New Year's Jokes

By Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

What greater way to prepare for the New Year than by sharing with my readers, my favorite New Year’s jokes?  There is no order here.  Some are clearly better than others, but I thought all of them had merit—or they wouldn’t be included.  Most give quick and sufficient testimony to what happened to me: When I thought about the evils of drinking in the New Year. I gave up thinking.  Let’s begin with a letter to the lord dated January 1st:   
    Dear Lord
    So far this year I've done well.
    I haven't gossiped, I haven't lost my temper, I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I'm very thankful for that.  But in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of bed, and from then on I'm probably going to need a lot more help.
    Amen
    
You’ve heard of the serenity prayer?  This is the senility prayer:
        God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
        The good fortune to run into the ones that I do,
        And the eyesight to tell the difference.
    
Many New Year’s resolutions are about dieting:  It's not the minutes spent at the table that put on weight, it's the seconds.  The biggest drawback to fasting for seven days is that it makes one weak.  The toughest part of a diet isn't watching what you eat.  It's watching what other people eat.  An excellent way to lose weight is by skipping ... snacks and dessert.  

About dieting, Jackie Gleason said, “A funny thing with a diet, the second day of a diet is always easier than the first.  By the second day you're off it.”
    
A great way to lose weight is to eat while you are naked and standing in front of a mirror.  Restaurants will always throw you out before you can eat too much.
    
On New Year's Eve, Marilyn stood up in the local pub and said that it was time to get ready. At the stroke of midnight, she wanted every husband to be standing next to the one person who made his life worth living.
    
Well, it was kind of embarrassing.  As the clock struck, the bartender was almost crushed to death.
    
On New Year's Eve, Daniel was in no shape to drive, so he sensibly left his van in the car park and walked home.  As he was wobbling along, he was stopped by a policeman.  “What are you doing out here at four o'clock in the morning?” asked the police officer.
    “I'm on my way to a lecture,” answered Roger.
    “And who on earth, in their right mind, is going to give a lecture at this time on New Year's Eve?” enquired the constable sarcastically.
    “My wife,” slurred Daniel grimly.
    
A Senator in the USA was once asked about his attitude toward whisky.
    “If you mean the demon drink that poisons the mind, pollutes the body, desecrates family life, and inflames sinners, then I'm against it.  But if you mean the elixir of a New Year toast, the shield against winter chill, the taxable potion that puts needed funds into public coffers to comfort little crippled children, then I'm for it.  This is my position, and I will not compromise.”
    
Now for a joke that is very sad. There's a man sitting at a bar just looking at his drink. He stays like that for half an hour. Then, a big trouble-making truck driver steps next to him, takes the drink from the guy, and just drinks it all down.

The poor man starts crying. The truck driver says, "Come on man, I was just joking. Here, I'll buy you another drink. I just can't stand seeing a man crying."
    
"No, it's not that. This day is the worst of my life. First, I fall asleep, and I'm late to my office. My boss, in an outrage, fires me. When I leave the building to my car, I found out it was stolen. The police say they can do nothing. I get a cab to return home and when I leave it, I remember I left my wallet and credit cards there. The cab driver just drives away. I go home and when I get there, I find my wife sleeping with the gardener. I leave home and come to this bar. And when I was thinking about putting an end to my life, you show up and drink my poison."
    
 After listening to some bedtime stories, Alex, a little boy, said to his father, “Snow White was poisoned by an apple, Jack found a giant on a beanstalk, and just look what happened to Alice when she ate the mushroom. And you wonder why I won't eat fruit and vegetables?”
    
And a final joke (another one) that has nothing to do with New Years, but offers us all something to think about.  A woman awakes during the night, and her husband isn't in bed with her. She goes downstairs to look for him. She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front of him.
    
He appears to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall. She watches as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a sip of his coffee.
    
"What's the matter, dear?" she asks. "Why are you down here at this time of night?" The husband looks up from his coffee, "Do you remember 20 years ago when we were dating, and you were only 16?" he asks solemnly.
    
"Yes, I do," she replies.
    
"Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car making love?"
    
"Yes, I remember," says the wife, lowering herself into a chair beside him.
    
        The husband continues..."Do you remember when he shoved a shotgun in my face and said,

"Either you marry my daughter, or I will send you to jail for 20 years."
    
"I remember that too", she replies softly.
    
He wipes another tear from his cheek and says... "I would have gotten out today!"
    
It was Oscar Wilde who said, “Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.”  May the new year bring you health, wealth, and prosperity.  Of course, that’s the same toast someone made at your wedding, and where did that get you?
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At About.com , the essay there, by Amber J. Tresca,  “10 Tips for Keeping New Year's Resolutions: The best way to stick with your resolution is to plan ahead.,” offers realistic tips and great advice.

Sue Shallenbarger, at the web site , offers the essay, “A Cheat Sheet for Keeping Resolutions .”  Like the essay above, there are realistic tips and great advice here as well.
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Copyright December, 2010, by And Then Some Publishing, LLC.

Christmas ambiance

by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.    
It’s true, we work at creating a Christmas ambiance.  It is a warm, delightful, memorable environment that is created not just by one or two special features but with at least five elements that, together, make a difference.  

The lighting is diffused, but it comes from candles in the window and unblinking white Christmas tree lights that are coordinated with evergreens across the mantle that have similar lighting. They produce a calming effect.  There is a ceramic Christmas tree in the dining room with multi-colored lights, a white-lighted Christmas tree on our porch, and the sway hung from the arch between the living and dining rooms has multi-colored lights.
    
Our Christmas tree — what I call our “Memory Tree” — is hung with the trinkets and small souvenirs we collect on our many road and cruise trips.  In addition, it is strung with artificial cranberries and artificial popcorn, but what gives it a true Early-American flavor is the baby’s breath that fills all the nooks and crannies when the tree is finally, fully decorated.
    
Music contributes to the ambiance as well.  As I have collected the close to 100 Christmas CDs over the years, I have concentrated mostly on CDs that have music without singers or singing.  It is soothing, restful, peaceful, and creates a light mood that fills the senses.  I have CDs that feature the piano by itself as well as others that include solo performances using the flute, harp, saxophone, hammered dulcimer, pan flute, and other such instruments.   I enjoy light classics as well as traditional carols, but it is the effect of the pleasant background that creates the true ambiance.
    
We have a fireplace in our living room, and at Christmas we light the ceramic-wood-looking logs.  The fire along with all the other Christmas lights provide enough light for family members to converse, drink their hot tea, eggnog, or hot spiced cider and nibble on crackers topped with smoked oysters, cream cheese and black or red caviar, as well as other Christmas hors d’oeuvers.
    
Our final contribution to the Christmas ambiance is developing a pleasant scent.  We have found that vanilla home fresheners serve this purpose.  Other methods include burning scented candles or simmering a holiday potpourri on the stove.
    
When I come to the dining-room table in the morning for breakfast by myself, it is before the sun comes up.  While everything is dark, I turn on the Christmas lights of three trees as well as the archway greenery between the living and dining rooms, put on a Christmas CD that has no words, and simply bask in the wonderful Christmas ambince.
    
It is, indeed, Christmas ambiance, and it doesn’t exist just in our home.  No matter what your religion or what you believe, there is no escaping holiday programs, decorations, and special Christmas events.  Maybe I’m a softie (I know I am!), but I am deeply affected by the holiday spirit.
    
When I see the houses in my neighborhood all lit up, when I see stores heavily decorated, and even the stores with aisles and aisles of Christmas merchandise, and then when it snows and everything is white, it just reinforces all the joy I feel sitting in my house.  For me, all of this has to do with joyfulness, celebration, and a true sense of belonging — not just to a wonderful, supportive, and delightful family, but to a neighborhood and a community.  
    
When everyone is enjoying the holidays, there is an invisible bonding that occurs that keeps the human connections vibrant, alive, and important.
    
I am fully cognizant of those people who object to having manger scenes on public grounds — and I completely agree with their purpose in maintaining the separation of church and state — but I have always felt that this isn’t the proper season for protest, objection, or demonstration.  These points can just as easily be made, discussed, and decisions made at other times.  Not at Christmas.  Christmas is the season for joy, happiness, and celebration.
    
Think about it, there aren’t enough times during the year (or even in our lives) when everyone comes together with all of their lights, decorations, Christmas programs, and special seasonal events to proclaim and reflect the holiday spirit.
    
You can claim that all of this —everything designed to celebrate Christmas — is designed with the express purpose of proclaiming the birth of Jesus, but I would contend otherwise.  That may explain some of the etymology of Christmas, but in no way does that need to explain how it has evolved.  I believe that everything that is Christmas — all of the ambiance and spirit — can be clearly seen and enjoyed without the haze of religion clouding the topic.  That is, indeed, the point of this essay: how easy it is to enjoy everything that is Christmas for the sheer joy of the lights, appreciation of the decorations, delight in the music, acknowledgment of the scents, and ability to take in the special events that mark the annual event.
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The Purpose of Christmas website, offers wonderful information as well as a terrific, informative, and interesting article by Tom Flynn, “What Today’s Americans Need to Know about Xmas.”

Alyice Edrich’s essay, “Get Into the Christmas Spirit,” at the Ezine@rticles website, offers twelve specific ways to get into the Christmas Spirit.  She ends her essay saying, “Whatever you decide to do, make sure it's something that will make you feel good about yourself and the season.”

Kat Apf’s essay, “Simple ways to get into the Christmas spirit for the holidays,” at the Hellium website offers eight different ways.  Kat discusses the topics, music, food, volunteer, small people, religion, friends, Christmas cards, and decorate.  “In the end,” Kat finishes the essay saying, “Just relax and do the things you enjoy and the Christmas spirit will most likely follow.”
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Copyright December, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.

Self-discipline can change your life in any way you want it to

By Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
    
During my early years, I heard from my parents about the Puritan work ethic, but every time I heard the phrase it was connected with working hard.  Never did I know that it was a biblically based teaching on the necessity of hard work, perfection, and the goodness of labor.
    
Only when I was in college and pursued research on New England preachers, did I realize that it was protestant preachers who preached on the goodness and the necessity of labor for its effect on humans, of course, but more broadly, for its effect on Christian society.
    
Although the term was coined by Max Weber, the phrase “Puritan work ethic” was part of 1800s American culture, and it was seen by some Americans as one of the cornerstones of national prosperity.  The Puritans may have personally defined it by saying, “I am to be honest, hard working, reliable, sober, mindful of the future, appropriate in my relationships, successful, and thereby give glory to God,” but, I am certain my parents used it strictly as a motivational tool: “You’ve got to work hard son, if you want to make anything of your life.”
    
Perhaps it was the philosophy or maybe it was just good genes, but I was never one to shy away from hard work.  I have always thought of self-discipline as the ability to get yourself to take action regardless of your emotional state, and I have come to use the words “self-discipline” in place of the Puritan work ethic, because I want to be in control of my life.  In my mind, it is exactly as William Feather said: “If we don’t discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us.”  Self-discipline puts the control in our own hands.
    
Now we know that self-discipline can be a stronger predictor of success than IQ (Psychological Science, Vol. 16:12 (December 2005), p. 939).
    
Just as I was told that the Puritan work ethic was a vital characteristic of successful people, I make the same claim for self-discipline.  To face the challenges and problems along the path to success and achievement, you have to persevere and be strong.  It is self-discipline that helps you control your actions and stay on track.
    
It doesn’t take much reading or observation to acknowledge lack of self-discipline.  Problems such as being overweight, procrastinating, debt, poor relationships, excessive stress, poor work performance, laziness, smoking, drinking, lack of exercise, negative habits, poor appearance, and many others can be traced to our tendency to justify our words, actions, and behaviors.  Self-discipline along with passion and planning can wipe out these problems.  Within the domain of problems it can solve, it is unmatched.  Although the problems we face and the methods we use to deal with them will vary, the underlying solution remains the same.
    
Self-discipline affects your confidence, because being in control will boost your confidence and esteem.  It affects how you see yourself, because your self image will be better when you know you can succeed and change.  It affects your ability to see projects through, allows you to stay focused, and it can change your life in any way you want it to.
    
Self-discipline is like a muscle.  The more you train it, the stronger you become; the less you train it, the weaker you become.  Just as most people have weak muscles compared with how strong they could become with training, most people are weak in their level of self-discipline.
    
There is an old story about a man who went to a tattooist because he had always wanted a  tattoo of a lion on his back.  The tattooist started to sketch the tail into the man’s torso: “Ouch!  What are you doing?” asked the man.  “I’m doing the lion’s tail” replied the tattooist.  “Well then for goodness sake let’s have a lion without a tail!” said the man, wincing in pain.
    
Next the artist set about on the Lion’s whiskers.  “Ouch!” cried the man, “What’s that?”  “The whiskers!” said the tattooist, getting increasingly irritated.  “Well let’s have a lion without whiskers!” moaned his customer.
    
The tattooist then set about doing the Lion’s back.  “No that hurts too!” shouted the man.  At this, the tattooist finally lost his patience with the man’s lack of self-discipline.  Throwing down his tools and the man out of his shop, he shouted, “How can you expect to get what you want without a little discomfort?”
    
You become handicapped when you base your decisions purely on your comfort level?  It is too easy to have a wishbone where your backbone should be.  It was Beverly Sills, the opera singer, who said, “There are no short cuts to any place worth going.”
    
The more you use your muscles, the stronger they get.  It is the exercised muscle that lifts the weight.  Mastering self-discipline can be learned, and with it you can accomplish anything.  Without it, nothing worthwhile or lasting can be achieved.
    
If you want greater self-discipline, start exercising your self-discipline muscles.  How?  Work first, then play.  When doing something new, resist the fear of being a “phony”; as you improve, the feeling lessens.  Keep company with disciplined people; often, we imitate those with whom we associate.  Tolerate discomfort gracefully.  Take advantage of high-energy moods, knowing they won’t last.  Imitate those you admire.  Divide large tasks into smaller ones.  Take risks knowing that life without them is safe but boring.  Practice your new skills and exercising on and off all day, if not physically, at least mentally.  Often, mental rehearsal can be as good as physical as long as it is directed and purposeful.  Finally, sleep on important decisions knowing that it prevents impulsive actions.
    
If you tend to be undisciplined, use the little discipline you have to build more.  The more disciplined you become, the easier life gets.  Challenges once impossible will seem like child’s play as you learn new skills, overcome difficulty and hardships, and improve your life.  Because we are what we repeatedly do, self-discipline will not be an act, but a habit.
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Remez Sasson’s essay, “Self-Discipline: Its Benefits and Importance,” at the website SuccessConsciousness, offers specific steps for developing self-discipline and, too, ways to make acquiring it easier.


 SpiritLeo at HubPages, offers an excellent essay that offers guidelines for developing it in your personal life and on the job.  Also, he discusses three systems that will help offer guidance and direction.
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Copyright December, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.

               

One of the best things to have up your sleeve

By Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.
    
You can hear our table at almost any function we attend as a group.  It is the loudest because of the laughter and joy being shared.  There were eight of us at the table in a Chinese buffet, and each time there was an outburst of laughter, I looked around to notice that we caught the eye of almost everyone else in the restaurant.  After awhile it became accepted and understood: we were having a great deal of fun.
    
Now, we didn’t purposefully raise our four children to have a sense of humor, but if we had tried, we couldn’t have done better than we did.  All are grown now with their own families, and all share our sense of humor.  It isn’t that we were laughing all the time, it’s just that when things are funny we laugh.  It’s just that there are so many opportunities to make a humorous aside, to add a needed punch line, or to see the humor in natural, ordinary, everyday events.
    
When our family gets together, we laugh.
    
All during the time our children were young, one thing we all knew is that we would be having dinner together.  We would discuss the day’s events, what was going on in our children’s lives, current events, as well as questions and concerns.  But, always, we would laugh and have fun.  I remember a number of times when our children would bring friends for dinner, they would remark about how much fun they had at our mealtimes.
    
My wife and I never used humor for a specific purpose, although we were well aware that by using it, it served a number of purposes.  For example, we used it as a way to connect with our kids.  Often, when our kids were depressed, feeling angry or upset, humor helped them replace their distressing emotions.  Another thing we discovered is that when one of our children didn’t want to talk about what happened during their day, or they were simply not wanting to talk about anything, humor would change their behavior.  We would begin slowly, and as soon as the rest of us (we have a family of six) were chatting, kidding, and laughing, we would find everyone getting involved, talking more and making more eye contact.
    
Dinnertime at our house often preceded evenings of doing school assignments and projects as well as homework.  Seldom did an evening consist of watching television.  Our dinnertime conversations increased our energy.  I found on a regular basis, when I had class work, writing, or lecture preparation planned for an evening, inevitably our conversations and interactions over dinner refreshed and invigorated me.  It was as if I could begin my evening activities as if I was starting out in the morning.  (I am a morning person for the most part.)
    
There are some important “teaching moments” where humor can serve as a catalyst.  Many of these were specifically designed to help our kids lighten up.  For example, we tried to help them not take themselves too seriously.  Of course, this is more important as the kids get older — after they become aware that the world does not revolve around them.   Our kids were given a certain amount of freedom in how they dressed, what they chose to play with, and how they talked.  There were obvious parameters or general guidelines, but seldom did we ever find ourselves having to define these or remind our kids of them.  For example, school dress codes had to be observed, when an item was forbidden in school, they could not disobey the rule, and swearing and cussing were never allowed.  Most of these items, however, were clarified by the examples my wife and I set for them, so there was seldom, if ever, questions.
    
Openness is an important characteristic to establish in family conversations.  Our kids were encouraged to share their experiences, even their embarrassing moments.  Sometimes, it simply requires putting things into perspective.  For example, when a child is punished for doing something wrong at school, there is no doubt that school authority must never be undermined in any way; however, “doing something wrong” can be placed into the experience of learning, getting an education, "the school of hard knocks,” or simply “how the lessons of life must sometimes be learned.”
    
My wife and I were never troublemakers and, fortunately, never were our kids.  But, the testing that goes on while we are in school, pushing the frontiers of acceptability, and trying to get away with something all are methods of learning, and when it comes to the “lessons of life,” they are useful, important, and memorable.  I remember the first time I ever skipped school, faked a “sick” note from home, cheated on a test, or used another student’s ideas as my own.  No, these are not proud moments; however, they are lessons, and the questions parents can ask their children if any situations like these occur are: “How did it make you feel?”  “What did you learn from this experience?” “If you were to face the same situation again, would you do the same thing?”  “Can you understand why this is improper behavior?”  “If you were a parent or teacher, and you discovered one of your children or students had done this, what would you do?”  (If punishment took place. . . ): “Do you think the punishment you received was correct?”  “What would you have done?”
    
What my wife and I discovered is — after a history of dinner table conversations — family members could begin to laugh at themselves.  Children often take themselves too seriously, and it helps them to hear similar experiences shared by parents --- and parents, too, who are willing to admit their own errors and weaknesses.  Often, we could take our children’s lead.  That is, we were the ones learning from them.  We often found them the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing.  It was a great experience when they would bring jokes they heard from friends, in school, or in their reading to the dinner table.  It not only gave them the spotlight, but it provided them, too, a sense of control, a chance to test their own perceptions about what’s funny and what isn’t, and a way to deliver information and ideas in a secure situation that was important to them.
    
When problems were discussed in an open manner, within the context of enjoyment and sharing, our children soon learned about situations that were worth getting upset over, what was important and what was not, that most situations were reparable (they are not life or death), and, too, they learned how to own their problems.
    
When I gave a speech some years ago I used the phrase, “One of the best things people can have up their sleeves is a funny bone.”  That phrase from my speech was discovered and used in an issue of Reader’s Digest and still later, as a result of publication in the Digest it was picked up by Garborg’s (Bloomington, MN) and published in their perpetual calendar, “Cherished Thoughts,” where it appears with my name attached, on April 24th.  Having a funny bone up your sleeve is something that can be taught, and if parents were smart, it can be begun early and carried through a lifetime.  What a terrific gift for children --- implant a funny bone!
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At HelpGuide.org there is a wonderfully helpful, thorough, and well-written essay, “Laughter is the Best Medicine: The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter.”  Our children were lucky to grow up in a house where they were surrounded with laughter.  There was an appropriate quotation that applies in this essay: “Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.”

The essay “Creating a Close Family,” at Internet of the Mina includes a wonderful section, “Participation and Cooperation,” which discusses the following qualities: commitment,
connectedness, acceptance , appreciation, trust and safety, truthfulness, flexible rules,
response-ability, and healthy boundaries.  There is much more in this essay, but this is the information that directly relates to my essay.
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Copyright December, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.

Must-have Christmas presents

by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

If you are a regular reader of my blog (posted, too, on Facebook) there are several things you know about me (maybe even more!).  First, you know that I am a reader of a wide range of non-fiction books, since I have now posted more than 200 book reviews on the blog.  Second, you know that I love quotations and aphorisms and thoughts, which I have collected in a book entitled SMOERs -Self Motivation, Optimism, Encourage Rules: Daily Reminders for Outstanding Living, which has a website all of its own.
   
The book, SMOERs gives 365 daily, motivational, suggestions like “Take time to smell the roses,” “Be willing to change,” “Enjoy the best years of your life,” and “Break out from conformity,” that are supported by an average of four quotations each day.  The quotations range from classical writers such as Cicero and Aristotle to modern-day prophets such as Oprah Winfrey, Carol Burnett.and Zig Zigler.  I’ve even included a number of my own quotations when I was looking for some incredibly profound, insightful, or wise comments.  (I’m kidding about the profound, insightful, and wise characterization, but not about including some of my own quotes.)
   
If you were looking for a Christmas present for the person who has everything, this would be a perfect present.  You can purchase it at Amazon.com.  It even has a picture of a perfect s’more on the cover that illustrates the perfection within!  (Kidding again!)
   
Now, I have moved away from the thoughts captured in paragraph one, above.  Another thing you have learned about me, if you are a regular reader of my blog, is that I write motivational essays.  Whether it was delivering college lectures, giving speeches to different organizations (16 of which were published in Vital Speeches of the Day), writing college textbooks, or creating essays for our local newspaper, I have been involved with motivational material my entire professional life.
   
As a result of my interest in motivational material, I have assembled my most profound, stimulating, and inspiring essays in a book entitled You Rules - Caution: Contents Leads to a Better Life!, which is a collection of the best of the best!  If you know of someone who needs to read uplifting information, who needs a boost in their lives to get them off square one (or out of a rut), or who simply enjoys reading self-improvement material, this book is a great choice.  There are no age restrictions involved.  In this 316-page book, there are 50 essays. 
   
The essays in You Rules (which is available at Amazon.com) begin by establishing the foundation for growth, development, and change — learning to be optimistic, developing a positive attitude, getting out of comfort zones, and getting organized.   The next section, “Strive to be healthy,” discusses what it takes to live a healthy lifestyle.  The third section, “Get where you want to go,” offers suggestions for developing self-disciple, managing yourself, pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, controlling worry, developing memory, and moving to the front of the pack.  “Exercising your creativity” is the fourth section, and readers will find all the ingredients necessary for developing the characteristics of successful, creative people.  The fifth section discusses how to maintain progress toward your goals by dealing with failure, overcoming obstacles, resisting undesirable influences, and making self-improvements last.  The final section on looking toward a positive future has essays on developing a growth mindset, understanding and achieving forgiveness, becoming a loving human being, and living the good life.
   
Speaking of possible Christmas presents — presents people would really enjoy finding under their Christmas tree — I want to recommend several other books.  A neighbor of mine wanted me to give his daughters some lessons in effective public speaking, because he knew of its importance in the world.  I told him to order my book, Public Speaking Rules: All You Need for a GREAT Speech! and then, if he had any additional questions, to ask me.  At a later meeting he admitted purchasing the book at Amazon.com, having both his daughters read it, and finding (after asking them) that it really helped them.  He said, the information is straightforward and to the point, the suggestions can be easily followed, and the advice is accurate and useful.  Of course, I thanked him (and, thus, avoided giving some individual tutoring lessons).
   
Public Speaking Rules, a book designed for all those involved in public speaking of any kind, and it grew out of over 30 years of writing, lecturing, and speaking about it.  Counting all the editions of my textbooks I have written over 30, and many include aspects of public speaking.  Immersed in the area, I have distilled what I know and what I know works, and put it all into this 180-page, nuts-and-bolts book that tells it like it is and, too, is available at Amazon.com.
   
Another great Christmas gift idea is the book Relationship Rules: For long-term happiness, security, and commitment, which, once again, is a distillation and condensation of all the work I have done in the area of interpersonal communication.  If you have anyone going into, just coming out of, or planning to enter a relationship, this book is one of those “must read” items that really “tells it like it is.”  You can find it at Amazon.com just as you can all of the books mentioned in this essay.
   
Some of my fondest Christmas memories can be traced back to those times when I unwrapped books.  They are wonderful Christmas presents and they create dual memories — one set of memories when they are opened and another set of memories when they are read.  Please think about the books in this essay — especially if you have people on your list who are difficult to please, hard to buy for, or just enjoy good books.
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There are other books that make great Christmas gifts as well.  The first, How to Be Funny on Purpose: Creating and Consuming Humor, by Edgar E. Willis, offers serious readers the history of humor on radio and television, specific instructions on how to create humor, and ways to listen to, analyze, and appreciate humor.  It is available at Amazon.com.

If you have anyone in your family who served in World War II or is currently in the military he or she will enjoy the book Civilian in an Ill-fitting Uniform: Memoir of World War II, by Edgar Willis.  Not only does this book provide a personal look at the war (and it’s not all favorable!), but it gives readers the historical context for the war as well.  This one is available at Amazon.com, too.

Access my blog at Andthensomeworks.com. for book reviews, news about And Then Some Publishing, quotations, essays, and Friday's "LAUGH . . . And Then Some."


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Copyright December, 2011, by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.