Happy New Year’s 2013

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By Diane Forrest

Well today is the beginning of a brand new year!  The old man of 2012 has retired and been replaced by the baby new year.  Today is a fresh start for everyone.  A chance to forget about all the problems and disappointments of 2012, and plan a bright and prosperous 2013.  Some people make a new year's resolution.  Things such as losing weight, quitting a bad habit, spending more time with family and things like that.  I used to make them too, however, they would be forgotten in a few days, and so I'm not gonna start the new year with a disappointment.

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Today is a day to reflect on things you did in 2012, and things that you can do better in 2013.  You have a clean slate!!

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One of the things I thought about are the people we have lost, many of them made such impressions on our lives, and provided many good memories  I am grateful for the moments of happiness they provided me.  Some of the ones who passed away include:

Entertainers:

Etta James, Andy Griffith, Ernest Borgnine, Sherman Hemsley, Maurice Sendak, Donna Summer, Robin Gibb, Doc Watson, Richard Dawson, Nora Ephron, Phyllis Diller, Michael Clarke Duncan, Don Cornelius, Jan Berenstain, Ravi Shankar and Dave Brubeck.  Most recently Larry Haggman of Dallas, and Jack Klugman of the Odd Couple

Political figgures: George McGovern, Democrat presidential nominee who lost to Richard Nixon in a historic landslide, and ex-Sen. Arlen Specter, the outspoken Pennsylvania centrist. Others from the world of politics: Bill Janklow, Norodom Sihanouk, Charles "Chuck" Colson, Warren B. Rudman, Andrew Breitbart and Miguel de la Madrid.

Notable deaths include Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, Dick Clark, the oldest teenager, Whitney Houston, singer with a life full of controversy, and Joe Paterno, whose life was forgotten over the scandal surrounding him.

There were many headlines in 2012, the reelection of President Obama following the yearlong political campaign, the shootings in Colorado, and more recently in Sandy Hook, The Olympics and news of a pregnancy of the future king of England.

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I was talking with my friend whose aunt is having her 100th birthday.  She was born on January 1, so I started looking to see who else was born on January 1.  Some notable names popped up such as Paul Revere and Betsey Ross.  For a list of others click here: http://www.nndb.com/lists/518/000106200/

So, today, I am going to get out the new calendar that my aunt gives me each year for Christmas, throw away the old one, and clean off my desk and start fresh.   We at KISBYTO want to thank you for your loyal patronage, and your visits have exceeded our expectations at nearly half a million views.  We plan to continue to inform you and entertain you and provide you with fresh and new articles in the coming year, and we value your comments and suggestions.

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So now that we have started the year with a Bang....lets keep it going the rest of the year!

This week on Keeping it Simple - August 1, 2001

Welcome to this week at Keeping it Simple (KISBYTO) on the first day of August.

Life often provides us challenges when we least expect them.  Case in point yesterday – my router died – and my internet access – my life line to the world.  After calling my provider who insisted in running the same trouble shooting steps I had already taken – finally agreed the router was dead.  A new router is due to arrive Tuesday morning.  So this morning I am having my breakfast at Silver Diners in Fair Lakes, VA –using their Wi-Fi to prep and post today’s articles - thank you.

The hot days of summer are upon us in North America and July has been exceptionally brutal for most folks with triple digit heat and high humidity.

We will continue our focusing on Safety throughout this month as we have done in July. Our first article will be Kids in Hot Cars – where last year set a new record high of kids dying in cars – it is hard to believe that folks will leave their children in the cars along – regardless of the weather conditions.

Diane and I have been busy working on several articles for this first week of the new month on some really good topics: Breastfeeding; Children’s Eye Health and Safety; Immunization awareness; Internet Safety guide for parents; and several fun and interesting topics.

Thank you again for your continued support, readership and comments.  We truly enjoy hearing from you.