As readers of this newsletter know, I love to swim. Last Sunday night, as I was watching Dara Torres, the 41-year-old swimmer, set a record in the women's 50M freestyle, I wanted to hit the water and do laps with even more enthusiasm than usual. There have been stories in the press all week about Torres giving those of "her generation" someone to cheer for with a spirited reminder that age can be just a number.

We hope you all had a great Fourth of July weekend. I took some time away from reading and went to see the movie Wall-E, which I loved. It was pretty amazing how so much of the story was told without words, but rather with sounds and animation. Watching it I was thinking how much it was like reading a graphic novel. There was a lot unspoken, but still you heard it as you watched. The same thing happens when I am reading a book where there are more pictures than words. I just fill in the blanks with my own thoughts and interpretation. That does not happen when I am reading a traditional book!

We hope you all had a great Fourth of July weekend. I took some time away from reading and went to see the movie Wall-E, which I loved. It was pretty amazing how so much of the story was told without words, but rather with sounds and animation. Watching it I was thinking how much it was like reading a graphic novel. There was a lot unspoken, but still you heard it as you watched. The same thing happens when I am reading a book where there are more pictures than words. I just fill in the blanks with my own thoughts and interpretation. That does not happen when I am reading a traditional book!

I love fireworks. Always have. For me they are like art in the sky. Usually around the 4th I catch a special about them on television and I learn how the colors are created and how each firework is built, and I retain this very useful information for about three days. After that, I sink right back into just loving the colors and how they explode in different ways. So last Monday night I found myself sitting in a condo parking lot watching the evening display from Disneyland (okay, I know I said last week that I was skipping Disneyland, but this was OUTSIDE the park) exploding above my head. What amuses me is that there were car alarms going off all around me. And dogs were barking. Can you imagine this going on EVERY night instead of just once a year on the 4th? Last night I caught part of the exhibit again as I was driving back to the hotel, and again I was smiling ear to ear and commenting on the way the sky exploded in color, rating each one.