of brainwashed YTB groupies who are pelting me with abuse. The network, or business, is a classic pyramid scheme. Bottom up, that’s how it works. If you are on the bottom, prepare to work your ass off and pay high monthly fees to make the people above you wealthy. That is how all pyramid schemes work.  I have dozens of neighbors involved, because the YTB fever swept through my neighborhood. I gave it a LOT of research time, but I could not justify the MEANS to the end. If you want to sell travel, start your own website and work as an affiliate with some legit travel networks, no strings attached. Don’t pay a company for the right to simply operate a portal for their business. I’m happy I passed on the business. The neighbor who dragged so many people into the network signed multiple people up with a specific promise to build their network for them so their high monthly fees would go away, then she and her husband quite literally skipped town. I felt terrible for those left behind.

Bottom line, the little bit of money that Your Travel Biz agents make via booking travel on their web portals is not the primary way they shoot for the weath. Travel kickbacks are very small and YTB is only paying their reps 60% or so of the tiny commission granted by the travel providers. So, for a flight where the kickback from the airline is $5, the YTB person gets 60% of $5. Not a lot of cash.

The money is made by recruiting and the cut of the high sign-up fee the referring agent received. The legality of that tactic is actually debatable. The Florida Attorney General launched an inquest in July 2007 to look into unfair business practices.

If you ask people what they really want out of life, they may mention money, a career, marriage and children, but most often people say they just want to figure out how to be happy – happy all of the time in our very stressful, negative society.

In the book Happy for No Reason, the author talks about being happy, obviously. One of her examples is actress Mariel Hemingway and how she avoided depression that infamously chased her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway. Ernest was a phenomenal writer, but nobody ever said that man was happy.

Mariel talks about how she struggled with low self esteem and a poor body image, as well as depression. Ladies – does this sound familiar? How many of us deal with the very dame issues on a daily basis and find them eating away at our happiness? I know that I can relate.

Happy For No Reason is written by Marci Shimoff, one of the featured teachers from the book and movie “The Secret”. Her book focuses on the Sedona Method and putting it into practice. There are two main premises:
-  Thoughts and feelings aren’t facts and they’re not you.
-  You can let them go.

The self help method teaches you to uncover your natural happiness. It’s a decidedly western technique that takes on aspects and inspiration from eastern teachings. You can request a free DVD or CD to learn more about the Sedona Method.

 

If you are a watcher of news, you have probably heard about the horrific car crashes that happened very early this morning on Florida’s I-4 near Polk City. Smoke from a controlled fire mixed with unusually heavy fog to make visibility null and in the end there were over 70 vehicles involved in multiple pileups that lead to four deaths and untold injuries.

Since there is now an increased need for blood, blood mobiles have been out in force around here. Some high schools are even getting in on the donations by reminding both their students and teachers to donate. Students 17 and over do not need permission to donate. Sixteen-year-old students may donate with a not from their parents.

I know it is a trite stereotype, but there are just some people who feel like they are always the bridesmaid and never the bride. Well, I’m not sure I fall into that category, because I have already been married and divorced and I am in no general rush to do it again. If the right man comes along, I will address the issue at that time. Until then, I’m a happy single girl.

I am, though, the eternal bridesmaid. I must look darn good in a bridesmaid dress, because I find myself walking down the aisle in front of one friend or another more often than most people. Of course, I have to wonder if this is not because of my propensity for wedding planning. I tend to get pulled into planning weddings for my friends, simply because I am good at it and when it is not my own wedding I am cool, calm, collected, and oh so very organized.

Brenda lives in Hartford, CT. Her wedding is this coming September (my favorite month for a northern wedding) and I’m going to be a bridesmaid. I have also been asked to help with planning, but I really hate to go it alone when I am not right there in the area to inspect the vendors and talk to the people involved. So, I’m using websites like 1WeddingSource.com to find local vendors and reviews for Hartford Weddings, and then I have talked Brenda’s sister into doing the legwork for me to go and check out venues and florists and decorators, etc. I’ve used this website in the past to help me plan a friend’s wedding in New Mexico. Can you even imagine how I would accomplish this if I did not have Brenda’s sister and the internet? Yay for technology and free weekend and evening minutes on my cell phone

Most news stories will wait until the last paragraph to tell you that the smoke on I-4 near Polk City this morning was a result of a controlled burn that got out of control. It’s a shame, because once fog rolled in, visibility was cut to zero and in the end at least 50 cars were involved in five to 10 separate pileups that has resulted in at least three fatalities. Twenty of the 50 vehicles were tractor-trailers. At least one tanker caught fire. Hours after the wrecks, rescue workers are still searching for people trapped inside of wreckage.
More than 10 miles of I-4 is shut down and Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said, “Forget the interstate today.” This, even though some reports say the road may open again my mid afternoon. I-4 is a major commuter route in the Bay Area.

Witnesses caught in the snarl report that it took 45 minutes to an hour for police and emergency crews to arrive. One man said he witnessed a man burn to death and heard others screaming and crying.

As an aside, if you have ever driven I-4, you know that people typically drive very fast. It is dangerous in even the best conditions. In the middle of the night and in the very early morning, people tend to drive even faster. Add smoke and fog to the mix and this situation never had a chance of being anything other than a disaster.

I avoid I-4 anytime I can. I usually only take it if I am going to Disney, and even then I get off and use back roads as often as possible.