Newfoundland - A Love Story

When you know love is right. The summer of 1981 was a turning point in my life. I had just graduated from high school. I was attending a going away party, for a foreign exchange student, at a local pizza shop. My high school was rather large, there were more than 2500 students. It was difficult to know everyone, but at that party I met “The One”. The one who would change my life for the better. She was a petite brunette with a beautiful smile and an energy that could power a city. She was soon to be a senior at our high school. I thought to myself, “how could I have missed this incredible female these last three years of school?” As we started to talk I fell hard. She was charmingly funny. She removed a paper mustache from her nose and handed it to me. The mustache was an advertisement for the pizza shop. As quickly as she had entered my life she was gone. I sat stunned just thinking about her. Six months passed before I got up the nerve to ask her out. We went out a few time...

I am daily reminded about kindness and love from my friends on Twitter. This love is a driving force for me. It has given me the opportunity to revisit the principles I have learned in dealing with negative people. Verbal abuse is never OK, but answering with love can change people and their views. 1.        Don’t stoop down to their level. If they are shouting and screaming, don’t do the same. Personally I shut down and don’t listen when someone is yelling at me. 2.       Talk in slow clam voice. Usually the person yelling wants to get into a verbal battle to prove their point. If you talk slowly and quietly you can bring them to your level. 3.       Ask questions. Don’t just accept “because that’s what I believe.” Follow it with “Why do you believe that…” Make them verbalize exactly why they believe that particular way. When a person is challenged in this fashion they start to question themselves as to their beliefs. 4. ...