While those words (or something similar) are what we hear at the start of the Kentucky Derby and other horse races, it also describes the first couple of months here at the Chamber as well. If the Chamber Year was to be compared to a large oval racetrack then you would say we are about to enter turn one with three more turns (quarters) to go. And if I were the race announcer and giving the updates at each length of the track I would be very excited about our track position! I would be raising my voice and letting folks know that we are ahead of the pack and looking strong. I might even be so excited that I would say we have opened up a gap already as we head into turn one. Albeit that 2010 still has a long way to go and the race will have its bumps along the way, and we may have unexpected competition along the way; but so far so good! A lot of preparation, training, hard work, and experience goes into winning these annual races, and it is great to know that your Chamber is up to the challenge.

As I prepared to write my March article, I thought “What is going on in March I could write about?”  The first thing that came to mind was my birthday and I started to reminisce and reflect upon the past. Isn’t that what everyone does on their birthday? When I turned sixteen, the present I received from my parents was a 1971 Ford Pinto. At the time, I  could NOT understand why Dad gave me a four-speed vehicle that I didn’t know how to drive. Now that I am older and wiser, I know exactly what his intent was at the time.  And still today, I can hop in any standard transmission car and drive it. That is just something that you never forget how to do. Back in my day, the legal age was eighteen-we didn’t have to wait until the ripe old age of twenty-one to be considered adults.

When I turned twenty, I found the love of my life, married him, and had my first child at twenty seven-definitely good times.  At thirty, all I could think about was another child before my biological clock ran out! Now women are having children at forty and later! Thinking back, I guess the birthday day that made me ponder the longest and hardest was forty.  I remember thinking, “My life is half over and what have I accomplished? “What have I done for society, for my family?”  My husband brought me back to reality quickly by telling me he thought I was a wonderful wife and mother, “What more could I ask for?” It actually did make me feel better and I was content for several more years.

On my fiftieth birthday, the girls in my office sent me to meet with a builder who was interested in doing business with our company.  I drove to the office where we were to meet, waited forty-five minutes, and guess what?  He never showed! His secretary informed  me that he had gotten tied up and would have to reschedule for another day. All of this turned out to be a hoax-they had sent me on a wild goose chase! While I was away, chamber members, business associates and friends had gathered at my office. In all of my fifty years, I had never had a surprise birthday party.  I must say it was one of best days of my life! 

Now, I’m moving on up to 60, can’t wait to see what is in store for me. One thing I do know is that having my health, family, and friends is the best birthday present there is. Recently, I threw my mom and eightieth surprise party – initially planning for maybe thirty-five or forty guests.  But after talking with a few of her friends, the guest list quickly grew to hundred people.  I wondered how someone could live that long and still have that many friends ALIVE???   Well, it’s true, they all came in their sweet glory and I must say we had a ball. Saying this, live life to the fullest, enjoy everyday God gives us. And remember, don’t dread birthdays…..having one is better than the alternative!

I recently read something that made me think about the incredible power of the human brain:

I cduol not blveiee taht I cluod    aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg! Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deos not mttaer  waht oredr the ltteers of a wrod are in,  the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the first and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae of the pheonmneal pweor of the hmuan mind. It deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

Since I love to Google and also enjoy mindless trivia, I decided to look up some interesting facts about the brain. Enjoy!

The weight of the human brain is about three pounds.
Your skin weighs twice as much as your brain.
The brain is made up of about 75% water.
Your brain stops growing at age 18.
Your brain uses 20% of the total oxygen in your body.
Each time we blink, our brain kicks in and keeps things illuminated so the whole world doesn’t go dark (about 20,000 times a day)
Laughing at a joke is no simple task as it requires activity in five different areas of the brain
The average number of thoughts that humans are believed to experience each day is 70,000.
According to a study by Bristol-Myers Squibb, accountants have the highest incidence of on-the-job headaches, followed by librarians, then bus and truck drivers
Those who are left-handed or ambidextrous have a corpus collosum (the part of the brain that bridges the two halves) that is about 11% larger than those who are right-handed.
Some people (about 12%) dream only in black and white while others dream in color.

The Chamber of Commerce is a catalyst...a common vehicle through which the enlightened mutual interests of all segments of the business community work together for the common good of the total community. A better community means better business and we are working for a better community for everyone here. That's why we do what we do. Which brings us back to that original question, what do we do?

There is, in the final analysis, one reason for the Chamber of Commerce to exist and that is to do whatever is necessary to keep this area's economic condition such that people will be willing to risk their resources here in the hope of making a profit. Everything else is either a means to an end, or just the frosting on the cake.