60 laps. 60 years. 1 more goal met.

The smile says it all.

Every year on my birthday, I give myself an athletic challenge. This year it was to swim 60 laps, one for each year I've been alive.

This year, I announced my challenge on Facebook adding a little pressure but also opening myself up to fantastic support from friends I've met along the way. I was going to do the swim on my birthday, but we were under a heat advisory and at 106 degrees before 10 a.m. So I delayed and attempted it today, Saturday, the final day of my birthday week.

I got an early start. As with all big things worth doing, it's best to break them down.

After 5 laps: I thought just 12 more sets of 5. At 10 laps: 6 more sets. 20 laps: in a groove.

At 30, the halfway point: I started grinning. One more set of 30.

Laps 40 and 50: It's kind of like an out-and-back run, the return leg feels like I've done the work and everything else is gravy. Dig in, keep going.

And during laps 51-60: I started thinking about the literal meaning of those laps. Each lap was a quick up-and-back to review my life during the past few years. Cutting through the water, I was leaving those years behind.

And during my final lap, lap 60: I thought about what's to come, what I can make of my 60h year.

During that final lap, I set a couple of goals. Some people would call that setting my intentions. I call it preparing for my 61st birthday challenge.

Never wanted to be President, but Helen Thomas showed me I could grill one

As a journalism student in 1975, I snuck into the White House press corps which was camped out in the basement of the East-West Center in Hawaii to watch Ms. Helen Thomas, UPI cover President Ford. 

• Visit Didn't Help Ford Win Hawaii, Honolulu Star-Bulletin
• Daily Diary of President Gerald R. Ford, Dec. 7, 1975 (the 34th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor)

As reporters talked and laughed, waiting for Ford to mispronounce the word "hegemony," Helen Thomas smiled and typed away. She was my rock star.   

Eleven years later, I was working for that very same UPI, covering the deposed dictator President Ferdinand Marcos as he landed in Hawaii, exiled from the Philippines.

I hate the disgrace that came to Helen Thomas at the end of her career. I prefer to remember the very smart, very visible role model she was for women journalists.  

I never wanted to be the President.  Helen Thomas certainly showed me that I could grill one if that's what I wanted to do.  

Helen Thomas died today. She will always be remembered. 
 Thomas, Pioneering White House Correspondent, Dies at 92

The Diamondbacks have their swagger on!

Go ahead, give it a shot. Stick your toe into the water and test it out. What am I talking about? I am talking about jumping on the Diamondbacks bandwagon!

Yes, those Arizona D-backs, the team that has found itself firmly ensconced in the cellar the past several years. The team that has lived well below the .500 mark for the past few years when it came to wins.

No, what we have here are the new D-backs, the new “first place” D-backs. Yes, I know, let’s just pause for a second and savor that line. I said “first place” D-backs! Today, for the first time since this time of year in 2008, the D-backs are in first place in the National League west!

They did it by stringing together some amazing wins against the Astros, the Rockies, the Twins and the Braves! Just a few weeks ago this team was heading to their usual place at the bottom of the west standings. But then something happened along the way… the team found its’ swagger.

The team found out what true fans have known all along, they are winners. They just needed a man who demanded the most out of them.

Coach Kirk Gibson knows what it’s like to want to win so much, you will it to happen. I don’t even have to remind everyone what happened when he limped up to the plate during the 1988 World Series and hit a clutch home run. No one expected he would be able to do it, but Gibson did.

And now it’s that swagger he has brought to this team that is making the difference. This team is not made up of a group of overpaid superstars. No, this team is made up of a group of guys with a passion to prove people wrong. They want to prove they belong in the conversation when it comes to talk about the best teams in baseball!

Passion! It is a beautiful thing. This D-backs team is full of passion. Right now they are full of confidence. They are trying things they haven’t done for years. Things like hit and runs, steals, and ballsy base running!

They are out there playing like a bunch of kids, kids who love what they are doing. But they are just following the biggest kid of all, Coach Gibson.

I tip my hat to every one of the players and coaches on this team that believed, that believed they could win, and they are doing it.

So folks, jump on this bandwagon because all I can say is it’s going to be a hell of a fun ride!!! Come swagger with them!

Sue Green, Tempe

Photo of Kirk Gibson and the boys in blue by Flickr user Mr. Littlehand | Dad and daughter at the game photo by Robin J. Phillips

Give someone you love a call

This week I got a chance to speak with a long lost cousin I had not talked with for about 12 years. It wasn't that we had a falling out or anything, we had just let life get in the way, and time flew by.

But, I finally picked up the phone and reconnected, and I can't even tell you how happy I am that I did.

You see, my cousin Carol is in a nursing home where she has lived for the past ten years. She suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis, and now is in a wheelchair, but her mind is still as sharp as can be. Carol was known as a trailblazer in her day, fighting her way through college, roaming Europe as a single woman before it was cool, fighting for women's rights, and challenging men along the way. She was also one of the best midwives in California in her day.

You see, my parents were so proud of her they gave me her middle name, something I am very proud to carry.

I had been thinking about her a lot the past few months and finally decided to stop thinking about her, and just call.

It was like no time had passed at all. While her body might be slowly losing the battle with time and the disease, her mind is nowhere near ready to give up the fight. After calling her and hearing how happy she was to hear from me, I decided I had been away long enough. I packed up my mother, my sister and my nephew and we hit the road for the Los Angeles area to see her in person.

She sat in the lobby waiting for us, and was so proud to introduce us to everyone we met as "her family". I was so touched that our visit meant so much. And then, for the next two hours we talked about everything from 9-11, to the economy, to college entrance requirements and even our favorite TV shows and authors. It was an amazing two hours that truly fed my soul.

As we said our goodbye's and pulled away, I vowed that 12 more years would not go by again before talking to this amazing woman.

So, if there is someone out there you haven't spoken with in awhile, pick up the phone or get in the car. It is well worth the time!

Sue Green

The Football Team That Never Gave Up!

I woke up on Friday morning and got a sign, a sign that this was going to be an amazing day! The reason, the 36 members of the Carl Hayden football team woke up as winners today according to the headlines in the paper. But in my book, the players on this team have been winners every time they took the field.

You see, the last time this high school football team in Phoenix Arizona actually won a game was back in 2002, 66 games ago!

Back when I was in high school, "back in the day", Carl Hayden was a force to be reckoned with. Their team was one of the powerhouse teams in the city. But something happened, and they began to lose. First one game, then another, then another. Before anyone knew it, their loss total was in the double digits, then 20, then 30 then 40, 50, 60, 66.

This was one of the longest losing streaks in the country. But these kids, and their coach were not losers. They kept trying. Even though some teams were bigger, or stronger, or more talented, these student's suited up every Friday and took the field.

They never gave up, knowing that one day they would stop this streak, and begin a new one. Well, that day came on Thursday night against San Luis. The Carl Hayden falcons won 44 to 21, and the crowd went crazy.I almost started crying watching the players jumping all around, and the crowd streaming on to the field!

Check out some photos.

Coach Cleveland Dansby, the man who took over coaching the team in 2005, finally got his win, telling reporters that he was relieved, and that the community and students deserved this night of celebration. But I think the lucky ones tonight are all of us who got to share in this celebration.

This reaffirmed for me that no matter how tough things get, you can't give up and stop, otherwise you miss out on the moment of finally reaching your goal. Congratulations to all the players and former players at Carl Hayden who didn't stop, and didn't give up!

Sue, Tempe

All I got was this lousy T-shirt

Buddha went to Montreal and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.