News You Can Use

This morning I woke up happy and, coffee in hand, sat down to see what's new in the world. Stocks plummeting, people throwing bombs at each other in foreign countries. Three brothers on a crime spree were arrested after shooting several people; their parents must be so proud. A killer of eleven women, all found buried in his backyard, got the death sentence but his lawyer is trying to get that changed to life in prison without parole. More men want handbags: "The Coach customer is young, or at least appears young," says that company's head designer. President Obama is either a fool or a god. Many high-end department stores, like Saks in New York City, employ personal shoppers to pick out clothes for their customers, saving them the trouble. The typical female client who employs this service spends $250,000 annually on clothing.

I might try not reading the newspaper for a while. Turning instead to my bookshelf, I pulled down my personal bible, "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth," by nutritionist Jonny Bowden,  and learned some interesting facts that might actually do me some good. For example, cantaloupe is loaded with potassium and can greatly reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Who knew? (Not me, and I have high blood pressure--I must have missed that page.) It is also loaded with vitamin A and beta-carotene, thus boosting your immune system. Apparently, eating just a cup of cantaloupe cubes a day--or a wedge or juiced or however you like it--can ward off a cold, not to mention cancer. And those ladies at Saks might be interested in knowing you can also make shoes out of them. (See photo.)