All World Hockey by T. Michael Travers

We've always wanted to visit Paris, France maybe for the same reasons as you. It's historically significant. Only 10 years ago, archeologists found human remains in Paris dating to 8,000 BC. Some say it's the art and fashion capital of the world and it's earned the nickname, City of Lights because, at one time, it had 50,000 gas street lights. Oh, ya, and they've got all that wine. We did our best to check as many of the must-dos off our list for the five days we were there. We had lots of tips from friends. Also, warnings of pickpockets and gypsies and rude waiters and areas of the city to stay away from. In reality, we never experienced a bad incident and the only rudeness we encountered was a city bus driver who didn't care for my pronunciation when asking for directions to the Louvre. On our final day, we decided to take the Metro (subway) to the airport. It sounded easy, safe, and efficient. However, when we left street level and descended the escalator to

Don't blow on the dice  ... don't throw dice with both hands  ... don't buy into the game  when the shooter is on a good roll  ... a 7 often appears after the shooter  has accidentally thrown one of the dice off the table  - watch out for stick-changes too ...  A 7- out often follows a stick change. There are lots of rules in the casino game of Craps.   Don't play unless you know the rules.  Most of the time, the rules are opposed to the way the game is depicted in movies.   If you've never played, don't start.  It's a game that can really beat you up and it has a difficult-to-learn vocabulary. As mentioned, I play a lot. Maybe too much.   But, I never speak to anyone at the craps table, ever.  I am not being discourteous or disrespectful or superstitious. I play hoping to be lucky enough to make some money. There's nothing social or sociable about craps. It's a very, very tough game. It's incredibly addictive and, as with most gaming,

You know the bells. You hear them on street corners and in front of grocery stores and liquor stores at this time of year. The bells are rung non-stop, always by a very cheery man or woman and, as you pass, they always offer a God Bless You  to send you on your way. To explain about the bells, I have to tell you about my father.  He was 49 years old when I was born.  I was baby #10. In 1946, when I landed,  I may have been a surprise for him. I most definitely was a surprise for my mother.   My mother was a little Irish fire-cracker who was full to the brim with superstition. On a Great Lakes cruise with her as a pre-teen, I wandered up to the ship's top deck.   There were lots of seagulls overhead.  One took a big one... it landed in my ear.   My mother said, "That will bring you good luck for the rest of your life".  Her observation/superstition proved right, I met my Lorraine a short time later and it's easy to spot all of the good fortunes in my life