Arthur Murray’s Birthday
“Please send me your last pair of shoes,
worn out with dancing…
so that I might have something to press against my heart.”
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Perhaps you’re able to dance like John Travolta, Savion Glover or Fred Astaire. But for the rest of us who persistently need a helping rhythmic hand, dance lessons continue to be über necessary. Not only a place to dance, have fun and make new friends, Arthur Murray Dance Studios were and continue to be the perfect place to shake your booty to the measure of the music. If you’re determined to dance or you’re just interested in learning a few new moves for that upcoming wedding, Arthur Murray’s is a great place to learn the latest steps.

Arthur Murray was a dance instructor and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name. At the age of 17, Arthur Murray began teaching dance at night while working as a draftsman by day and when the Arthur Murray dance studios were finally opened, others followed. His slogan was “If you can walk, we teach you how to dance.”

In the early eighties, after his 30-plus-year marriage to my mom ended, my dad floundered until he discovered the very same Arthur Murray dance studios in a neighboring town. Once there, he quietly and privately took classes. Although he continued to work nights at a neighboring steel mill and fish at every available moment, little did we know that he had also become obsessed by the lure of the ballroom floor. Unfortunately, it was not until after his death did my sister and brother and I finally come to know about his secret passion for the Fox Trot, the Hustle, the Jitterbug, the Mamba, the Quickstep, Rumba, Salsa, Swing, Tango, and even the Two-Step.

While dismantling his bachelor-pad (complete with waterbed—I said it was the 80s!) did we discover his secret stash of dance-duds - a walk-in closet entirely committed to his ever-growing collection of tuxedo jackets, coats with tails, overcoats, and dinner jackets in orchid-lavender, chocolate-brown, fuchsia-pink, sunshine-yellow, platinum-silver, periwinkle-blue, bubblegum-pink, cherry-red, turquoise, purple, scarlet-red, royal-blue, sage-green and Champaign, each with satin trimmed matching pants, and color mated bow ties, socks, fluorescent patent leather dance shoes, fancy cufflinks, silky handkerchiefs, cummerbunds and mountains of crisply laundered and ironed ruffled and flat fronted shirts.

Whether you’re a closeted dancehall gigolo like my dad or just someone who happens to like the shine of patent leather (still always suitable for Easter and summer footwear), remember to keep yours mirror shiny. Polish them using a soft cloth dampened with full strength white vinegar. Just wipe and gently rub until the shine is fully restored and the vinegar is no longer evident.

Although I never saw my dad do more than bait a hook or change the car’s oil, I can now also imagine him shifting his weight, turning, gliding, leaping, dipping, and shuffling - filled with elegant lively movements, show stopping acrobatic actions, erotic Bob Fosse-like gyrations, and, also just quietly yet gracefully dancing. By unearthing his treasure-trove of ballroom dance costumes my notion of my dad will be forever transformed from the clumsy flat-footed father I thought I knew into the suave yet sophisticated Gene Kelly he privately dreamed of becoming.

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

In Honor of National Poetry Month
~ I give you ~

Sonnet to a Slob

Your dishes are piled like skyscrapers
Your sink makes strangers step back.
Rather than bubbles you’re content with troubles
From the housekeeping skills that you lack.

Your dust bunnies corral under couches
Creating powdery white filth and light grime.
It’s not your quirk to go completely berserk
Because dirt in your home’s not a crime.

Your bath wears mold like a parka,
Housing microbes you could never outswim.
Your toilet is frightening; your sink could use brightening
Yours germs sing their own national hymn.

You’ve owned a Bissell, a Dyson, and Hoover,
Though your vacuum now hides in the closet.
You once screamed “Oh heck,” when your cherished Oreck,
Exploded in a cloudy deposit.

Your recycling and garbage are ever growing.
Your refuse overfills each wastebasket.
You’d rather grow bitter than make room for your litter
Or consider to organize, sort, bundle or mask it.

Your laundry’s never sorted by colors.
Your whites are often light-pink.
You’re nothing but smiles while you’re clothes sit in piles
And your dainties linger under your sink.

Your gauchos, white sandals and nude nylons,
Lost scungies, tube socks and shoulder pads,
Your hangers scamper while you dig through your hamper
‘Cause your closet’s filled with dated doodads.

Your grooming skills are not quite polished.
The wrinkles you wear leave you rancorous.
Your trousers are rumpled and your shirt’s clearly crumpled
Some might say that you’re ironing-cantankerous.

Your stove-top is covered with drippings
From the dinner you made yesterday.
Your spilled coffee has thickened, the rest leaves you sickened
Your home is a worrisome display.

Your coat is hung from a doorknob.
Your wet towel’s strewn on your bed.
You’re a cleaning sinner who trips over last night’s dinner
While you imagine a tidier home in your head.

While cleaning isn’t for all,
It’s a necessary task in each home.
Tidy up logically while cleaning ecologically,
And end your piggish syndrome.

Consider the words of this clean-freak.
Even though I can rant on and on.
Though I assert you needn’t convert
‘Cause with effort your mess will be gone.

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

Albert Einstein’s Birthday
“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind,
Then what are we to think of an empty desk?”
~ Albert Einstein

Overflowing ashtrays, piles of books, coffee stained napkins scribbled with half-baked theories, mangled envelopes, semi-scribed journals, purloined pens, dog-eared dailies, notebooks, piles of paper and mountains of unopened letters…the strictness of order and the opposing efficiency of chaos? Well, I dunno’ about that. Albert Einstein may have been brilliant but to this neat-nick, I think he must have been a complete and total slob.

Theories of relativity aside - nobody needs to drop an apple onto my head for me to notice both sides of the tidiness fence – those who see the advantage of having a messy desk and those who slip into flames when a pen is left askew. (Okay. I admit it. I just described myself.)

While revealing your true inner being, if your desk is nasty maybe you’re just disorganized by nature, maybe your productivity skills are rusty, you’ve decided to cozy up to your own special brand of disorder or perhaps you’re the kind of person who – when finished with something - it spirals into a whirling abyss of invisibility. Although your mass-of-mess is mounding into Mount St. Helens, Mount Fuji or even Mount Everest, you’ve become blinded – and to your delusional sightless eyes, your chaos ceases to exist.

Finding the middle ground between what’s tidy and untidy can be slippery. A study at Columbia Business School found that people who keep a dashing desk actually spend more time shuffling through stuff than those who keep it mildly messy - systematizing and salvaging stuff takes time. And when it comes to a messy desk, time is of the essence – for it was our sloppy scientist who once said, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.”

Ebbing and flowing like the tide, when your desk is out of control, wrestling your stack of stuff can be absolutely aggravating. Slob that he was, our birthday boy also once said; “Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

When your messes reach maximum density, make a hole into your Himalayan-sized-hysteria - a gap into your Alpine-shaped-mishap by keeping your tidying trouble-free. Simply commit yourself to digging through your disaster for just five minutes a day.

And once you’ve reached China – umm-errr - your desk top, consider this simple, eco-friendly way of polishing it: Use two parts olive oil mixed with one part lemon juice. Pour just a few drops on a soft cloth, wipe away the dust, scuffs, and fingerprints, and make your wooden desk shine. No sprays, aerosols or chemicals needed—just two natural ingredients, and voila, a clean and polished surface.

Although a clean desk to some may symbolically resemble a blank slate (Yoo-hoo! Is anybody home?) I find peace when my desk is shipshape and tidy. While cleaning yours, you may not find Amelia Earhart or Jimmy Hoffa, some missing masterpieces by Rembrandt, Manet or Vermeer, or even the meaning of life but hopefully you’ll discover a newfound semblance of order and – ultimately - the long-lost surface of of your desk.

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

Peanut Butter Lovers' Day
“There's nothing like unrequited love to take
all the flavor out of a peanut butter sandwich.”
~ Charlie Brown

Always oily, sticky and gloppy, creamy to extra chunky, pedigreed-and-pricey or down-and-dirty-cheap-o - who among us doesn’t just completely dig the taste of peanut butter?

Because of its immense popularity, peanut butter is one of our nation’s numero-uno delicacies. It’s so beloved that the month of March is now named National Peanut month. (Unfortunate for those who suffer from Arachibutyrophobia – the hysteria from peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth. But most especially unfortunate for the millions who suffer from allergies to nuts!)

By 1903, Dr. George Washington Carver, considered by many to be the Father of the Peanut Industry, began his peanut research at the Tuskegee Institute. Peanut butter had already been invented before Carver’s began his horticultural experiments, but many wrongly credit him as being the Father of Peanut Butter. Despite missing out on that really big patent opportunity, the ingenious Dr. Carver did, however, create hundreds of uses for the luscious legume.

Today, the West Coast of the United States prefers chunky, while the East Coast favors creamy brands, but regardless of texture, the average American boy will have consumed approximately 1,500 peanut butter sandwiches by the age of 18. And just one acre of peanuts supplies enough of the legumes to manufacture 30,000 sandwiches.

Today, millions of people pine for peanut butter, and while it’s a common staple in most homes, and it’s relatively inexpensive, it’s not just a condiment for kids. For instance, Demi Moore cures her sugar cravings by snacking on peanut butter, Al Roker has a spoonful of peanut butter every morning, and second First Daughter Sasha Obama loves her daily dose of peanut butter as well. Although it’s virtually every kid's bread and butter, other well-known “Big Kid” fans include Barbara Walters, Bill Clinton, Billy Joel, Cher, Jack Nicholson, Julia Roberts, Larry King, and even Madonna.

My partner, Richard (whose favorite brand happens to be ‘Crazy Richard’s’) easily downs half a jar of the stuff with a spoon every afternoon, while I, on the other hand, enjoy a double-decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead. Using three slices of bread, I smear peanut butter (chunky style, of course!) on the inside of the two outer slices, followed by spreading jelly or jam onto both sides of the inner slice. Sounds complicated but making it this way eliminates the outside of the sandwich from ever becoming soggy. (Truth be told, it also eliminates my need for a second peanut butter and jelly sandwich!)

But if you happen to get a glop on more than your knife, spoon or bread, remove peanut butter stains from just about any non-porous surface by scraping it up and then wiping it away with warm sudsy water. For excess oil, pile on the baking soda. Sprinkle the area liberally, wait for about ten minutes, wipe away the excess and you’re good to go.

Nutritious and versatile, glop-alicious and good, this month make Dr. Carver proud - remember to go nuts over peanut butter.

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

National Battery Day
“Mind is the battery cell,
Intelligence is the switch.”
~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba

No, National Battery Day is not meant to give you permission to assault people—thankfully, there is no holiday or any day when that is acceptable. This National Battery Day is brought to you by the companies that produce those things that are “not included” whenever you buy your kid a toy that needs a power source.

Yearly, Americans buy approximately three billion batteries to juice-up their cell phones, computers, radios, toys, watches, hearing aids…you name it. At an average length of two inches, strung end to end, those “disposable” energy sources would be 94,700 miles long – enough to circle the equator almost four times!

And although mercury was banned in the manufacture of alkaline batteries many years ago, many still contain small amounts of this troublesome material and - for some stupid reason - this is an unavoidable part of the mining and manufacturing processes. Ya’ see, when the other metals in alkaline batteries, like zinc and manganese, are mined, small amounts of mercury end up in the raw ore and aren't removed.

While some establishments accept rechargeable batteries for recycling, most refuse to take the alkaline variety wrongly assuming that because they “supposedly” don’t contain any toxic metals, they can just be put into the trash with all of our other garbage.

But when tossed out with the trash, those batteries eventually pollute lakes and streams - they can leach from landfills and therefore expose the environment and ground water to lead and acid and mercury. But between you and me - I think that we can and should recycle all those AAA, AA, C and D alkaline batteries.

And I’m apparently not alone in my thinking. Programs like the Big Green Box program are doing what they can to keep alkaline batteries out of landfills by recycling and recovering the metals in every type of battery. From their U.S. collection locations alkaline batteries are sorted and shipped to a Canadian facility that crushes them to recover the zinc, manganese, mercury and steel.

Walgreen’s, IKEA and Whole Foods, among other businesses, also offer collection sites for your used alkaline batteries. But in the states that “require” consumers to recycle their alkaline batteries, there are many more businesses that participate.

The need for batteries to run our 21st Century lifestyle is only going to grow, so instead of continuing to purchase something that’s bound to stop working, may I suggest that you consider using the newfangled rechargeable batteries instead? Unlike the rechargables from years back, the newest varieties can be recharged easily at home or in your place of business at any available electrical wall outlet, and they actually hold their charge.

And my new, most favorite kind of rechargables are the ones that can actually be charged via a USB port on your computer. They're ingenious! However, I've only found these USB-type rechargables online.

Many of the newest types of rechargeable batteries can be re-used up to 1,000 times, which, if you add it up, is a tremendous savings over their life span even though up-front they cost more to buy than the “disposable” varieties.

So - next time you're out shopping for batteries, forget the ones that will die on you in a week, and instead, pick up lithium-ion or NiMH types - simply because they contain fewer toxic metals, hold a charge, and won't pollute the planet. And just think - while you're saving precious cash and valuable resources, and safely using your new rechargeable batteries over and over and over again, that poor little Energizer Bunny will have keeled over and died a long time ago!

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

Valentine's Day
“Most of us can read the writing on the wall;
we just assume it's addressed to someone else.”
~Ivern Ball

Some fables – ancient or modern - ooze with the doe-eyed dedication of imagined perfect individuals, fairy-tale characters, supermodels or movie stars, and the empowerment gained by a sweetheart’s strength. Syrupy romance or not, such tales prove that affection, devotion, tenderness, obsession, and - dare I say love – is eternal. Take for instance Guinevere and Lancelot, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe (well maybe not the best of examples), Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor (again and again and again), John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Sir Elton John and David Furnish, J. Howard Marshall and Anna Nichole Smith, and even those star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria or their Elizabethan role-models, Romeo and Juliet.

The name Romeo has become synonymous with “lover” because - as a character from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” - he experiences love. What Juliet, however, shares with Romeo are deeper feelings, genuine emotions and are more unique than his puppy love. She shatters Romeo’s shallow view of love, moving him to speak some of the most beautiful love poetry ever written…”When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew.” – “Love goes toward love.”

Notes of infatuation, memos of obsession or passionate communications new or old have appeared throughout time as scribbled romantic words, hearts-n-arrows and tangled initials – even on the walls of Juliet Capulet’s house in Verona.

The celebrated balcony where Juliet pined for Romeo, has, for centuries been a pilgrimage for lovers, and remains one of Italy’s most visited sites. Lovers’ graffiti left on the house’s walls and doors include passionate scribbled words, letters, doodles and even post-it-like notes stuck on with bubble gum. As an act of preservation, Juliet’s house is regularly scrubbed clean of its love notes.

On this Valentine’s Day, if your personal Romeo (or Juliet) should leave missives of love scrawled or meticulously written in either crayon or pencil, breathe easy in knowing that baking soda can remove both from walls. To remove your sweetheart’s sonnet, just make a paste of baking soda with a bit of water, scrub the lovelorn area, and then rinse with clean water.

The saying goes “Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever.” So whether they’re rhymes for your Honey, limericks from your Love, couplets for your pet, odes from your Beloved, prose for your Precious, or verse from your True Love, remember to allow your words of devotion to speak from your heart and not from your wall.

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

Buddy Holly
"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
~ Berthold Auerbach

With dreams bigger than the wide-open Texan sky, nerdy glasses and fresh-face, Buddy Holly -- with his facade of smiling innocence and wholesome good looks -- became America's kid next door. This February 3rd marks the 50th anniversary of "The Day the Music Died," when Holly's brilliant potential was cut short at the age of 22, after the small plane he shared with Ritchie Valens (17) and the Big Bopper (28) crashed in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Born to Ella and Lawrence Odell Holley, on September 7, 1936, Charles Hardin Holley was born in Lubbock, Texas -- then a home to blinding dust storms.

The Dust Bowl or the Dirty Thirties was an environmental and human tragedy set off by decades of continued drought and land abuse (some fear another dust bowl could be around the corner). Devoid of crop rotation, endless over-plowing and without methods to end erosion, the virgin topsoil of the Great Plains -- Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas -- just blew away.

What didn't blow away, however, was the budding American singer-songwriter and pioneer of rock and roll -- considered one of the greatest musicians of all time -- Buddy Holly. Although his success lasted only a year and a half, his music was to be admired, interpreted, and even performed by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Also not blown away but now probably gathering dust are the huge black horn-rims that made almost every girl or guy look like Buddy Holly as well. Corrective, safety, photosensitive, 3D, bifocal, trifocal, progressive, rimless, wacky like Elton John's or Dame Edna's or horn-rimmed like Buddy Holly's -- dusty or not, all spectacles need cleaning.

To do so, never use any soaps or anything that contains ammonia. Instead, run warm tap water over both sides of each lens to wash away the oo-and-goo that may have settled on them. Then proceed to clean them with a fifty-fifty mixture of white vinegar and distilled water in a spray bottle.

Also, never dry eyeglasses with anything that began as wood -- paper towels, toilet paper or tissue -- because they contain abrasives that'll scratch lenses. Instead, cut up an old t-shirt, or better yet, dry eyeglass lenses with silk from an old necktie. Remember to wash your homemade cleaning cloths often because the dust and dirt trapped within them will eventually scratch your lenses, too.

When we think of the fifties -- a world where teenagers greeted rock-n-roll as if it were a rainstorm in the dust bowl -- we think of Buddy Holly's clean-cut, nerdy yet iconic image, and a time when everything -- not just eyeglasses -- seemed so much simpler, and visibly crystal-clean.

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.