Reproduction without End

Here is an interesting paradox. Much of the work of Dr Ian Stevenson, now aged 84, has concentrated on evidence concerning re-incarnation. His career was promoted in 1963 when Chester Carlson, the inventor of the Xerox machine, died and left $2 million to fund research into the question of lives being resurrected from one generation to the next. So the man who helped create the process of endless paper reproduction continued, after his own death, to fund interest in the principle of endless rebirth.

A Test of Time

The following speech, by Lt-Col Tim Collins, to the first Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment in Kuwait on the eve of the war in Iraq could become one of the great concise deliveries that expresses the test of trial in battle and stands the test of time:

'If you are ferocious in battle, remember to be magnanimous in victory. We go to liberate, not to conquer. We are entering Iraq to free a people, and the only flag that will be flown in that ancient land is their own. If there are casualties of war, then remember, when they woke up and got dressed in the morning they did not plan to die this day. Allow them dignity in death. Bury them properly, and mark their graves. You will be shunned unless your conduct is of the highest, for your deeds will follow you down history. Iraq is steeped in history. It is the site of the Garden of Eden, of the Great Flood and the birth of Abraham. Tread lightly there.'

A Word in Your Ear

It is always worth listening to the wisdom of the late American commentator and wit, H L Mencken. He once observed, 'Conscience is the inner voice that warns us someone may be looking.'

William Sunderman, a Real-life Superman

The death last month of Frederick William Sunderman, aged 104, showed how 'lively longevity' does not happen just by chance. Dr Sunderman was an accomplished scientific pioneer who published 40 books. He agreed with advice on long life offered by other centenarians such as sensible diet, absence of stress and a happy home life. However, he became convinced that maintaining a daily work schedule is the key to longevity.
He spoke of friends who had retired to Florida: 'To begin with they played golf regularly and had a drink before dinner. Eventually they played golf less and started to drink at lunchtime. Then they forgot about golf, became alcholics and died.'
His views were simple - the wish to live, a desire to maintain many interests, the pleasures of innate curiosity, the importance of making music and appreciating harmony.
There are currently 50,000 centenarians in America and the number is expected to rise to 96,000 by 2005.

New Every Morning

Simple things can make a big difference. Getting up in the morning is relished by few, but undertaken by most. Take the cases of those who cannot or will not stir into action. Things slide, disorder rules and personal values crumble. The remarkable feature is that people do appear for work or play and indicate that much that happens is 'new every morning'.

Talking Makes Sense

It's good to talk ... for business as well as pleasure. Chatting helps create and maintain relationships, which are one of the mainstays of any company's assets. It is one of the most creative of human activities and the generating of ideas is a fundamental business need. Finally it serves as a stress deterrent. Work forces need cash, care and conversations.