Dear 123Greetings subscriber,

Bob, the gourmet cook, is back to serve the delectable goodies for your taste buds this week. The recipe this week has a heady mix of ingredients from Naked Day to Nurses Day and more. I promise you a treat and for sure you’ll be left screaming for more !

Let me get nostalgic. A few years ago, we happened to embark on a trip to Hawaii and Kate’s family had tagged along. I was around twelve years old at that time and a mischievous brat. Anyway, there we were on a cold winter morning contemplating a dip in the sea and what do we find ? Freezing cold water ! Kate hatched a plan to get me into trouble… take a dip, hold your breath under water and come out a winner if you held the breath long enough. We took the plunge and there we stayed, counting and shivering. Of course, trust yours truly to make a mess. The freezing cold seemed to engulf me from tip to toe… brrrr… especially below the waist… and to my horror I found my shorts floating ahead of me with the Mickey Mouse on it throwing me a line… “Gotcha !” Needless to say I won the play staying long enough and more. Of course, I couldn’t reach ashore as I was waist deep in the water stark naked… all I could do was cry for help. No Baywatch babes to my rescue, but a stud with a towel. This Naked Day I could think of nothing but that and of course, there’s ample help from Kate, who’ll never let me forget ! Grrrr…

Have you recently watched ER or the war coverage from Iraq ? In both the cases you could see the courage and sense of duty oozing out of the doctors and soldiers. But if you noticed closely you could see these white-attired angels, in human terms ‘nurses,’ moving around comforting the hurt with soothing words, pushing the stretchers at break-neck speed trying to save lives, doing the needle and sponge counts before and after the sutures… They are everywhere from the battlefields to the emergency rooms ! But unfortunately, for us they are props. Thankless job ! They smile when you are comfortable and they never fake it. Let’s give them their due. Wish them on their day, Nurses Day, with warm cards and words.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again. Well, dear Kate has adopted it as her mantra ! She’s been after Ron for months trying go get him lose some weight, without much success. Finally she convinced him to jog in the morning. But sadly, the success was short-lived. Ron apparently huffed ‘n puffed for exactly five minutes before throwing in the towel ! Then he nearly choked on the salad for breakfast ! So all of Kate’s efforts notwithstanding, good ol’ Ron’s back to his gorging gluttonous ways ! And he’s promised to cleanse his sins and atone for deviating off the straight and narrow path of gourmandizing ! This No Diet Day Ron will not only feast with a vengeance, but he’s invited the whole gang for the party ! So while we all go crazy breaking every rule in the diet book, you too have a great time ‘n binge your way to happiness ! And while you’re at it, send our delightfully delicious e-cards to all your friends ‘n nudge ‘em all to naughty nirvana !

Good ol’ days ! Ms. Mary, my English teacher, used to pick a student at random to read a particular lesson line by line everyday in her class. Megan was her favorite; she’s literally born with a mike in her throat. I used to fumble, stumble, and stammer my way through class. And of course, when my peers broke out into a laugh, I went sweating from head to toe. To sum it up… I was a disaster ! Ms. Mary met me after class to console and counsel me. “Bob, just concentrate on the print and the words, forget the giggles and teases. Just read aloud as if nobody’s around. You are bright and I know it.” The next day, when my turn came, I started the usual stammering, but carried on… blocking out the world. The fragments of sentences started sounding complete and the rhythm became fluent. And when I was through, there was silence. And then, an applause ! I sank down into my seat smiling and crying. In a subtle way, my teacher had erased a complex in me and made me confident. They all do that, don’t they… they change lives literally ! Let’s celebrate their deeds and thank them for what they are and what they do on this Teacher Day.

My niece Rachel has a habit… whenever I come home, she comes running to me, steps on my foot, makes me bend, climbs on my knee holding my hands, and then throws herself in my arms, clinging to my shoulders for a hug. Sweet tiny tot she is ! For her it is reassurance, warmth, and love. Hug is a beautiful recipe for all emotions ! When you feel good or bad, you need a shoulder to hold on to and a hug for reassurance. It’s Hug Holiday Week buddies, enjoy the week distributing cards among friends reminding them of the week and of course, it’s purpose.

Pets are known for their trustworthiness, right ? But do you know what I remember last year’s Pet Week for ? The betrayal of my friends ! It was Monday morn and I was blissfully snoring in bed, when I was rudely awakened by something warm ‘n wet on my face ! Guess what I found when I opened my eyes ? I was drenched in liquid chocolate ‘n the pooches Kong ‘n Pirate were all over me ! Even Donna’s pet puss Mr. Ruffles had miraculously appeared in my bedroom and the three of them were licking me clean to their heart’s content ! Somehow I extracted myself from the chaos and ran to the bath, only to find it locked ! I tried rushing out, but found to my dismay that the bedroom door too was bolted from the outside ! Imagine my plight. It was only later that I found out that my whole gang had been involved in this conspiracy ! Megan, Steve, Donna, Ron, Kate ‘n Rick were all rolling with laughter outside my room while I was prancing about like a gooey ghost ! Well, they all knew about my love for pets ‘n had decided to offer poor me as a treat to Kong and Co. during Pet Week ! Well, no more mistakes. My bedroom’s gonna be firmly locked from inside this time. I may love my pets, but I’ve no intention of ending up in a sticky mess for their delight yet again !

Strawberry Month is a time to celebrate all things strawberry; and trust Kelly to be on top of things ! From Strawberry Pops to Strawberry Cakes to Strawberry Pies to Strawberry Sauce, delicacies would be rolling out from Kelly’s kitchen this whole month. And of course, I’d be getting a taste of all the goodies ! What more can a person want, I ask you ? And since darling Kelly’s generosity knows no bounds, I’d also be carrying quite a few packs of Strawberry munchies for the famished fellows in office every so often. And what with my pawsome pooch Kong practically disowning me and staying over at Kelly’s place night and day, the whole gang’s gonna be deliriously happy ‘n contented this awesome month ! With sunshine ‘n strawberries, this summer promises to be a stupendous season !

Peace,

Bob
Editor, 123Greetings
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