I recently was with my family at Disneyland in California and am happy to report that Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln is still there. I remember this from my childhood and now that I am much older, I appreciate it so much more.

The first part of the show are slide shows with music and narration that talks about Lincoln, how he grew up, his involvement in politics and his presidency. The second part of the show is the animatronic Lincoln quoting Lincoln. The kids find the robotic president fascinating and his message is stirring.

At what point should we expect the approach of danger. By what means should we fortify against it. Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us with a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined could not by force take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. At what point then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring from amongst us, it can not come from abroad. If destruction be our lots, we ourselves must be its author and finisher. … Let us have faith that right makes might. And in that faith, let us dare to do our duty as we understand.

One of the things that I forgot to go see this year was the It’s A Small World Clock at Disneyland. We went on the ride of course, but missed the clock as it struck the hour. The characters parade around the clock and the music plays. Yes, I know it plays over and over again, but I still have it on my must see list!

I recently heard this term used and wondered what it meant. The Borscht Belt or Jewish Alps referred to summer resorts in the Catskill Mountains, New York. Most of these resorts are no longer in operation. These resorts were popular vacation spots for New York City Jews from the 1920s to the 1960s. The resort area consisted of bungalows, hotels, summer camps and boarding houses most frequently rented by middle and working class Jews who, for the most part, had roots in Central and Eastern Europe. Thus the name Borscht Belt was refers to borscht, a type of Ukrainian soup.

As air travel became cheaper after World War II, the Catskills saw a decline in tourists. Many people opted for more exotic destinations. Today, many Orthodox Jewish families visit here for summer vacation. Some of the hotels have been turned into religious schools. Currently, there are plans to turn some of the resorts into gambling casinos.

Many comedians performed at the resorts and even got their start there. Woody Allen, Milton Berle, Mel Brooks, George Burns, Red Buttons, Rodney Dangerfield, Phyllis Diller, Buddy Hackett, Danny Kaye, Jackie Mason, Don Rickles, Joan Rivers and Jonathan Winters were just a few of the comedians to perform here.

One of the resorts, Kutcher’s, was the setting for the movie Dirty Dancing.

The unemployment rate in this country is at ten percent and many are deciding that in order to improve their employment opportunities they need to improve their educational status. An excellent way to get into a new field is to take college courses and get a degree. Unfortunately, no all of us have the time. Good thing that there is an online university that is a good alternative.

Western Governors University (WGU) is an university that offers online courses. The university currently serves over 17,000 in 50 states and was founded by 19 governors of U.S. States. WGU is fully accredited and because WGU is a non-profit university it also very affordable

WGU offers an online nursing degree as well as degrees in teaching, business, information technology and other health professions.

While universities have been around for hundreds of years, online learning is a new trend that makes it easier for students to obtain advanced degrees.

This year I will be traveling to California for vacation so I am on the look out for great Disneyland packages, because Disneyland is a must see for my family. It doesn’t matter that I grew up just 20 minutes from Disneyland and I have been there at least 2 dozen times, I still love it!

One of our favorite things to do is to make lunch reservations at the Blue Bayou. As soon as the park opens, head to the exit of the Pirates of the Caribbean and there is a podium there that takes reservations. This restaurant can be seen as you ride Pirates of the Caribbean and it is only at Disneyland!

One of my favorite musicals is Oklahoma! But it didn’t take me hiring a Oklahoma criminal defense lawyer to find out that the movie version of Oklahoma! was not filmed in the state.

The 1955 musical starring Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae was actually shot in Nogales, Arizona. It seems that Oklahoma had become far too developed to look like the turn of the century period in which the movie took place. However, the Governor of Arizona made Nogales an honorary part of the State of Oklahoma during the filming of the movie.

If you have ever considered booking Outer Banks vacation rentals, make a point of seeing the wild horses. The Outer Banks of North Carolina is one of the few places that you can see wild mustangs roaming free. These mustangs are descendants of the Spanish mustangs which arrived almost 500 years ago.

Once numbering in the 1000s, these horses roam the full length of the Outer Banks, from Shackleford Banks, all along Core Banks, Ocracoke, Hatteras, and on northward beyond Corolla on Currituck Banks. They are protected by state and federal laws.

When I was in High School, we had a vote. We voted for or against establishing a smoking area outside the cafeteria. I voted yes. They only reason was that I hated the smoke filled bathrooms. After the smoking area was established the bathrooms became smoke free!

The smoking area was used by the die-hard smokers and buy some members of the football team who would buy cigars and smoke them thinking they were cool! This was in the 70s and while we knew some of the dangers of smoking, I don’t think we realized the extent of the ill effects that could be caused by smoking. Needless to say, the smoking area no longer exists at my old high school and I am sure that the bathrooms are probably smoky again!

The first tract housing in the United States was built in Levittown, New York. The city itself was named after the building firm Levitt and Sons headed by Abraham Levitt and his sons William and Alfred.

The town was built on what used to be potato farms and while they were not a manufactured home, each home was built with speed, efficiency and cost-effectiveness in mind. The homes were all built on concrete slabs and utilized pre-cut lumber shipped from California. By July, 1948 30 houses a day were being constructed. Half of the first 2,000 homes were rented within two days.

Levitt and Sons decided to introduce a ranch home in 1949 that would be for rent, not for sale. The home would be larger, more modern and sale for $7,990. The homes were also built on a concrete slab, but included an attic, but no garage. Radiant heating was also included. There were five models available, but the only actually difference were window placement and exterior color choice. By 1950 the new models included a car port and a built-in television set and the 1951 model included a partially finished attic. Over 17,500 homes were built in the area by 1951.

Three other communities were built in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico.

Before there were thousand of diet fads and online information about the best diet pills, there was TOPS – Take Off Pounds Sensibly.

TOPS was founded in 1948 by Esther Manz of Wilwaukee, Wiconsin. America was just coming out of the Depression in the 40s, so the ideal American woman was not the thin waifs that you see today, but a founder, fuller more curvaceous woman.

Esther wanted to set up a support system for overweight and obese people that could help them lose weight. TOPS expanded its program over the years to include helping those with bulimia and anorexia, as well as other weight related programs.

TOPS has over 10,000 chapters in the United States. Club members who maintain their goal weight get extra recognition. Meetins emphasize nutrition and exercise and published materials are given to members. Membership fees are only $25 per year.