By Heather Sanders

MORGANTON - It’s hard to find Mr. Right. It’s even harder when you’re older. 

Sherry

Sherry Scull, of Rutherford College, can testify to that. She had been divorced for eight years after a 28-year marriage when she made the decision.
“I just didn’t want to spend the rest of my life by myself,” she said.
Scull was over 50 when she decided she wanted a second try at love, but she wasn’t exactly of an age to start bar-hopping.
It was hard for her to meet new people, she said, so online dating seemed the best route. She’d already heard about Match.com.
“It took every ounce of courage in me to do it,” she said.
Her cousin, Renee, was scared enough for the both of them, but Scull thought, “What have I got to lose?”
Scull said she was smart about meeting men online, and everyone she met was very nice. They just didn’t give her that spark.

Steve

Steve Lowrance was living in Charlotte when he decided to try Match.com.
Lowrance never was one for going out. He went to work for his dad right after he came back from Vietnam. Like Sherry, he had a lengthy marriage before he got divorced.
When his dad died, Lowrance moved in with his mom to take care of her and squire her about.
He said he came to realize, “I’m not going to meet anyone like this.”
Lowrance set up a profile on Match.com. He was only on there for a few days when he got a message from Scull.

Sherry & Steve

They e-mailed back and forth, and because she said a woman shouldn’t give out her phone number, he gave her his. Scull said they ended up talking for hours.
“I was three hours late to work that day,” Scull said, laughing.
They decided to meet at Tripp’s Restaurant in Hickory.
As the saying goes, their eyes met and the rest was history.
“Steve seems to think we must have been old souls together,” she said.
Scull said she and Lowrance couldn’t stop talking even long enough to order until their waiter kept coming back.
They dated for over a year before they were married. Their five-year anniversary is June 13.
“If it hadn’t been for the Internet, we never would have met,” she said. “It’s been a happy journey.”
As for Valentine’s Day, they don’t have anything planned, but they’re bound to do something spontaneous.

By Shelia Garrison
Share a sneak peek of your life. E-mail .

Last spring, I had just started washing a load of laundry and the water hose busted on my washer, spraying water everywhere, on the walls, the floor and yes, me. 

I was so thankful my husband was home; I started screaming and he came running.
He saw what was happening and he ran under the house and turned off the water main.
We have had the washer for almost 20 years and had never replaced the hose, so my hus-band said it was time for it to be replaced.
I just wish he had replaced it before I got soaked.
Later, after Chris replaced the busted hose, and I had mopped the floors and wiped down the walls, and everything had dried properly, I was ready to finish my laundry.
And boy did I have laundry — after all the drama I had almost every towel in the house dirty.
I asked Chris, “Will you show me where the water main is just in case we didn’t get eve-rything back snug.”
He took me under the floor and pointed to a red knob and said “There it is.”
I ask him, “How do you know that’s the turn off?”
He said, “Well just follow the water line from the front of the house where I know it’s coming in.”
While he was telling me this, he started shining the flashlight along the water line. Sud-denly he got really quiet. Guess what we saw?
There was another red knob. The knob he cut off wasn’t the main cutoff.
W while Chris was under the house, and I was getting soaked trying to wrap the busted hose I started praying “Lord, help me, help me.”
And he heard me.

By Kaye Fish

The dictionary defines the word pride as an emotion which refers to a strong sense of self-respect, a refusal to be humiliated, as well as joy in the accomplishments of oneself or a person. 

Yet pride is recognized as one of the seven deadly sins because it’s often mistaken for vanity.
“He that cometh in vanity departeth in darkness.” Ecclesiastes 6:4.
Point… “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.” Proverbs 15:13
Counterpoint… I can’t be very merry if I don’t try to look my best. That’s why God gave us bikini waxes, acrylic nails, Miss Clairol and Dr. Lowery. Bless his heart. By the way, Doc, what’s a girl gotta do to get an appointment with you?
I don’t know too many women, young or old, who are not very self conscience about their appearance.
I work out regularly, (for my health. Yeah, right.) spend time curling my hair, use makeup and try to dress fashionably young without looking like white trash.
That’s why it’s hard to take when someone says something that shatters my ego.
When my students ask me things like, “Mrs. Fish, did you go to Woodstock?” I attribute that to a lack of knowledge of time period and assume in their precious, but sometimes vacuous little brains, bless their hearts, that they think Woodstock occurred in the 1980s.
But when someone near my age unintentionally insults me, it makes me want to give that person a few lessons in social etiquette.
As the yearbook adviser at Robert L. Patton High School, I asked our senior class to bring in a baby picture of themselves to be placed in the yearbook.
I was scanning these photos in our media center when a coworker standing near me looked at the baby on the screen and innocently asked, “Awww! Is that your grandson?”
A tiny bomb exploded in my head. Now, don’t point out the obvious and tell me that yes, biologically, I am old enough to be a grandmother.
My mother gave birth to my brother at the age of 21 and his first child was born when he was 21. Let’s see… 1 plus 1 is 2. 2 plus 2 is 4 ... Those numbers add up to 42, my exact age at the moment.
But I am not a granny and I will continue to try to look like I couldn’t possibly be anybody’s granny.
In the meantime, I’d like for you to ponder these suggestions about what never to say to a woman.
“Is that your grandson?”
I don’t care if she looks 95. I once saw a woman with a small child who was obviously her grandchild but still asked, “How old is your little boy?” She gleefully said, “He’s my grandson.” I did my good deed for the day.
“When is your baby due?”
I don’t care if she looks like she’s hiding a Volkswagen under her shirt; don’t dare ask a stranger this question.
“Are you a natural blonde?”
All my life, you wanna fight about it?
“How much do you weigh?”
Enough to crush the breath out of you if I sit on you at this moment.
“Are those real?”
No explanation needed.
“What size shoe do you wear?”
To quote Truvy, Dolly Parton’s character in my all time favorite film, Steel Magnolias, “I wear a six, but a seven feels so good that I buy an 8.”
“What size do you wear?”
At Abercrombie? Or in the real world? That’s how Abercrombie fools women into buying $80 jeans. Where else could I answer that question with “I’m a size 4.” hahahahahahahahahaha!
And these are just for my husband.
“What did you do all day?” (Think about where I can hide your body) and “Do you ever shut up?” (No, but you can go sleep on the couch so you don’t have to listen.)

Confessions and lessons from a germophobe
By Patty Kim
MEDIA GENERAL

I have a confession to make. I’m a bit of a germophobe. Things that make my skin crawl include, but are not limited to, turning a restroom door handle, pumping gas, microwaving my lunch at the office, gripping grimy dumbbells at the gym, buying a bottle of water at the vending machine, using someone else’s keyboard or phone, grabbing a shopping cart at the grocery store, resting my head against the dentist’s chair, using the ATM …

You know, mundane things no one else would even give a second thought.

It doesn’t faze my colleagues anymore when I whip out the disinfecting wipes or go for the hand sanitizer. I’m that girl.

Fortunately, technology has kept up with my insatiable need to defy germs.

Antimicrobials neutralize or inhibit bacteria, viruses and molds. Antibacterials do the same, but only on bacteria. Antiseptics fight bacterial infections on the skin. Disinfectants kill microorganisms on surfaces such as kitchen countertops.

These are all my friends.

Should people sit up and pay more attention to our chaotic world seething with creatures?

“Everywhere, there are a lot of germs, but the germs we are really interested in are called pathogens,” says John T. Sinnott, director of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital.

Of the several million germs out there, only 3,000 cause human disease, and, of those, about 20 are common, Sinnott says.

Pathogens have to penetrate our immune system, which isn’t easy. The average person has two colds a year and one serious illness every five years.

“Our bodies are designed to not get infected. Otherwise life would be a series of infectious diseases,” Sinnott says.

No need to go all Howard Hughes. There are a few sane sanitary practices to keep you healthy.

Basic hygiene does wonders. Always wash your hands before eating. Sinnott says soap and water do the trick, al-though soap can leave your paws dry, cracked and sore. That’s where moisturizer comes in. Studies show that soap with triclosan and other antiseptics is not significantly better than plain soap.

It’s also a good idea to lather up before treating a wound; before and after handling raw food, especially meat; after sneezing, coughing or blowing your nose; after using the restroom; after having sex; after changing a diaper; and after gardening.

Is there such a thing as overwashing? Not really.

“You should wash your hands a lot because good germs grow more quickly than the bad ones,” Sinnott says. “It’s hard to wash your hands too much.”

Don’t discount the ubiquitous and portable hand sanitizer. “On the hands, alcohol-based solutions and gels I think are a wonderful idea,” Sinnott says. Just make sure they contain at least 60 percent alcohol, the amount necessary to be effective.

If you’re under the weather, Sinnott says, take a sick day. “If someone comes in sick to my office, I send them home. They get better sooner, and they don’t make other people sick. Plus, it conveys the message that you care about their health.”

Proper coughing etiquette — into your elbow and not your hand — will help contain bugs easily spread through a simple handshake.

Sinnott also stresses that if you’re sick, you shouldn’t be exercising — you should be resting.

The warm, damp environment of many gyms and health clubs is a breeding ground for microbes. You’re vulnerable to staph infections at the gym, Sinnott says, but showering with soap and water immediately after a workout should suffice.

Germs thrive in the kitchen, where vigilance is required. Use separate cutting boards for vegetables and meats, Sinnott recommends. If you’re handling raw meat, which often harbors pathogens, wash your board and knife with soap and hot water between cuttings. Always wipe down counters after preparing meals.

It may be impossible to create a sterile environment, but fortunately for me, there is a growing arsenal of products to help combat germs at home, the office and the gym.

BUG BLOCKERS
For the home:
~ Bath & Body Works Antibacterial Hand Soaps, Gels and Moisturizing Lotions contain cleansing beads, germ killers and nourishing vitamins. They leave hands clean and fresh in scents such as Midnight Pomegranate, Japanese Cherry Blossom, and Brown Sugar and Fig. $4 to $4.50; http://www.bbw.com
~ Kleenex Anti-Viral tissues kill 99 percent of cold and flu viruses. The three-ply tissues have a moisture-activated middle layer treated with an antiviral formula. A cough or sneeze triggers the tissue to kill viruses in the tissue within 15 minutes. $1.39 to $1.99; http://www.kleenex.com
~ The patent-pending VIOlight Toothbrush Sanitizer claims to eliminate 99.9 percent of the bacteria that grow on your brush. A germicidal UV bulb — the same kind used in hospitals — sanitizes with the push of a button. It ac-commodates standard and most electric toothbrush heads. $49.95 for a bathroom unit; $29.95 for a travel unit; http://www.violight.com
~ The reversible Williams-Sonoma Antibacterial Cutting Board inhibits bacterial growth. One side is flat for chop-ping and mincing, and the other has a groove around the perimeter to collect juices from meat. It’s dishwasher-safe. $20; http://www.williams-sonoma.com
~ Clorox Disinfecting Wipes offer a quick way to disinfect surfaces. Wipe and let sit for 30 seconds to sanitize or four minutes to disinfect. Toss and you’re done. http://www.clorox.com
For the office:
~ The Paper Mate FlexGrip Elite Pen has antimicrobial protection built into the soft-grip barrel. Price varies by store; http://www.papermate.com
~ Fellowes Cordless Keyboard and Mouse Combo incorporates Microban to inhibit the growth of office microbes, as well as stains and odors. The combo works in a 6-foot range, and the scroll mouse uses advanced optical technol-ogy. $119.98; http://www.fellowes.com
~ Fellowes Gel Wrist Rest and Mouse Pad unit offers the comfort of gel and added Microban protection against bacteria. A durable covering withstands daily wear and tear. $27.99; http://www.fellowes.com
~ Purell Hand Sanitizer kills 99.99 percent of the most common illness-causing germs. It contains 62 percent ethyl alcohol. It’s simple to use anytime and anywhere, without leaving a sticky residue. Price varies by store; http://www.purell.com
For the gym:
~ Harbinger FlexFit all-purpose training gloves, which offer maximum range of motion, have an antimicrobial mesh that bags bacterial growth and reduces odor. The wash-and-dry leather is 100 percent safe for the washer and dryer. The gloves come in men’s and women’s sizes. $20; http://www.harbingerfitness.com
~ HandleBuddies handle and hand-grip covers eliminate skin-to-surface contact. Just fasten around fitness equip-ment and go. The washable HandleBuddies come with a carrying pouch. $20; http://www.handlebuddies.com