LAFOLOT

Little bird, little bird
Did you know it was me
Who set you by the tree
When your spirit flew free?

Little bird, little bird
did you hear me
as I thanked you
for having blessed this Earth with your presence?

Little bird, little bird
Little bird, little bird
I’m sure you heard. Peace.

As I walked towards SUBWAY at Windsor Park shopping center, today – I thought I saw a dark rag or paper on the ground. As I got closer, I realized it was a little black bird, with orange accents on its wings. It was about 2 feet from the sidewalk curb, perfectly in tact. I reached down to nudge it, it didn’t respond. It looked like it was asleep on its side. I slowly started to reach around it – in the event it was alive. There was no movement. I realized it was dead.

I didn’t want the beautiful creature’s body to be run over by a vehicle. I slowly, gently picked it up and took it over to a small cement-curbed island in the parking lot. It had a tree and two spirea bushes on either side. I placed the bird gently in the shade of the one spirea bush and said in my mind a little prayer: ‘Thank you little bird, for having graced this Earth with your presence.’

I felt the bird deserved a proper burial. A woman was walking towards me and asked, ‘Is it a bird?’ I let her know it had died. She immediately started to tell me how her children had been upset to find a dead bird in their driveway, and they had decided to give it a proper burial to make them feel better.

When I was taking a photo after feeling I wanted to write about it – another woman came over to ask what was up? I let her know I had found the bird and placed it by the bush, and was going to write a story about it. She said: ‘That was SO NICE of you to pick it up and bring it over here. She reached out to gently touch my shoulder.’ I told her I had said a blessing for it.

Just then, a young couple came walking by and asked what was going on. The woman told them and the guy called over: ‘Make sure you say a prayer for it!’

AH! MAZING! how much attention ‘little black bird with orange accents on its wings’ was getting. The 2nd woman that talked to me had noted: ‘ISN’T IT SUCH A PRETTY BIRD! What kind is it?’ I let her know I wasn’t aware, but also thought it to be so pretty.

It’s said that LIFE imitates ART. I say ART and ENTERTAINMENT imitates LIFE! Songs, plays, paintings are all done from FEELINGS about LIFE; about EXPERIENCES and HOW we VIEW Life situations! Life and Death are written and sung about all the time. Sometimes it’s a COMEDY, sometimes it’s written as a Tragedy. Sometimes, the audience is caught off-guard and feels AWKWARD that they are LAUGHING about the play topic of Life or Death. Isn’t it interesting?

Death, itself can bring up awkward feelings. I met a woman while working at a parttime job, yesterday. She was looking for a card to celebrate an elderly couple’s wedding anniversary – but the problem was – they had just lost a 2nd daughter to Lupus! The comedy/tragedy of the situation was – the daughter had been found dead in the garden. The wonderful thing was – the daughter did not have to go into a nursing home; she died doing what she loved, gardening. Can you see this scene in a play? Can you see and feel the awkwardness of the audience? Can you see how it could be done as an awkward-dark comedy or a tragedy – depending on how it is written?

A woman shared with me, that she was at her mother’s funeral. Her mother really HATED one particular song often sung at church. So WHAT did they play at her mother’s funeral? THAT SONG! What happend? The woman said she could HEAR her mother talking about it and the woman started to shake so strongly from laughing (at her mother’s funeral), that those around her thought she was CRYING and tried to console her, which made her laugh more!

The comedy and tragedy of life! I went to see the show SYLVIA at Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg, last Sunday. I sat there with my JAW DROPPED as I realized: ‘THIS PLAY IS EXACTLY HOW I’VE BEEN DEALING WITH MY LIFE THESE LAST FEW YEARS – with menopause and change of life!’ I sat in shock and laughed at the same time!

I’m GLAD that I was there today, to remove little black bird with orange wing accents from the road, before an unknowing vehicle would remove its identifiable form from site. I’m glad I got to see this beautiful creature, take it to a proper final resting place; and say a blessing of appreciation. I had just read a meditation magazine moments before; about appreciating everyone and everything I would encounter this day – and then – there it was LITTLE BLACK BIRD!

So little black bird inspired me to take its photo (ART), to WRITE a BLOG, and to WRITE a little poem at the beginning of this BLOG. What an INSPIRATIONAL Life and Death this little bird had on this Earth!

Thank you, little black bird – for CREATIVELY INSPIRING me! This one was FOR THE BIRD.

Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.com

Living Life! Laughing Often! and always remembering … ‘a little kindness goes a long way’ *tweet

I wrote a book called: ‘Life is a Song in the Key of Love’. It’s ultimately about ‘appreciating life in ALL its forms of EXPRESSION.’ It’s about ‘being in AWE of it ALL!

What type of art do you like? Traditional, Impressionistic …

What type of music? Classical, Jazz, Contemporary, Rap…

Just as music, sculpture, oil paintings, pencil sketches or any other creative expression can take many forms; so does LIFE!

I mention, in my book, that I was talking to a woman at Bethany Towers one day. I encountered her in the lobby. She was having a little trouble opening a jar lid. She also happened to be in a wheelchair. She also happened to be fairly young. I smiled and started a conversation with her. I was there to conduct my HEALTHY HAPPY HOUR – Laughter Club.

I told her that ‘if she wanted help opening the jar’ – I would certainly try to assist – but that I was also AWARE to ‘allow her to ask for help’ rather than my ASSUMING that she needed it, just because we were physically diffierent in our abilities.

She smiled, we talked a bit – then she gave me the jar to see if I could open the lid.

I was talking to her about a Star Trek – Next Generation episode where: One of the crew had ‘fallen for’ an alien woman who was wheelchair bound. The reason she was in a wheelchair on their spaceship, was because her planet had no gravity; hence the occupants had no muscle mass. So, when he went to her ‘cabin’ – HE BECAME PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED, because she had no gravity in her cabin quarters – to suit HER needs. HE became AWKWARD – floating around awkwardly. On the OTHER hand – she became GRACEFUL – floating FREELY in air space – moving easily about.

It was an interesting episode – causing awareness in – ‘what is normal’? ‘what is average?’ ‘what is accepted as handicap or different?

As I talked to this woman who expressed life with physical and speech limitation in ‘our world’ – I told her I considered her A PICASSO.

I told her I feel we all express life SOMEWHAT LIKE ART! Some people are Traditional paintings

i.e., 2 arms, 2 legs, 1 head, all the basic body parts that we consider THE AVERAGE or THE NORM.

Then – there are those who express life as: PICASSOS! Daring TO BE DIFFERENT! Some folks ‘fade into the background’ as IMPRESSIONIST paintings, and it takes a BIT to FOCUS in on them. Some express as WATER COLORS, living a quiet, soft existence. Some are POP ART – with BRIGHT, LOUD COLORS – saying: I’M HERE! I’M ALIVE, NOTICE ME!

So what are you? How do YOU express life? I don’t need to know. I don’t need or mean to label -

my point is: It’s ALL just LIFE EXPRESSION – and we are ALL ‘magnificently, created WORKS OF ART!’

Step back, let go of the instant judgement and take a gander at the GALLERY OF ART walking around you today.

BEAUTIFUL! isn’t it?

Helen M Szollosy – expressing herself as Singer, Writer, Speaker, Author, OUTLOOK SHIFT ENGINEER!, Laughter Wellness Facilitator

Author: ‘Life is a Song in the Key of Love’ or Growing Up With The Embarrassment of Prejudice www.lafolot.com/books/

I had to laugh while DRIVING MYSELF HAPPY, yesterday!

We had been WARNED that ‘the end was near’!

As of 6:00pm California-time, May 21, 2011 -

the Rapture was to BE! (*hee hee!)

While driving down the road to get a bite to eat at Olive Garden Restaurant -
(I tried using THE RAPTURE as a reason to NOT have to PAY for my food –
but … they wouldn’t BUY it! *ha ha ha)

I saw a car license plate to the front and left lane of mine that started with the letters:

END #### (END!!!! OH NOOOOO!)

The car in front of me had a license plate with the first three letters:

HLP #### (HELLLLLLLP!)

THE END! (the rapture) HELLLLP!

Gotta LOVE how ‘nature’ brings a BIT O’ THE HUMOR into the silly antics of US HUMANS!

Are we all N.U.T.S. ??? (Not Understanding The Silliness)

Prior to that, I saw a license personalized license plate: KAT BARF

So, in the END, with a little HELP, we’ll all be able to LAUGH IT OFF!

From one silly human to others …

LIVE LIFE! LAUGH OFTEN! Life, it’s meant to be lived!
Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
O.S.E. (Outlook Shift Engineer)
www.lafolot.com/drive-yourself-happy

I have ‘A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way…‘ at the top of my website. It’s
because, when I’m having a bad day, and someone does the littlest thing: share a
smile, hold a door, etc. IT TURNS MY DAY AROUND! I always thank the presenter
of the kindness; and let them know they made my day!

Well! I was driving in a shopping plaza and noticed the obviously weary
Salvation Army Bell Ringer – out in the cold. She was getting up from taking a
rest on the curb.

I am short of funds – but I pulled my vehicle to the curbside -
rolled down my window -
reached over to my passenger seat for the:

Dollar Store FELT, DEER ANTLER HEADBAND WITH BELLS (I had been using the last
two weeks to attract smiles/laughs)

and I HANDED it to her through the window. HER FACE BEAMED A SMILE!

I said: Here, these oughta make you feel better and attract more donations!

You would have thought I had given her gold! She took them and reached her
gloved hand into the car to shake my hand and wish me a Merry Christmas!

*sigh .. last year I gave my tinsel deely bobber headband to the Salvation Army
worker outside the same store and got the same reaction! I wrote a blog called:
Gift of the Tinsel Deely Bobber Headband

This is what I share in my motivational-inspirational talks -

it doesn’t take money to make someone’s day -

the LITTLEST, SIMPLEST things bring the BIGGEST, HEART WARMING smiles.

I live life in A-MAZE-MENT! There was a book written called ‘Don’t sweat the
small stuff.’

On the other hand – I TRULY FEEL it’s THE SMALL STUFF – the Positive Side of it
all – that LIGHTS UP THE WORLD!

“Lots of LITTLES make a BIGGLES of GIGGLES and SMILES!” – my latest Ha Ha Helenism.

…I’m smiling … and it feels good.

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM

[it feels good because it's been a stressfull 2 years w/ my oldest brain damaged sister (as a result of being hit by a drunk driver was she was 19 - now age 63) going into a Nursing home and this past week - helping two other sisters get my mom over to an assisted living building. In the middle of it all - the fire alarm went off at the new place IT WAS A MESS! My blood pressure has been all over the place ...]

I REALLLLLLY NEEEEEDED THIS SMIIIIIILE OPORTUNITY – I’m grateful it POPPED into my lap this evening.
Grateful for the gift of the deer antlers with bells! Oh? Wasn’t it for me?

It’s not only OK to be a ‘Charlie in the Box’ it’s GREAT! Be YOU and be Proud of It! re: Land of Misfit Toys – Rudolph the Rednosed Rheindeer – story. WEAR YOUR RED NOSE PROUDLY! Be a PICASSO Painting! Be a PEER POSITIVE no need for Peer Pressure – let the ‘air out’ of the pressure… *whoooosh!

Coming from a ‘challenged’ family with 7 children and being ‘kid number 6′, I had the freedom to ‘be me’ early on. No one was really paying attention. As a result, later in life, I had a few very good friends tell me: ‘I admire that you dare to be different, to be yourself.’ I always remembered those compliments as PRICELESS GIFTS!

I call folks that dare to be different: PICASSOS! Whenever I get to personally know and talk ‘deeply’ with a person who life ALLOWED to be different – for whatever reason – I PRAISE THEM for their PICASSO-nature! re: physical or mental differences – their INNER-SPIRIT daring to ride agains the NORM!

I wrote about this in my ‘Life is a Song in the Key of Love’ Book and continuously bring this to my own attention as well as others. I coined a phrase: PEER POSITIVE as a result. I am very much against going along with the PRESSURE of ADs and MARKETING to ‘BE SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT YOU ARE COMFORTABLE.’

Personally, I feel my eyelashes are long enough, thank you. I’m OK as I am – and if I choose to BE A PICASSO rather than the STANDARD LANDSCAPE OR FRUIT BOWL painting, than so be it. I don’t give in to Peer Pressure, I’m a PEER POSITIVE.

There’s no need for a LAND OF MISFIT TOYS – No Need for a Sad ‘Charlie in the Box’ –

I SALUTE the differences and let out a SIGH OF RELIEF for the REFRESHING NATURE of these beautifully, daring expressions of LIFE SPIRIT!

WOO! HOOOO! FOR YOU! and ME! *weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Have fun on this RIDE OF LIFE!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.com
Living Life in A-MAZE-MENT!
Living BOLD and in Italics!

Never underestimate (the person standing next to you), never judge a book by it’s cover; and as I talk/teach/write about: Look Out! It’s LIFE, with a Fresh Outlook! You are in the presence of ONE AMAZING WOMAN! Ha! Ha!

I parked my car in a busy hospital parking lot this afternoon. It has my LAFOLOT business display on the side of the car; so people instantly don’t take me too seriously. Imagine that!

I was getting some ‘SILLY STUFF’ out to wear and take into the hospital with me, while going in to visit my mom. A car pulled in next to me – and it ‘wasn’t just WHISTLIN’ DIXIE!’ let me tell ya!

I had to laugh when the high-pitched tone/squeel was coming from the engine under the car hood. The mid-Eastern looking man was puzzled. I said: I think it’s in the ‘KEY OF E’ and I perfectly matched the tone with my voice. HA HA! I know THIS wasn’t what he wanted. LOL!

He said: ‘It just started this morning, I don’t know what it is!’
I said: ‘I’m pretty sure it’s the FAN BELT. ‘ All you need is some wax or soap on it and it will probably stop squeeling.’

He LOOKED at me, but didn’t question. [SMART MAN!]
I said: ‘I used to help my dad with his car fix it stuff, that’s an EASY one.’ I said: ‘Open the hood while it’s running and we’ll be able to tell right away if that’s it.’

He didn’t question and SURE ENOUGH – I said – ‘Here, see – this is the belt and LISTEN TO THAT! THAT’s where the sound is coming out!’ He was thrilled! He closed the hood.

I said: ‘You could just go to PEP BOYS car parts, pick one up and they’ll put it on for you in their garage bays at the store. Low cost!’ I said: ‘Now if your car were to just SHUT OFF – that would be ELECTRICAL – maybe the spark plugs.’ ‘I know THAT much.’

He said: ‘My Air Condition hasn’t been working.’ I said: ‘Is it working at all? thinking Freon’ He said: ‘No, not at all.’ I said: ‘Then I’d think THAT was part of the electrical circuit area, too – I would focus on taking it to an auto electrician.’

He shut off his engine and closed his car door saying: ‘I NEVER THOUGHT A WOMAN WOULD KNOW THESE THINGS!’

[I'm 5'2", 51, overweight, menopausal and heterosexual - just FYI] I responded: ‘I write and talk about not labeling and judging people. You NEVER KNOW what’s beneathe the surface!’ He smiled as he walked towards the hospital entrance.

I finished putting on my: Tinsel Deely-bobber headband, Smile Badge pinback button, gathering a couple Spread Smiles by the Miles Flags and Stress Reliever Pinwheels and headed for the main hospital entrance. OH! and wearing a SMILE on MY face, too!

OOH! WAH! DARN, I’M GOOOOOOD! HA HA!

Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT
only BEGINNING to skim the surface of my AMAZING CAPABILITIES! Hee! Hee!
www.lafolot.com
Appreciating LIFE in ALL its forms of expression!
Author: ‘Life is a Song in the Key of Love!‘

Teaser: ‘…and as I was exiting the grocery store, a tall, model-like woman was browsing the flowers and balloons display in her 4 1/2 heels! WHAT A WORKOUT!’

I used to really dislike grocery shopping. Now, I PURPOSELY do ‘frequent’, ‘inefficient’ shopping so I HAVE to go back more frequently! Nuts? Oh, no! There’s a ‘madness to my method!’ HA HA!

Being a newly independent business owner, it give me more visibility! Since I work from home, it gets me out of the house for FUN socialization! Why? because I talk to people at the grocery store, joke and spread compliments and smiles!

Today, I was nearing the end of an aisle when a young woman stops her cart – OBLIVIOUS – blocking my exit. She didn’t notice me and proceeded to slowly walk around her mini-cart and reach on the bottom shelf for the plastic iced tea container. FUNNY PART WAS – the mini-cart was loaded with 6-packs of soda all around the top and bottom edges of the cart.

I ‘just stood there’ watching. I found it funny. She was moving in slow motion, oblivious. She finally noticed me, and apologized. I laughed, smiled and said “Oh! don’t worry – I do laughter wellness for a living and I was getting a kick out of watching the whole thing!” The HILARIOUS part was, she was double-checking that the iced-tea was INDEED sugar free! HAHAHAHA – she had tons of sugary soda in the cart! (I know – it could have been for several different people, it was just funny.) We talked about food carton labeling a few seconds and went on our merry way.

When I got over to the dairy aisle, I noticed a woman with beautiful, long, healthy, black, shiny hair! I have a cosmetology license, so I KNOW healthy hair when I see it! I said: ‘Excuse me, I don’t normally do this, but I have to tell you you have the most beautiful, shiny, black hair I’ve ever seen! What do you do to it?’ She was an woman possibly in her lat 30s or 40s. She said: ‘Oh! I’m getting it ALL CUT OFF for LOCKS OF LOVE!’ [I was impressed!] She said: ‘I never use hot blow dryers on it.’ It was amazing!

Besides making ‘frequent’ trips to the grocery store (on a daily basis), I also walk from one end of the store to the other – not in a down and up the aisle pattern. Why? It GETS ME MORE EXERCISE and I feel SILLY doing it! It’s fun! I make my Grocery List in my head by getting the first letter of each item needed and making a word out of it! For example, yesterday it was WAT or TWA (Trans World Airlines!) HA HA Water, Apples, Tea bags! I just remember the word or phrase and off to shop I go!

IT’S FUN, SILLY and puts a smile on my face as I remember my items without writing them down! It’s a GREAT EXERCISE for THE BRAIN, too!

As I checked out, I wished the Indian/American cashier attendant Hello! in HINDI (I know a couple Phillipine/American women there, also – so I get to with them Hello, Goodbye, Thank you in their languages, too!)

As I walked towards the exit, I see a TALL, Model-like young woman in Shoe Heels that were almost as tall as me! They must have been 4 1/2″ heels! Talk about A HEALTHY WORKOUT while BALANCING on those things! I left the store in my SENSIBLE SNEAKERS with a SMILE on my face!

Here’s to healthy, happy, inefficient, social grocery store shopping! HA HA HELEN of LAFOLOT style!

Spread those SMILES by the MILES!

and DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY! to the grocery store!
www.lafolot.com
Live Life! Laugh Often!
Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT

It’s a Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT

‘DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY!’ moment! HA HA!

I was heading out of my Mobile Park to turn onto the main road -
I looked at the first three letters of the license plate
in front of me.

GBL – Ha Ha Ha! That’s GOBBLE! for Thanksgiving! How appropriate!

I went to record my FIRST RADIO AD for a small local radio station- WOO HOO! It went well! I used my THEATRE VOICE! Ha Ha! [ fyi - it will air Monday Nov 29 7:41 AM each weekday before the Comedy minute through December 25, 2010 - 1230 AM Fortress - a local - southcentral PA radio station]

Afterwards, I headed out into Holiday shopping traffic to do some food shopping and head over to my favorite office supply store for my 2011 business wall calendar.

When leaving the parking lot to drive home – I looked at the car in front of me. The first 3 letters on the license plate were:

ELV

HA HA! ELVES! How appropriate for the Holiday Season!

Guess I’m ‘DRIVING MYSELF HAPPY!’

Have a Ha Ha Happy THANKSGIVING and Holiday Season! No matter your belief system or options for celebrating or not – just BE!
*Weeeeeee! *tee hee!

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT.COM
Live Life! Laugh Often! and DRIVE YOURSELF HAPPY!

I heard from the table back and to the left of me, ‘Why don’t you just say MAN HOT? ha ha He got his GIRLY HOT’.

‘OK!’ I said – from my booth; ‘Wait a minute. I’m going to have to chime in here.’ *smiling

I bet none of you can eat your Thai Food as HOT as I can! I get mine: ‘THAI HOT! HOT! HOT!’ …and I’m a WOMAN!

When the server came over to take my order, I let her know I had been messing with the 3 guys and I said: ‘I’ll have mine THAI HOT! HOT! HOT! (a bit louder than I ‘needed’ to say it). She laughed.

I know the owners of this particular Thai restaurant; I’ve known them for over 12 years! I’m practically an adopted member of the family – even being of Hungarian background. The previous owner, son-n-law who managed and cooked there, told me he had to wash his hands after cooking my food!

When I went to one of the family picnic/celebrations – for the birth of a new grandchild, one of the relatives recognized me. She had been an part-time server years back and remembered me. ‘CHICKEN W/ RED CURRY, THAI HOT!’ isn’t it? I laughed. She remembered my standard order. She said to her American husband ‘YOU COULDN’ TAKE HOW HOT HELEN GETS HER FOOD!’ AHAHAHAHa It was a bit embarrassing! I spoke up: It’s not sign of manhood or greatness to get Thai food super hot. I just happen to like it that way! It brings out the flavor and cleares my sinuses!

When I went to pay my bill, the 3 guys were leaving. The one put a smile on his face as he waved to me, exiting the door, saying: “SEE YA, HOT! HOT! HOT!” I laughed.

So, today, once again – I had to stand up for EQUALITY in regards to ‘being able to handle’ THAI HOT food -

it’s not GENDER-SPECIFIC! HA HA! It’s a matter of TASTE, not of muscle!

Only MEN should be able to eat THAI HOT food? SAYS WHO?

Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT

Live Life! Laugh Often! and this WOMAN likes it HOT!

IT’S HA HA Helen of LAFOLOT’s TIME 2 LAUGH system!
… COMBINED with a Motivational-Inspiration Moment!

[ I like noticing the numbers on digital clock or calculator displays as numbers - especially upside-down and backwards or right-side up. They can spell words and give you a healthy break during your day - as healthy 'Triggers' or 'Purposeful Pause Moments' as I like to call them!]

This morning, I noticed it was: 7:27 AM ….hmmm L2L = Laugh 2 Laugh! I LAUGH for the sake of LAUGHING for HEALTH – in my profession!

Then I saw it was: 7:34 = hel – ut oh! I don’t like when I’m feeling like LIFE is Giving me a Hard Time!

So, what do I do?

Next it was: 7:35 = SEL [Sell THAT perception of how LIFE is going 'Buy-in' to a NEW way to look at it!]

7:36 - GEL – Now you can ‘LET IT GO’ and move on with a NEW OUTLOOK, just GELL and RELAX!

This has been a Highlighted Ha Ha Helen Szollosy of LAFOLOT – mini motivational moment!

Have a Great Day! Live Life in A-MAZE-ment and Take Time 2 Laugh!
www.lafolot.com