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Doggone Touchie-Feelie Available At Airports

According to Associated Press, several airports have come up with a novel way to help passengers. It involves a pilot program offering friendly dogs trained to snuggle and soothe people as the nervous humans wait for flights and try to endure other airport inconveniences that seem to get more stressful every day.

The service is called PUP: Pets Unstressing Passengers. On leashes held by trained volunteers, and wearing jackets identifying their tasks, the dogs wander through the passenger areas offering friendly paws, bellies and noses to pat.

The dogs are particularly popular with kids, who are often frightened, confused and impatient when being forced to wait for hours in busy, noisy airports. A friendly dog's gentle eyes, muzzle and wagging tail are perfect solutions to calming them down.

So far, PUP is available at airports in San Jose, Los Angeles and Miami, with more expected to offer the doggone good services soon. Considering the growing tensions in just about every airport from flight delays, security lines, ever increasing fare prices and other stresses, the friendly canines are welcome presences.

Editorial opinion: We like dogs very much, but as cat lovers, we feel they are just as qualified to be airport therapists, and should also be enlisted to provide the same soothing services. We’d call them FRIENDS: Felines Really Into Easing Numbingly Disturbing Situations.

Cruises: Non-smoking rules get stricter

Smoker

We grew up in an era when smoking was considered cool. As soon as we were teens, most of us were already hooked. Why not? Shills gave out free cigarettes on campuses. Ads proudly showed cowboys and movie stars puffing away. Even The Hit Parade, the favorite teen TV show that hyped our pop music, was sponsored by Lucky Strikes.

Then we suddenly realized cigarette smoke kills the longtime puffer and anyone else unlucky enough to have to breathe the smoke. Although cigarettes are now banned from many areas, we never thought cruise ships would join the campaign. After all, that’s why people sign up for a sea voyage, to relax and indulge in any doggone pleasure they want. Food, booze, sunning and puffing away.

Now, the major cruise lines, Princess, Carnival and Holland America will ban smoking in cabins on all the ships of all three lines by the end of the year. Princess will also include cabin balconies in the clean-air clean-up.

Dining areas on the ships will be smoke-free, but bars, dance areas and casinos will still be smoke-’em-if-you-got-’em areas. Other cruise lines already have some smoking restrictions in effect.

The rules on the three major cruise lines also come with punishment for offenders. Hey, smokers, if you’re caught sneaking a puff in smoke-free areas, they’ll tack a $250 cleaning fee to your bill. Sort of like being sent to the principal’s office after being nabbed smoking on the fire escape.

Paris: Famous Moulin Rouge Theater

Moulin Rouge

First opened in 1889, the Red Mill with its landmark windmill is said to be where the can can originated. On Boulevard de Clichy, it's still operating as a music hall.

Guided Motorcycle Tours