TheCleaners.net

Ah, yes, our tax dollars at work!  In 1935, the United States Congress proclaimed the first Sunday in August to be National Friendship Day.  Now, if you've heard of some of the other "National" days, this one is actually pretty good.  ("Eat More Turnips Day" is not high on my list.)

What is it about human beings that we need friends so badly?  Everybody does.  And, like so many other valuable things, the amount invested in the friendship really does determine its quality.

So, this week we're saluting National Friendship Day, and giving you a few tips on the "best friends" you have in your closet, as well.  So, send your friend a card, go do lunch, or just pick up the phone.  It'll do you both a world of good.

See you soon!

Jim Nixon
www.thecleaners.net

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Refer-A-Friend Coupon!

Good friends share things -- that's half the fun.  So, if you're satisfied with our service, why not tell a friend? Just forward this newsletter to a friend and you will both benefit from the discount. Thanks for recommending us!

$5.00 OFF your next drycleaning order
(of $10 or more)
(Include this coupon with your order.  Offer expires August 7, 2004. 
Limit one $5 discount per person.  Cannot be combined with other offers.)

Why are Friends
so hard to make?

You turn on the television and watch all your favorite characters interact with ease.  You see a movie with friends putting everything they have on the line for each other.  You walk through the mall and it seems everybody has a friend with them. And you wonder, "Why don't I have friends like that?"

If it makes you feel any better, it's not that there's anything wrong with you.  Children seem to form friendships in the time it takes to walk across the street and meet the new kids, but adults have a harder time.  Maybe it's because we have a lot more baggage than kids, and more history that we'd need to impart if we're going to become real friends.

 "One loyal friend is worth ten thousand
relatives." -- Euripides (408 B.C.)

Are Friends Necessary?

If you read the medical literature, it's a matter of life and death that we be able to bond with other people in friendships.  One statistic from a Harvard School of Public Health study indicated that men with friends they felt close to had an 82% lower risk of dying from heart disease than men who eschewed friendship.  Women's bodies actually release a specific hormone when they are spending time with friends, and it triggers the caring and nurturing side of them.

So, in our fast-paced, non-stop, busy lives how do we make friends 21st Century style?

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Ground Rules:

• Don't give up!  If you don't have friends today, that doesn't mean friends aren't in your future.  Begin to look for potential friends everywhere you go -- to work, at the gym, at events you attend with your children, your place of worship, the library.  Then go out of your way to introduce yourself and chat about whatever has brought you together.  You have to start somewhere.
• Don't let friendships languish.  If you've got someone you enjoy spending time with, then make a point of spending more of it with them.  "Where am I going to get that in my schedule?"  you ask?  You'd be amazed.  You have to eat, so why not go with a friend.  If you exercise, start doing it in tandem.  Join a club or take a class just for enjoyment, and take your friend with you.  It's a great way to spend time doing something you both like.
• Keep in touch.  Sure, life was slower fifty years ago and that left more time to spend with friends.  But today, there's no excuse for not staying connected.  Send e-mail (more than just forwarded stuff other people sent to you!) and e-cards.  Use that cell phone to talk to a friend at least once a week.  Buy a card and send it -- with photos, too, since they are great for sharing memories and what you're involved in.
• Be the friend you want.  We all want someone we can lean on, so when someone needs to lean on you -- be there.  Keep confidences.  Be honest.  Share your heart and be vulnerable.  When one half of a friendship does these things, the other half will follow suit, in spades.

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of
the world walks out." -- Walter Winchell

Your clothes have friends, too!

Really, it's just another way of saying that certain clothing items hang out together, and they should get cleaned together, too.  Every time.

A suit may have two or three pieces, and perhaps you only wore the slacks, or the skirt, or the jacket.  Now that it's time to get them cleaned, naturally you figure you'll just toss in the piece you wore and all will be well.  But that's not necessarily true.

Over time, there can be color and textural differences between the pieces of an outfit that have been cleaned unevenly.  No garment is designed to last forever, and its colors will fade over time.  That just a fact.  If you clean the slacks 18 times and the coat only 6, it's natural that any fading or texture changes will show up in the slacks more dramatically than the coat, right?

The fact that all the pieces of a garment need to age equally is why we encourage you to have the entire garment cleaned each time.  That includes belts, too.  So, next time you're bundling up your cleaning to bring to us, remember those garment "friends" and give them a ride, as well.  You'll be glad you did, over the long haul.