PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

The Staff Recognition Luncheon honoring the 2007 staff retirees was a huge success thanks to Louise Ball and her many workers.  I believe this is the first time we divided the work into teams that worked for one or more days on decorations, program folding, nametag creation and sorting, delivering materials to Town & Gown, etc., etc., etc.  Seems a good way to manage such a large job.

We honored 76 retirees, many of whom worked over 20 years.  Congratulations to Ron Violette, the Leibovitz award winner [Editor Note: Richly deserved! Great!].  His acceptance remarks included several appropriate "smile getters."  Todd Dickey thanked the retirees for their service to the University.  Dennis Dougherty was in attendance and was thanked for his many years of supporting our SRA.

URGENT!!!!!  If you haven't secured tickets for Carousel &emdash;emdash; April 5 at 2:30 p.m. in the Bing Theatre, contact Dick Martin at <&dickmar@msn.com> or 323-343-1146.

Save the Date:

April 25/May 2 — For those who are not already retired, the "Transitions" program will be held on the Health Science Campus April 25 and on University Park Campus on May 2.  For more information, call the Emeriti Center at 213-740-8921.

June 16 — SRA General Meeting: Lynn Williams is working on a program on Antarctica, and Bob and Jeanne Church are organizing a lunch.
Time: 10 a.m.  Program ­ Gerontology Auditorium 12:00 Noon lunch ­ Gerontology Courtyard

Trojan ENCORE: We are making progress—slow and steady.  We have 25 retirees who are interested in participating.  Several units on campus have expressed an interest in hiring a retiree.  Now we just need to work out the details of getting them together.  Remember the saying, "The pioneers are the ones with arrows in their hats"?  Well, we have some arrows to remove from our headgear.

Football: If you haven't renewed your season tickets, DO SO RIGHT AWAY!  Make sure the ticket office knows you are a "Gold Card" retiree.  If you want a preview of the 2008 season, tickets now are available in the ticket office for TROJAN HUDDLE, which takes place in the Coliseum on Saturday, April 19.  Start time is listed at 9:30 a.m.  Tickets are $10;, children under 3 are free.

Carole Gustin
<cgustin@usc.edu>.


MAYA ANGELOU ON HER 70+ BIRTHDAY

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.

"I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.

"I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life.'

"I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

"I've learned that you shoudn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.

"I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.

"I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.

"I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone.  People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

"I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you make them feel."


FROM THE MAYO CLINIC HEALTH LETTER, MARCH 2008

Looking to get the most out of fruits and vegetables in your diet?  Here are some that you don't want to miss.

Potassium leaders –– If you need to increase your potassium intake, good fruit sources are bananas, kiwi, cantaloupe, apricots, pomegranate, and tomatoes, including tomato products.  Good vegetable sources include dried beans that have been cooked, potatoes with peel, and cooked spinach.

Fiber leaders –– Fruits such as berries, apples, bananas, oranges, pears, and prunes can help keep things moving through your digestive tract.  Peas, potatoes with their peel, dried beans that have been cooked, lentils, cooked spinach, and winter squash also boost fiber intake.

Antioxidant leaders –– Some of your best bets are berries, particularly blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries.  Many apple varieties with their peels—choose organic if you're concerned about pesticides—as well as cherries and black plums are good sources.  On the vegetable front, choose artichokes, spinach, red cabbage, red and white potatoes with their peels, sweet potatoes, and broccoli.  Beans are also a good bet, especially small red beans, red kidney beans, pinto beans, and black beans.


FINDING STUFF ON THE INTERNET

I rely on Google <http://www.google.com/> for nearly every search I carry out on the Internet.  It seems to have met my needs extremely well.  However, I am reminded by Bottom Line/Retirement (March, 2008) that, if the first 20 sites returned by Google are not useful, to repeat your search by using <http://www.yahoo.com/>, <http://www.live.com>, and <http://www.ask.com>.  They are certainly worth trying.

You can get cash for gently-used books.  Visit <http://www.cash4books.net"> and enter the ISBN number found on the copyright page of a book to find out how much the site will pay for it.  (They pay for shipping; complete instructions are on the Web site.)  If you agree when you set up an account, you will get your check in the mail or a deposit to a PayPal account.


IDIOT SIGHTINGS FROM THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES

My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco.  She asked the person behind the counter for "minimal lettuce."  He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.

I was at the airport checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, "Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?"  To which I replied, "If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?"  He smiled knowingly and nodded, "That's why we ask."

When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it.  We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver's side door.  As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked.  "Hey," I announced to the technician, "it's open!"  His reply, "I know.  I already got that side."

We had to have the garage door repaired.  The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a "large" enough motor on the opener.  I thought for a minute and said that we had the largest one Sears made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower.  He shook his head and said, "Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower." I responded that the 1/2 was larger than the 1/4.  He said, "NO, it's not.  Four is larger than two."  (We haven't used Sears repair since.)


THIS MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE REALLY HAPPENED

Joe and Ellen were Bostonians and were blessed with seven healthy children.
After many months of discussion, they finally decided to move to New York.
It should have been a simple enough move, but when they arrived, they had great difficulty finding a suitable apartment to live in.  Although many apartments were big enough, the landlords always seemed to object to such a large family living there.  If only Joe weren't so honest about the size of his family.  After several days of unsuccessful searching, Joe had an idea.
He told Ellen to take the four younger children to visit the local cemetery while he went with the the older three children to find an apatment.  After looking for most of the morning, Joe found a place that was ideal.

The landlord asked, "How many children do you have?"

Joe answered with a deep sigh, "Seven.  But four are with their dear mother in the cemetery."

He got the apartment.


C L A S S I F I E D  A D S
(Listed in order of receipt)

None this month except for the April Fool's ads which have been deleted or weren't sent at all.

[To have your free ad appear in the next issue, please send to <len@winesland.net> before the first of the month.]


_______________________________________

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*The content of this E-mail Newsletter is for the information of the members of the USC SRA.  It is not a University of Southern California official publication.  There is no intent to promote any particular product or point of view.  Personal decisions regarding health, finance, exercise, or other matters should be made after consulting with the reader’s own professional advisors.