Getting in the Shape You’re In … BETTER! (Terry Lancaster)

I first met Terry Lancaster when he suggested a different kind of podcast interview, one with a focus on self-improvement and positive change based on common sense, attainable and sustainable goals, plus plenty of old-fashioned, “I WILL do this!” commitment. That’s Terry, and that’s the focus of his best-selling book, BETTER! Self Help for the Rest of Us. An additional benefit to this sort of improvement and lasting change is the positive impact it can have on one’s marriage and entire family. In this article, “Getting in the Shape Your In … BETTER!” Terry discusses what “getting in shape” should really mean. Bottom line: As always, Terry makes a LOT of sense. –JDS

………………………………………

The Wall

Marathoners and other endurance athletes talk about “hitting the wall,” that point when their body has done all it can do, has burned up all its energy and just gives up. For a finely-tuned athlete, that could happen 15-20 miles into a 26 mile race.

For most people I hang out with, “The Wall” happens somewhere between the couch and the table where we left the remote.

Getting started is the hardest part and I can’t tell you any way to make getting started any easier, but I can tell you one 100% guaranteed, sure-fire way to make it simpler, and I can tell you three reasons that keep most of us from doing just that.

Reason #1: Trying to Be What We’re Not

The odds are pretty good that none of the Olympic athletes this year are taking the time from their schedules to read my little blog post on personal performance and fitness. None of the players from the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals or any of the other top athletes ever called me asking for advice on how to drop a couple of pounds.

So I’m assuming you’re not a world class athlete trying to shave a hundredth of a second off your personal best time. Quit worrying about those folks, what they do and how they train. You’re not playing in the same league. You’re not even playing the same game.

And the same goes for your friends who are running marathons or working out 5 days a week alternating cardio days, leg day and upper body days. They have no useful wisdom to share for those of us just struggling to get off the couch.
I’m fat, out of shape and clinging to middle age by the thinnest of demographic margins. 15 months ago, I couldn’t run to the mailbox, much less a marathon.
Accept who you are and concentrate on being you better.

Reason #2: Trying to Do What We Can’t

I used to play hockey with a guy in Nashville who started playing at the age of 30 and decided he wanted to make it to the NHL. (Yeah, I know; most of us hockey players aren’t terribly bright). He booked an appointment with a professional coach and wanted to discuss a training/coaching regimen that would get him league ready in the quickest time.

The coach told him he should build a time machine and start playing hockey every day at the age of 3. “Play your way up through Pee Wee, Bantam, Midget and Juniors,” he said.

“And, oh yeah, try to be born in Canada.”

Now maybe with hard work, dedication, proper nutrition, professional training and a little good fortune, this guy was the one in a billion who actually could make it. It’s not likely, but maybe. I do know this, if he’d have just set out to play old fart hockey a couple of nights a week, hang out with his friends and be a better middle-aged beer leaguer he’d probably still be playing hockey and having a blast today.

I haven’t seen him around the rink in 10 years.

Maybe you can run a marathon if that’s what you really want to do. And maybe you can swim the English Channel and hike the Appalachian Trail. But if you’re hitting the wall somewhere between the couch and the remote, running a marathon isn’t what you need to be thinking about.

Reason #3: The “No Pain, No Gain” Nonsense

I started out walking a couple of years ago and eventually got to where I could run … first a mile, then 3 or 4. And then the thoughts started popping into my head that maybe I should train harder, really push myself to run a half, maybe even a full marathon. And maybe I should.

But I found out when I ran farther and faster, I often felt worse. I didn’t have the energy left to do things I really wanted to do. And I watched a lot of my friends push themselves harder than their eighth of a ton middle-aged bodies could handle; they ended up injuring themselves and going back to the couch where it always feels safe and warm.

Why I Run

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Nashville – 56 degrees and sunny after weeks and weeks of freezing, drizzling and cloudy weather. (It’s late winter as I write this article.) I went outside, ran 2 miles and it felt glorious. I felt good all day, I had more energy all day and I’m not sore today so I’m good to go play hockey with my buddies tonight.

I could run farther and faster. I could push myself harder. I could lose more weight. But that’s not why I run.

I run to feel better, and I’ve figured out that if I just concentrate on that, everything else will take care of itself.

GETTING IN THE SHAPE YOU’RE IN … BETTER!

Quit trying to be something you’re not.

Quit trying to do something you can’t.

Quit trying to get into shape, or into better shape, or into some other shape. Instead, start today, today, being in the shape you’re in, better.

Starting is the hardest part.

The answer isn’t easy. But it is as simple as putting down the remote, getting off the couch and doing something, anything really … today.

Giddyup! ###

 

Terry Lancaster helps people create BETTER! lives and build BETTER! businesses one step at a time starting right here, starting right now using the science behind habit formation, focus and flow. In addition to being a best-selling author, he is a contributing writer for Forbes, a TedX speaker and is involved in the GOOD MEN Project. Terry was one of the very first members of The Speakers Group of The Changing Behavior Network. Here’s his website [link].

Ten Ways to Boost Creativity (Mike Ferry)

Creativity is a path to happiness. The more time we spend being creative, the happier we’re likely to become. In addition, creativity is an essential aspect of innovation, which will propel us to a brighter future. As kids many of us are naturally creative. Unfortunately, our creativity tends to be eliminated as we enter school. So, here are ten ways to boost creativity.

The really good news is that we can reclaim our creativity. In addition, we can help our kids preserve and develop their creative capacity.

Here are ten (hopefully fun) activities designed to engage your skills of creativity. Using each group of words, compose a short story, skit, poem, song, movie, dance, etc. Let your mind roam free. If this becomes hilarious and a bit chaotic, so be it! Maybe you could try this exercise the next time you need an icebreaker in the office, the classroom, or anywhere else. Plus, you might learn a thing or two by looking up the meanings of any people, places, or things you don’t know about. The more we learn, the more creative we can be!

 

Submarine
Giraffe
Tampa
Violin
Superman

 

James Bond
Walla Walla, Washington
Skunk
Hula hoop
Nutella

 

Onion rings
Portland
Candles
Chinchilla
Millard Fillmore

 

Tuba
Vatican City
Thin Mints
Al Capone
Poker

 

Golf cart
Beard
Mars
Guinea pig
Ronald Reagan

 

Oak tree
Porsche
Suitcase
Lebron James
Aardvark

 

Pufferfish
Sphinx
Popcorn
Babe Ruth
Glockenspiel

 

Walrus
U2
Sled
Kabbadi
Napoleon

 

Molars
Ottawa
Silk Road
Flip flop
Olaf

 

Louis Armstrong
Iguana
Starbucks
Columbus Zoo
Hello Kitty pencil

This is a recent blog post of mine that has been getting some attention on Twitter. I’ve tried a few of these with my students, and the process has been lots of fun. ###

Mike Ferry is the author of Teaching Happiness and Innovation. A middle school history teacher in Richmond, VA, Mike is raising four (mostly happy) children with his wife, Jenny. For more information about teaching happiness to children, visit www.happinessandinnovation.com. Twitter @MikeFerry7

 

The Kindness Cookies (Dr. James Sutton)

My wife and I love to eat out at a certain hamburger place that lets you “dress” your own hamburger. How can you complain when everything but the meat and bun are put there by you?

I was busy making the rounds between the lettuce, pickles and mayo when I saw a youngster, about six years old or so, having fits with the ketchup dispenser. He had more ketchup on him, the counter and the floor than he had in the little paper container. I told him that, since I had one free hand, I would pump the ketchup out for him if he would hold his container under the spigot.

Mission accomplished, as I returned to fixing my burger. But as the boy turned to walk away, he looked back at me and smiled.

“Thank you!” he said softly.
I’ve got to tell you, his thanks trumped the heck out of a little ketchup in the cup. I almost felt guilty that I hadn’t done even more for the lad. In fact, this little 30-second scenario caused me to remember something my grandmother taught me when I was about the same age as the ketchup boy.

Winters in Texas
One of my greatest thrills as a youngster came in the winter when my grandmother would stay with us in south Texas. Her husband, my mother’s father, died when I was an infant. Consequently, loneliness and the tough Oklahoma winters convinced Grandma to go south by train to stay with us through the coldest months.

I always cherished our time together, albeit those opportunities slackened a bit as my sister and cousins came along. On one occasion, however, it was just Grandma and me. We had the whole house to ourselves and a grand plan on what to do with the opportunity: We were going to make a batch of cookies.

A Cookie Problem
Now, Grandma’s sugar cookies were legendary. With a bit of pleading, I convinced her to quadruple the recipe. As cookies came out of the oven, I soon realized there were not enough jars in the house to hold them all.

True to her sensible ways, Grandma solved the cookie problem. She had me put the excess cookies into sandwich bags while she cleaned the kitchen and grabbed her sweater. We then called on neighbors up and down the block, sharing our bounty with them. It was an exercise in kind giving and appreciative receiving that has remained with me all these years.

Never Out of Style
In reading this, I’m sure there are those that would say this sort of kindness has gone out of style, that it would no longer work. Who would dare take those cookies from a semi-stranger at their door today? And, even if they took them, would they actually eat them? Who’s to say?

Still, if she were with us today, I believe my grandmother, by example, would be teaching her grandkids, great-grandkids and great-great grandkids that any kindness, however small, still counts.
Perhaps that even includes a couple of squirts of ketchup. ###

 

A nationally recognized child and adolescent psychologist, author and speaker, Dr. James Sutton is in demand for his expertise on emotionally and behaviorally troubled youngsters, and his skill for sharing it. Dr. Sutton is the founder and host of The Changing Behavior Network, a popular internet blog and radio-style podcast dedicated to supporting young people and their families. www.thechangingbehaviornetwork.com

Instilling Positivity in Children and Teens (Peggy Caruso)

Understanding the subconscious mind will help us to focus on the importance of instilling positivity in children and teens. Your conscious mind is your reasoning mind; therefore, once you accept something to be true at the conscious level, it then goes into the subconscious mind and that is what produces your results. Your subconscious mind produces your actions. So, if you want to change the results you are getting then you must begin to alter your thought process.

Understanding Developmental Periods

You can alter behavioral patterns in children as well as adults. In doing so you must understand the developmental periods of a child’s life.

From birth to seven is the imprint period; in which everything is absorbed from the environment. Parents and relatives have the most impact on the child during this particular time.

From seven to fourteen is the modeling period and this is a very crucial stage. They break away from the parent and model the behavior of other children, movie stars, singers, etc. Many parents will ask me how it is possible to raise two children the same way and have them turn out so differently. That’s because they go in different directions and are influenced by others.

From fourteen to twenty-one is the socialization period. This is where they become individualized. So it doesn’t matter what influences they have encountered because you can always alter behavior. Understanding these periods helps us identify where the obstacles surfaced.

Altering Behavioral Patterns

One way to alter behavioral patterns is to implement techniques of Neurolinguistic Programming. It involves the systematic study of human performance. It is a multi-dimensional process that involves strategic thinking and an understanding of the mental and cognitive processes behind behavior. NLP is:

Neuro: Derived through and from our senses and central nervous system
Linguistic: Our mental processes are given meaning, coded, organized, and then transformed through language
Programming: How people interact as a system in which experience and communication are composed of sequences of patterns

Positivity and Gratitude

Your subconscious mind doesn’t reason; therefore, you must be very careful as to what you plant. We are made up of energy, so it’s important to get our children in a positive energy flow so they are able to attract positivity.

There are many ways to get that energy flowing in the morning. I talk frequently about the importance of gratitude. Most people tend to focus on the negatives of life. Positive and negative can’t occupy the mind at the same time, and, since negative is the dominant emotion, one must work very hard to replace it with positive.

Another key tool is to teach them the importance of positive affirmations. Get them in the habit of saying positive statements such as…”I can…” or “I will…” Repetition is key, so, as they get in the habit of saying them, the greater positive influence they will have.

Get your children excited about their goals and have them create a vision board. It’s another powerful exercise of the mind that will keep them in a focused and positive environment.

Implementing Success Principles

Finally, implement success principles within your child. I’ve written many articles about the importance of this. It is a redirection of negativity and instilling entrepreneurial skills in children aids in them becoming successful adults. Teaching them the 4 C’s will make a difference when they become adults. They are:

Communication: Sharing thoughts, ideas and solutions
Collaboration: Working together to reach a goal
Critical Thinking: Looking at problems in a new way
Creativity: Trying a new approach

So develop an Attitude of Gratitude and get that positivity flowing! ###

 

Peggy Caruso can be reached at pcaruso@lifecoaching.comcastbiz.net for more information. www.lifecoachingandbeyond.com

 

ASK!

ASK!  One of the reasons why I featured the interview with child and adolescent psychologist, Dr. Doug Riley, in the July issue of the ODD Management Digest is because of something he said in the interview. It struck a chord with me:

When I talk to parents about how their child is thinking, they often ask me, “Well, how do you know what he’s thinking?” The answer is simple; I ask the child, “What are you thinking? And I do my best to help them from there.

 

Asking is worth the effort, but it’s not always a simple matter. One of the obstacles a counselor or a therapist faces with a child or adolescent is the youngster’s perception that they are in trouble, and that the counselor or therapist is a consequence of their behavior. Often, that’s exactly the case, so it’s not unusual for kids to be guarded initially.

(Guardedness is a normal response, and any efforts to entice or force youngsters to speak are only going to kick their guardedness into the next gear.)

So, if you want to know something, ask. Good counselors and therapists make their mark and their living on asking the right questions and asking them well. Here are three suggestions for asking:

Ask with acceptance: They know if you can do this or not, and they pick up on it quickly. About a year or so ago, I worked with an elderly fellow in a nursing home. While trying out his new scooter that had just arrived from the VA, he accidently ran over a lady’s foot. His “punishment” was psychotherapy … ME! 

Naturally, he resented it … and me, also. I asked him if he would let me work with him. I suggested that, so long as I was seeing him, staff would leave him alone. I also deemphasized his “crime”, and instead worked with him on issues of his health and family that caused him to lose his home and independence. We developed an excellent relationship that has lasted long past that initial therapeutic alliance. (Yes, I know this example does not involve a child or adolescent but, at some point, young folks and old folks are very similar in their behaviors and issues.)

Ask with interest: With doctors they call it “bedside manner”, that ability to connect with a patient so well that the packed waiting room seems not to matter at all. It’s that capacity to focus so intensely on a youngster and her circumstances that it augments healing directly. It’s the magic wrapped up in a question like:

 

You know, Sarah, I’m not sure I understand, but I WANT to understand. Can you help me understand what you mean?

 

Ask with empathy: No youngster goes to see a counselor or therapist because their lives are going splendidly. There is pain somewhere and it’s seen in the sort of discomfort that is almost palpable.

Sometimes the direct approach is best:

Tommy, it seems to me you don’t really want to be here right now, that you’re uncomfortable about this visit. (I usually pause for some sort of acknowledgement.) If I could do something that would help you feel better about it, what would it be?

 

The youngster might or might not offer anything specific, but the question is disarming and amazingly soothing. It also helps to get to issues quickly. Tommy wants to know you care, and that you will actively demonstrate that caring.

Counseling Kids: Fun with Balloon Lips

Here’s a video on using a big, silly pair of balloon lips in therapy or counseling with young people. There are a lot of ways to use them, but they are especially great for developing rapport with a youngster and getting a smile and more involvement from a shy or reticent child.

Webnote: If you find defiant and oppositional youngsters especially frustrating from time to time, consider subscribing to the ODD Management Digest. This is an email publication that Dr. Sutton publishes monthly. It is filled with great insights and ideas on working with difficult youngsters at home, at school, and in the counseling office. There are also “freebies” in every issue; good stuff!

For a free subscription, CLICK HERE. (This is an opt-in, with the ability to cancel the subscription at any time.)

Beneath the video we will include the instructions for making the “Big Mouth” balloon lips.

Instructions:

These balloon lips are made from the long, skinny balloons that clowns and magicians use to make different animals. They are sometimes called “260″s, or “twisting” balloons. Most party stores or magic shops carry them, or you can simply look up “twisting balloons” on eBay. Enjoy.

James Sutton, Psychologist    www.docspeak.com

What Are You Willing to Do?

I was in Lousiana doing training for St. John’s Parish schools earlier this week when I had the opportunity to hear Ron Clark deliver an awesome keyote address to the educators gathered there. (Ron Clark is a North Carolina boy, the teacher about whom the film, “The Ron Clark Story,” was made. He was played by actor Matthew Perry. It’s a compelling story about Clark’s work with challenging students and circumstances in New York City’s Harlem.)

During his presentation, Ron shared a story about an effort he once made to encourage students to pay closer attention in class. He challenged them that, for every two minutes he had the undivided attention of the whole class, he would chug a lunch carton of chocolate milk. (He assured them that, if they did pay attention, he would most certainly throw up eventually.)

The plan worked. Ron shared how he made it through 14 cartons before … well, you know.

What happened next, however, was something he had not planned on. That evening, these students gave their folks an account of what had happened in class. Ron then began hearing from parents. They told him that, if he was willing to make himself sick to hold their child’s attention in class, he had their complete support.

My apologies go out to Ron Clark for this poor rendition of a story he told with such gusto, but I mention it here in support of his continuing work with young people. It poses an interesting question:

Just how reachable would kids be if we were willing to pay the price to make it happen?

Well, he charged my battery; that’s for sure.

Ron Clark’s efforts to challenge youngsters to a lifetime of achievement continue through his school in Atlanta, The Ron Clark Academy.

I wonder if he lets them serve chocolate milk there?

Different Looks; Same Focus

I just returned from a great trip to Canada, Alberta to be exact. I flew into Calgary to do some training for the Alberta Teachers Association, an absolutely top-shelf organization. The conference was held at the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis, in the Canadian Rockies near the site of the Calgary Winter Olympics.

In speaking with teachers there, I learned something about tolerance for cold weather. I made the comment that, at some point, minus 40 degrees (common in the area) wouldn’t seem much colder than minus 20.

I was IMMEDIATELY corrected on that one.

“Those 20 degrees make a HUGE difference,” I was informed. “We can let the children play outside when it’s minus 20, but not when it’s minus 40.”

“REALLY?” I exclaimed. Where I’m from in south Texas, there might be some folks who wouldn’t let their children play outside when it’s 40 degrees ABOVE zero. But, of course, kids play outside ALL the time in 100+ degree weather.”

“How could that be?” someone said. “It would be like an oven!” How could you possibly bear to be outdoors in any temperatures above 90?”

Interesting, huh? It’s all a matter of HOW and WHERE you grew up. The human body is a pretty resilient organism.

We DID agree on the fact that today, more than ever, parents and teachers need to step up to the plate and love, affirm, guide and educate their children to experience and master not only the temperature, but all the “climates” they will encounter in this ever-changing and evolving world.

And that will remain constant whether you live in Pleasanton, Texas (USA), Calgary, Alberta (Canada), or any place else. 

 

James Sutton, EdD Psychologist        www.docspeak.com

What Does “Live Like …” Really Mean?

Much inspiration for what I write in It’s About Them comes from a couple of little newsletters sent to me by Jim Gentil of Austin, Texas: Positive People Power! and Positive Spiritual Living (read by folks in over 30 countries).  Somehow, some way, Jim seems to have a knack for sharing something that touches me deeply. This piece is one of them. Since Jim always encourages us to share his thoughts with others, I’d like to pass them along to you.

 —————————————-

 What does it mean to live like you were dying? 
It means to squeeze every drop of juice out of life that you can. 
It means to live life to its fullest potential. 
It means to do things that give you an adrenaline rush. 
It means to open your heart and mind to a world where all things are possible. 
It means to smile and laugh and play a little more everyday. 
It means to become more than you currently are. 
It means taking the time to dream. 
It means pursuing your dreams with everything that’s within you. 
It means to stretch yourself and go beyond the known into the unknown. 
It means to follow your heart and fulfill the desires that inspire you.
It means to forgive others and find true freedom and peace of mind. 
It means to love others like there’s no tomorrow. 
It means do what you have always wanted to do. 
It means being the person you were created to be. 
It means to have faith in the process of your life and trust that everything is going to be all right. 
It means taking control of what you can and accepting what you can’t. 
It means daring to believe. 
It means never giving up on your dreams. 
It means focusing on what’s really important to you personally. 
It means you ignore all the petty stuff of life. 
It means you don’t let things get under your skin. 
It means seeing others through eyes of compassion. 
It means giving mercy to every one you meet.
It means creating meaningful moments that you’ll never forget. 
It means being your personal best. 
It means acting in spite of your fears and discovering that fear is an illusion. 
It means doing something you’ve never done but have always wanted to do. 
It means feeling the fear and doing it anyway.  
It means saying “I Love You” more often. 
It means to give more hugs and holding the embrace for a second or two longer. 
It means saying what you mean and sometimes not saying anything at all. 
It means breathing deep and letting your cares go. 
It means to give away what’s precious to you. 
It means to hold all things loosely. 
It means to understand that we don’t really own anything anyway, we just get to use things for a while. 
It means to lighten up and not be so serious. 
It means to go for it whatever it may be. 
It means to take a leap of faith. 
It means to be free. 
Faith, Hope and Love,
– Keith Cameron Smith

If we were to truly live these words, our lives (and the lives of those we touch) would never be the same, would they? What a positive challenge. Thanks, Jim.

James Sutton, Psychologist        www.docspeak.com 

On Being Thankful … and Tecumseh

“When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself.” Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief

I was pouring through my collection of quotes this morning and this one came to my attention. I believe what Chief Tecumseh said is not only true and a standard to live by, it’s something we must pass on to our children.

If we cannot express gratitude, we will sour from the inside out. If happiness is a worthwhile state (it could never be a goal, lest we lose it in the capture), much of that state relies on being truly thankful.

Have you ever met someone who was too bitter to be thankful for anything? My guess is you didn’t really want to spend much time in their presence. Besides, bitterness is quite contagious.

On a personal level just the name “Tecumseh” brings a smile to my face. My parents were raised in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Although my sister and I grew up in Texas, and live there still, Shawnee was a very special place … Grandma’s. Anyone who knows the area knows that, when you come from the south on 177 (through Stratford and Asher), Tecumseh is just a few miles from Shawnee.

Tecumseh was near the end of our journey at Christmas and on summer vacations, a sure sign that Grandma was but moments away. I’d have to say that, in those days, I knew more about WHERE Tecumseh was than WHO he was.

But either way, the gratitude is still there.

James Sutton, Psychologist   www.docspeak.com

   

A Demonstration of Caring

I don’t believe I ever put up TWO posts in the same day, but this one couldn’t wait.

I’m a member of the National Speakers Association and regularly participate in our CSP listserv. (CSP means Certified Speaking Professional, an earned credential roughly equivalent to a doctorate in professional speaking. Because it is a demanding and rigorous, five-year program, less than 10% of NSA’s members have it.)

Today, Brad Montgomery, CSP and humorist mentioned that he was to speak Monday at the opening of the schools in the area in Utah were the miners were trapped. He was asking for input on how he should approach his program, and he got some great feedback.

Chad Hymas, CSP responded also. Chad lives in the Huntington area, where Brad will be speaking. (Chad is an inspirational speaker and a world-record wheelchair athlete). Chad obviously had some powerful input, but what touched me was this from Chad’s email:

My family and I attended last night’s opening Emery High School football game. I got to be on the sidelines with the team. Before the game, the opposing team presented Emery High School with a HUGH bouquet of flowers and a check for $2300 that the team had collected for the affected families. It was most incredible.”

You know what, that’ll never make the front pages, but it ought to.

Pass it on, and God Bless.

(and Brad, you’ll do just fine!)

James Sutton, CSP  Psychologist     www.docspeak.com

Careful What You Eat!

Careful What You Eat! 

I thought this was good. It just goes to show you that doctors don’t know everything. Thanks to Marvin Royal for this one. Have a great week,

James Sutton

………………………………………………

A Doctor was addressing a large audience in Tampa.
“The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago. Red meat is awful. Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining.
Chinese food is loaded with MSG. High fat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water. But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it. Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?”
After several seconds of quiet, a 75-year-old man in the front row raised his hand, and softly said, “Wedding Cake.”

…………………………………………..

The Passport

This little piece goes to prove that, regardless of one’s race, creed or color, there’s no call for being rude. 

I’d like to dedicate this one to the memory of my wife’s father, Bob Richardson, and the thousands more like him who make that historic landing on Omaha Beach.

………………………………………………..

An elderly gentleman of 83 arrived in Paris by plane. At the French customs desk, the man took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry-on bag.
“You have been to France before, monsieur?” the customs officer asked sarcastically.
The elderly gentleman admitted he had been to France previously.
“Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.”
The American said, “The last time I was here, I didn’t have to show it.”
“Impossible. Americans always have to show passports on arrival in France !”
The American senior gave the Frenchman a long, hard look.
Then he quietly explained “Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in June of 1944 to help liberate this country, I was a little busy. Besides, I couldn’t FIND any Frenchmen to show it to.”