The American Diabetes Association wants you to know your risk for diabetes and heart disease and wants you to know how to lower it. The ADA is launching a new prevention initiative – CheckUp America. If you’re overweight, have unhealthy cholesterol levels, smoke, have high blood glucose or high blood pressure, you have risk factors for diabetes. But you may have other risk factors such as age, race, gender and family history of diabetes.

The ADA offers learning tabs on the problems and risk factors you may have that you and your physician can work together to control and manage. Get more information on subjects such as understanding high blood glucose and managing cholesterol, the role of physical activity and quitting smoking in risk management. You can also download their CheckUp Chart to help you track your cardiometabolic risk factors to lower your risk for diabetes and heart disease.

CheckUp America

Rock breaks scissors. Scissors cut paper. Paper covers rock.

These are the basic rules for the traditional game “Rock, Paper, Scissors”. The game’s origin may date as back as far as 200 BC, where a game known as Jan-Ken developed in Japan. The popularity of the game is easily understood. It requires no special equipment to play and involves skill and intuition. It’s a game we all remember from childhood, but some adults take it seriously and there is even a World RPS Society.

64-year-old retiree, Ray Scott, doesn’t think that Rock, Paper, Scissors is just for kids. Ray won the state title of RPS Champion in New Hampshire after advancing through eight rounds played at Manchester bars and pubs. Next month, Scott heads to Las Vegas to compete in the national Rock, Paper, Scissors competition.

Playing this school yard game could pay off in a big way for Ray. The grand prize is $50,000. The national competition will be held in Las Vegas and broadcast on ESPN.

Manchester Retiree an Ace at His Game

Venus Ramey, 82, balancing herself on her walker, shot out the tires of a car in which the intruder on her farm intended to make his getaway. Recently, thieves had stolen old farm equipment out of a storage building, and Venus wasn’t about to let this intruder leave.

Venus Ramey has always been a self-starter. She left her home in Kentucky and moved to Washington, DC, where she entered the regional beauty pageant and become Miss Washington, DC. Her beauty and talent then won her the title of Miss America, 1944, the first redheaded Miss America.

In her position as Miss America, Venus continued her war efforts by selling war bonds all across the country as she toured. Her image adorned a B-17 fighter plane that made 68 sorties over Germany.

In 1947, Venus returned home to her tobacco farm in Kentucky, married and raised two sons. She continued to stay involved in political issues with her run for a seat in the Kentucky legislature, her radio show and her publication of a political newspaper. She has maintained her family farm for over fifty years.

Are you an undiscovered artist? Looking to be discovered? AARP is looking for amateur artists to enter their original oil, acrylic, or watercolor paintings in a contest to find the artwork that will adorn their 2008 AARP calendar.

The contest is open to all current AARP members. 14 paintings will be chosen from among the entries for the 2008 calendar. Entries must be received by May 31, 2007. The winning entries will be displayed at this year’s AARP Life@50+ National Event & Expo in Boston, MA, September 6-8, 2007.

The theme of the 2008 calendar is “America: From Sea to Shining Sea”.

Instructions for entering your painting can be found at the AARP Website