Dear Daisy,
I am wondering about some workouts that I can give to the High School 800 and 1mile 2mile runners. Please tell me any workouts that will help these kids. Any thing is great. I have a lot of ideas but you may have some that I have not thought of yet.
Thanks for everything,
Jason

Dear Jason,
The cynical side of me wants to suggest you buy several cases of beer, a pound of dope and a gross of condoms and set them a stretch down the road and let the kids take what they may. But that's the cynical side of me.
My other side (which also happens to be the side which likes the sugar coated side of delicious Kellog's Mini-Wheats) wants to make some more serious suggestions. Thinking back to my high school days and the few sports I participated in (watersports, mostly), it wasn't physical strength I needed as much as mental and emotional strength. Kids don't believe in themselves much at that age. Helping boost their self esteem would also help to improve their performance. At least in my universe it would.

Dear Daisy,
Where does money come from?
Love Victoria

Dear Victoria,
Money is made by governments all around the world. While most countries have their own money, the countries of Western Europe have joined together to create one form of money which will be common among all participating nations. The first forms of money were nothing but stones carved in the shape of a crude donut. Later, precious metals and spices were used in place for money which eventually was made out of those same precious metals. Eventually most nations began using paper bills. It wasn't until this century that the United States quit backing up the value of each dollar by keeping an equivalent amount of gold on hand. This practice is known as the gold standard. Modern money is printed or minted on equipment much like that which printed this book you're reading. The main difference between this book and US currency lays mainly in the paper and ink. Special paper and inks are used to make counterfeiting more difficult. Some Americans believe that these old fashioned anti-counterfeit techniques are no longer a match for modern color copier technology. They are in favor of redesigning all American currency to make it much more difficult to copy with this ever improving technology. Those who are against changing the design of US currency seem to be afraid that doing so will remove whatever magic pixie dust made it worth so much in the first place.

Dear Daisy,
Why must someone be so involved in gambling? How can those who love him help him out of this habit?
Need Help

Dear Need Help,
Gambling is like masturbation: most people have done it but most can stop when they'd like. But there's a small group of people out there who feel compelled to continue their behavior because the next big one could be just around the corner. How do you help this person stop? First you must realize that there's nothing you can do to control this person's behavior and by attempting to do so you'll probably because more harm than good, both for yourself as well as the loved one. A person will only stop their addictive behavior when they have good reason to do so. Usually this is when the person hits their "bottom". Some people have very low bottoms; they'll continue their behavior until they've lost everything. Others, the fortunate ones, will realize much sooner that they're destroying their lives and the lives of those around them and seek help much sooner. What you should do is prepare yourself for the time when this person hits bottom. Look in your local phone book for treatment programs and Gambler's Anonymous. Know what options are available for him when he finally wants help. Be prepared to support him emotionally. And, under no circumstances, should you lend him money, unless you never want to see it again.

Dear Daisy,
I have had problems with urination lately...
like it always feels like I have to go, even and especially when I just went. And last night I wet the bed.
Is this a sign that my liver is going out on me or a sign of mental frustration?
Thanks a lot.

Dear Wee Willie Winkie,
I've never pretended to be a doctor (okay, there was that one time when I was in college but memories of those years in prison are enough to keep me from doing it again), so I can't even begin to guess at what's going. I do know that you should see a doctor immediately about this problem, although with the bed wetting thing, you might be able to find some really interesting friends with that. See a doctor. And tell him Daisy sent ya!