Luna's Dream

Luna is a seven pound white toy poodle. She lives with her best friend Buddy, a Yorkipoo who loves to eat, and her Mom and Dad as she likes to call them. They are actually her owners, but she doesn’t see them that way. Luna has a dream. She wants to do something big with her life. She loves her home and her family, but something inside her tells her she is destined for great things. Well, here she is. Let her introduce herself.

 “My name is Luna and this is my dream. I live with my best friend Buddy and my Mom and Dad. I’m a miniature poodle and I weigh 6.5 pounds. Buddy is a Yorkipoo and he’s my best friend! He’s my hero and he’s very handsome. Buddy and I are together all the time, even when we go to the doggie groomers at PetSmart.”

Our Mom and Dad take us for walks all the time and when they do, I just kept pulling and tugging on the leash. That’s what I do! Then I saw on TV how other dogs do the same thing except they’re pulling a sled in the snow. The Iditarod! I learned about this race in Alaska and I knew that’s what I was meant for.  My dream is to be the lead dog on the team that wins the Iditarod. Where’s Alaska? I just don’t know how to get to Alaska. I know when I get there the other dogs will want me to help them win. I know I can do it! I talked to Buddy about it and he said, “It sounds scary and a long way from home.”

“Buddy, don’t you ever think about anything but food?”

“Yeah, like chewing on a bone and taking a nap. That’s hard to do in the snow!” Buddy replied.

“Besides, it’s a long way to Alaska and I like my bed.”

“Buddy, I was born to pull a sled. I was meant to win this race!” Luna said.

 “Somehow, I just have to get to Alaska.” Luna sighed realizing that Buddy was not nearly as excited.

When winter came it was very cold outside. It was not as cold as winters in Alaska, but it was colder than it was in the summer. There was a crackling fire in the fireplace and the whole house was warm and toasty. It was one of those cold and quiet winter days when everyone could afford to be lazy all day and just lounge in front of the fire.

Luna curled up into a tiny ball of fur on the couch and went to sleep with Buddy laying only a few feet from her. When she opened her eyes her and Buddy were in Alaska. “How did we get here?” she thought. “I don’t remember the trip”. There was snow everywhere as far as you could see. Luna was amazed at all the snow and the fact that her and Buddy were actually in Alaska! The snow didn’t seem to bother Luna at all, but she could tell Buddy was already looking for a warm bed and some food. “Come on Buddy. Let’s go talk to those dogs over there”, Luna said wagging her tail. “I think I’ll just stay here and wait for someone to open this door and then I’m going inside and get some food. I’m really hungry.” Buddy said glancing sideways at the door as he sometimes does. Buddy is famous for his sideways glances. When he sits in your lap, he pretends to ignore you, but the whole time he’s giving you a sideways glance hoping you’ll give him some food.

Luna ran over to where the pack of Huskies was laying in the snow. They seemed tired or sad just laying there staring in all directions as if waiting for something. She looked them all over very carefully and they didn’t seem to notice her at all. “Hey, where can I find an Iditarod team? She asked, addressing the Husky closest to her. “We’re an Iditarod team, but our lead dog is hurt and so we don’t know if we’ll be in the race this year” he said in a sad monotone dog voice. Luna said, “I’m your dog! I’ll be the lead dog on your team,” she said confident and full of herself.

The other dogs just looked at her for a minute and then they all started rolling in the snow and laughing dog laughs, which sound like yelps to human ears. “You?” one of the other dogs said with a skeptical tone. “You’re kind of a fancy dog to be pullin a sled in the snow across the Yukon aren’t you?” he said matter of factly. “In fact, you’re not even big enough to make a decent meal for one of us. I eat more meat at every meal than you have on your whole body,” he said with a smirky dog scowl on his face.

“I can pull way more than my own weight and you shouldn’t go around judging other people and dogs by their size. Who do you think you are anyway?” she said, standing her ground and showing some teeth in a kind of fake smile grimace, scary looking poodle dog way. It worked too! For a minute, all the Huskies gave her their full attention and seemed to be taking her serious, when, they all started laughing all over again. They were rolling around in the snow, guffawing, howling, snorting, and acting every bit like superior dogs. They were so busy laughing they didn’t see what she did next.

Luna marched over to the front of the team where Rusty’s harness was laying in the snow. Rusty was the team’s lead dog and leader of the pack so to speak. Luna took it upon herself to start adjusting the harness straps for the lead dog. The harness was way too big for her, so she quickly chewed away all the parts she didn’t need, until, until she could strap herself in to the lead dog position. (Luna has very powerful jaws for such a tiny dog) This maneuver did not sit well with the rest of the team. They all stopped laughing immediately.”Get out of there!” one dog yelled. “Who the hell do you think you are?” “Get out of their before Rusty comes back with his bad leg and all. He’ll have your butt for breakfast” said one of the other dogs.

About this time, Old Jake came strolling out of the doc’s office shaking his head and pondering what he would do without his lead dog this year. Poor Rusty had somehow hurt his leg and well, Old Jake and the rest of the team depended on Rusty to lead the team and to win the Iditarod. He was completely lost in thought as he mounted his sled and ordered his dogs to “Mush!” Before anyone knew it, even Luna, they were all up and pulling for everything they had. They were off! After about a hundred yards, Old Jake came out of his fog and noticed his lead dog was a little on the small side. “What the hell? What the hell is going on here? He muttered as he stopped the sled. He got off and walked up front to see who was in Rusty’s spot. That’s when he saw Luna standing their all harnessed up and wagging her stub of a tail. “Well little girl, you think you got what it takes to fill Rusty’s spot? He said with a chuckle. It was a sight Old Jake could never have imagined.

“I’d better get you out of that harness and find out who you belong to.” Old Jake said reaching down to take the harness off Luna. In an instant, Luna growled and showed Old Jake her teeth, which took him back a bit. “Easy girl, I’m just tryin to help you and keep you out of trouble.” He said as he stood back up and just stared at Luna with a thoughtful gaze. After about a minute of staring at her he said, “Well, if you can pull your weight on the team, you can stay, but you don’t get anything extra and well, I know you won’t eat as much as Rusty.”

With that, Old Jake mounted the sled and they were off for home. When they got home, he untied all the dogs, even Luna, and led them to a barn where they stayed. Shortly he came out with a whole bunch of meat and other things to eat. He gave Luna a small helping of meat compared to the huge portions he gave to the other dogs. All the other dogs dove into their food with gnashing teeth, slobbering, making munching sounds, and pretty soon, they were all finished. In less than a minute! They all looked at Luna and her food. She hadn’t touched a bite. Luna hunkered down over her food and growled at them, letting them know that her food belonged to her. Not one of the Huskies had thought that this little white poodle would even think to growl at them or to think for a minute they couldn’t just eat her up too. Nevertheless, they backed away and let her eat her meager meal. Soon, it was time for them to bed down for the night. Tomorrow was race day and they all knew they’d need as much rest as they could get.

Back in town, Buddy finally got his wish. Someone actually did open the door and as soon as they did, he made a beeline inside. Right next to the vet’s office was a small home. It was the veterinarian’s home. He lived there with his wife and two children. One of his children had opened the front door to go outside and when she did, Buddy saw the chance to go inside, so there he was now, on the inside. Immediately he saw the veterinarian’s daughter, a little girl about ten years old. Buddy started wagging his tail and using all his charm to maybe get something to eat. “Look Mommy! It’s a little puppy! He’s so cute. Can we keep him?” she said bending down to pet Buddy. Buddy knew exactly what to do. He turned on the charm even more, rolling around and being as happy as he could be. “Maybe she’ll give me some food.” He thought. And then she did! She gave Buddy a cookie from the counter. Buddy knew he had made the right decision. He hadn’t even noticed that Luna had run off with a pack of wild Huskies. The only thing on his mind was some food and then maybe a nice long nap somewhere.

 The little girl fell in love with Buddy immediately. All the dogs she had ever seen were Huskies and they were so big and so messy and such outside dogs. She knew Buddy was different. Buddy was an inside dog. And Buddy knew this too as he looked around to figure out where he was going to sleep as soon as he could eat as much food as this little girl would give him. Her mother looked down at Buddy and smiled. She too was used to seeing only Huskies and rarely saw a cute little dog like Buddy. She said, “Well dear, we can keep him for now, but we’ll have to see what your father says when he comes in.” And with that, she gave Buddy a nice dish of meat which he gobbled down as quickly as any Husky would have done. With his belly full, Buddy walked over to the couch, jumped up on it, curled up and went to sleep. Life was good.

Back in the barn, Luna and the team were already up from a long night’s sleep. Old Jake had given them all an extra ration of meat knowing they were going to be working hard today. He took the dogs outside and let them play in the snow and stretch their legs. He knew they needed a good warm up before the start of the race. Shortly he harnessed them all up, except for Luna. He tucked Luna inside a pouch on the sled. She was extremely unhappy, but went along with the whole thing. At least she was on a sled team and going to race in the Iditarod! Old Jake decided he’d be one dog short and was relaying on his experienced team of dogs to work together even without Rusty as their lead dog. He knew they wouldn’t disappoint him.

When they reached the starting line, all the other teams looked at Old Jake and his one-dog short team and just shook their heads in disbelief. “Suicide!” somebody yelled. “You can’t race like that Jake” said one of the other contestants. “Jake, you’ll never keep up without Rusty”. You have no lead dog! You got no dog to set the pace to keep the other dogs in line.” He pleaded. Old Jake just looked at them all and smiled. “My team knows what to do” he said confidently, making sure Luna was quiet and out of site.

Luna was trying to get out of the pouch about this time. She didn’t want to miss all the excitement of the start and well, she couldn’t see a darn thing in the pouch, although she could hear all the commotion going on. Before any knew it, the gun went off and the race was on. Luna felt the sled leap forward and they were moving across the snow as a feverish pace. Old Jake let her peek out of the pouch now since they were a ways from the crowd. Luna could see several sled teams ahead of them and a few behind them. Her team was doing a good job keeping up even without Rusty and even without her. This wasn’t the way Luna planned to participate in the Iditarod, but at least she was on the team.

Two days into the race, Luna could begin to see her team growing weary. Without Rusty to lead them, they didn’t always pull together, which made them spend more energy to stay together to shoulder the weight of the sled. She wanted to do something, but what? What could she do? The next morning Luna woke up before everyone else. She was able to work the lead harness loose from where Old Jake had tied it between the two lead dogs. Luna laid it all out and then strapped herself in. She was ready! She was going to be the lead dog today or else!

When Old Jake and the dogs woke up, they found her standing there in the harness looking at them. The dogs were too tired to laugh, but they managed a few muffled chuckles. Old Jake started to complain to Luna about what a bad idea this was and how it wouldn’t work, but Luna just glared at him and he knew she meant business. And that was that! Old Jake fed all the dogs and Luna too and then harnessed the team and they were off. Luna pulled with all her might and began to realize how hard this work really was. Then it hit her: “I’m in the Iditarod! I’m running in the Iditarod and I’m the lead dog! I’m leading my team! And with that, she pulled even harder and began to measure out her steps in a way that seemed to give her more leverage while hitting a rhythm. The other dogs on the team could feel no difference in the load they’d been pulling. It felt exactly the same for the first few miles. But, then something began to happen….

Somewhere around mile three of day three, everything began to click. The whole dog team suddenly felt the difference. They were all pulling together. They were all in step and running across the snow as a single dog. They were a team! And there was little Luna out front leading them and thinking she was pulling her weight. Actually she was pulling her weight in a manner of speaking. She was so small that all the other dogs had to focus to see her. And as they did, this act of focusing caused them to become the one dog that pulled the sled. They were a proud team pulling the sled across the snow all day. They felt like they could keep up this pace all day and all night if they had to.

Before the day ended, Luna’s team passed one of the other sled teams. They came over a small ridge and there about halfway across the little valley, was another team. As they came down the slope into the valley, they picked up speed until they were running faster than they thought was possible. It didn’t take long for them to pull up to the other team. And when they did, all the dogs and the musher stared in disbelief at the little white poodle running in the lead dog position. They were stunned. They could hardly believe what they were seeing. This was the Iditarod! This wasn’t some sissy race for sissy dogs, but there she was out front leading her team right past them!  A poodle! A little white toy poodle!

When the team bedded down for the night, all the huskies gathered around Luna. One of the huskies said, “Thank Luna. We’re not sure what you did, but today’s run was the best day we’ve had in the race. Somehow you knew just how fast we should be running and you were right because we could have run all day and night at that pace. Anyway, you’re one of us now.” Luna just looked back at all of them from her curled up ball. “I just wanted to be in the race today and it was so much fun to be part of the team. I know that tomorrow we’re going to have another great day. Thanks for letting me be on your team”, she said. And with that, Luna curled up even tighter and went to sleep. She wasn’t even that hungry. The rest of the dogs went back to the sled, ate their dinners and went to bed. They were all dreaming that maybe, just maybe, they could win this race.

The next several days were very tough for Luna and all the dogs. Each day they seemed to improve on their pace, improve on their stride, and they were all growing closer as a team. It was hard work and Luna soon learned she needed to eat as much food as her little stomach could hold. She needed all the fuel she could hold to keep her going and to keep her warm. No matter how much food the dogs ate, they could tell they were all getting thinner and thinner. It was a hard race and pulling a sled all day everyday was not easy. Still, they were gaining ground. In the past three days, they had passed two other teams. It was always the same scene: as they would pull up alongside the other team, the musher and the dogs would look over in disbelief when they saw Luna the white poodle in the lead dog position. The dogs would whine and yelp with shame as Luna and her team passed them by and left them in the snow dust so to speak.

When they pulled into camp that night, Old Jake gave all the dogs a little extra ration. In fact, it was almost all the food that was left. He petted each dog and told them all, “We only got enough food left for breakfast tomorrow, but that’s okay because tomorrow, we’re crossing the finish line in Nome.” Old Jake just sat there for a while looking at his dogs and studying Luna. “What the hell goes on in that little dog’s mind that makes her think she’s a Husky?” he thought. “Well, tomorrow girl you’ll get to finish your first Iditarod, so I guess we’d better get some sleep.” And with that Old Jake snuggled into his sleeping bag and went to sleep.

In the morning everyone was up a little early. Old Jake seemed to be a little anxious, a little different. He was always calm and jovial. He was simply someone that enjoyed life and loved being alive. He was very careful to make sure each dog received a generous portion of food and a little extra attention today. He was so proud of them to have worked so hard and come so far. Heck, just finishing the Iditarod was an achievement. Old Jake wanted to win the race, but he knew in the grand scheme of things, that finishing the race was the most important. He figured he’d run about twenty five Iditarods and this might be his last one. He was getting on in years and well, somewhere in his heart he thought he might have won at least one race.

He harnessed up the team and made sure Luna was strapped in out front. At this point in the race, everyone accepted Luna as the lead dog. She was so small, but somehow, she seemed to be the center of attention, nobody wanted to fight with her, and well, they all felt pretty good about the fight they were putting up. They knew that today they had to catch the two teams in front of them if they were going to win. They knew it would be a hard day. It would be a day to remember.

“Mush!” yelled Old Jake and they were off. Right out of the gate Luna was pulling like there was no tomorrow. (There was no tomorrow because today the race would be over. It would be won or lost today!) The other dogs pulled for all they were worth and the sled flew over the snow, over hill after hill and across great stretches of open flat lands. About three hours into the day, they caught sight of the next team just starting up the rise in the distance. This sight made them all pull harder. Luna knew she had to dig down deep and step up the pace, which she did as best she could.

By the time they crested the next hill, they could see the other team about four hundred yards ahead of them. Down they went on the other side. Luna was running out of her own footsteps and the Huskies were pulling with everything they had to give to the effort. Before they hit the next rise, we were neck and neck with them. When the dogs looked over and saw Luna, they began to yelp as they ran. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing, a poodle! There was a little white poodle leading the team that was passing them! For a couple of hundred yards they struggled and then they had no more to give as they watched Luna and her team pull ahead of them.

Luna was running so hard she didn’t even realize they had passed the other team. “This Iditarod thing is a lot harder than I thought,” Luna thought as she was panting and pulling and running for her life. They were in third place. There were only two teams in front of them and it wasn’t even noon yet!  They had a good six hours of running left before the end of the race and Luna knew she had to pull with everything she had for them to have a chance. Hope springs eternal in a little poodle’s heart. Just then they topped another ridge and saw the big valley below. And there in front of them were the other two teams. Right there in front of them and not that far away. They were battling it out for first place.

This was all the encouragement the team needed. Old Jake was mushing them for all he was worth. It felt like they were flying over the snow barely touching it. The wind was blowing in their faces and none of them were even thinking about being tired now. They were pulling like a single dog, pulling together’ locked in a battle with one solitary purpose: to win! And that’s when it happened: As they came around the corner of a snowdrift, they could see the flags and banners of the finish line about a half a mile away. They could also see the other two teams were halfway there. None of the Huskies were willing to give up and neither was Luna as they tried to run even faster. Little by little they were closing the gap on the other two teams, but it wasn’t enough.

Both teams crossed the finish line within five seconds of each other. Luna, the Huskies, and Old Jake crossed it about two minutes later. They ran about two hundred yards passed the finish line and then all of them collapsed in the snow, panting and licking the air, and then panting some more. Luna was heartbroken. As she was catching her breath she couldn’t hold back her tears of failure, of the terrible thought that they didn’t win. “I just knew we were going to win.” She said to herself. “We had to win. We should have won, but we lost.” Luna was inconsolable as she looked around at her teammates. They had all got their breath back and were laying quietly in the snow. All of a sudden, Old Jake started laughing and whooping and petting the Huskies and telling them how proud he was of them and how much he loved them and what a great job they did in the race.

Then he unharnessed the Huskies and unharnessed Luna as well. Old Jake bent down and picked Luna up and hugged her and said, “Roxie, you are quite a dog! I’m so proud of you for the way you lead this team and for being so strong and determined.” Luna was stunned and without words. “Roxie? Who’s Roxie? I’m Luna!” she barked. Old Jake never knew her name and well Luna never told him, so he named her Roxie. “Wait a minute” Luna said. “Why are you so happy that we lost?”

Old Jake said, “Honey, the best we’ve ever done in this race is fourth place and that’s with Rusty in the lead.”  Luna just nuzzled into Old Jake’s arms and began to understand his joy. The meaning of the accomplishment, pulling the sled day after day and still getting third place began to change Luna’s mind. “I finished the Iditarod! I didn’t win, but I finished and third place to boot!” She looked over at the Huskies and they were all looking at her. “We did it! We did it!” she yelled as loud as she could. All the dogs started barking and yelping in celebration. They all understood they were winners. They finished what they had started and had won third place. They were very happy and Luna was very happy as well.

By the time all the other teams arrived and then the celebrations and awards and picture-taking and interviews and eating lots of foods was over, Luna realized she was very tired. “Buddy”! The thought hit her like a lightning bolt. “Where is Buddy? What happened? I thought he was following me. Where is he?” Luna remembered back to when they were sitting there on the street and she spied the Husky team laying in the snow and then she remembered: “Buddy said he was going inside, but inside where? I have to find him first thing when I get back to Anchorage.” With that thought Luna settled down with the team, enjoyed the celebration and festive mood that surrounded her. This gave her some time to reflect on everything that happened to her in Alaska. She’d come here hoping to run in the Iditarod and she did! She wanted to be the lead dog and she was! She wanted to win, but she didn’t! But she did get third place and after all, for a seven pound white toy poodle, this was quite an accomplishment and she knew this to be true. Her dream had, in fact, become real. With that Luna curled up in a little ball and went to sleep. Her last thought was, “Next y ear.”

There was so much excitement going on outside, Buddy was curious to see what was going on. Normally, Buddy liked to stay inside by the fire and more importantly, by the kitchen so he could keep an eye on everyone’s coming and going, especially when they opened the refrigerator. This always gave Buddy a small window of opportunity to get some food. Maybe not very much food, but a mouthful here and a mouthful there, and pretty soon, it was a meal. Besides, there was little else to do except eat and sleep. But today, the little girl and boy were running in and out as if expecting something to happen. The doc seemed a little excited today.. He knew Old Jake would be coming soon to pick up Rusty, who had healed up very nicely, and besides, he had already heard the news of the race and he wanted to get a look at this little poodle everyone was talking about.

Also, by this time, the doc had put two and two together and somehow understood that his new little house guest was somehow related to this miracle toy poodle that had almost won the Iditarod almost by herself it seems. At first he wondered where this little Yorkipoo had come from. You don’t see many of these kinds of dogs up here in the Yukon, not to mention little white toy poodles. But now, it was all coming clear to the old doc. He’d wait for Old Jake to come back to town to pick up Rusty and then he’d get his chance to meet this poodle and also to see how these two little critters were related.

Well, it wasn’t much longer at all, when all the excitement came to a head. Four of the eight teams were from Anchorage and so they all showed up together to a hero’s welcome, even Old Jake and his team. They came driving up like they were still runnin the Iditarod and darned if there wasn’t the cutest little white toy poodle pullin in the lead position. And there was Old Jake as proud as a peacock mushin them right up to the clinic like he was giving everyone a taste of what it was like in the race. The little poodle seemed completely at home in the lead position and all the Huskies seemed like it was okay.

The kids opened the front door and ran out to meet Old Jake and his team and when they did, Buddy bolted for the door and ran out with them. They ran right up to the sled and Buddy stopped short. He wasn’t afraid or anything, but there was a lot of big old Huskies panting in a pile right in front of him and well, he was going to be cautious and very polite. That was his plan until he saw Luna and just ran up to her and started licking her. They were both licking each other and sniffing each other’s butt a little bit, when Luna said, “Buddy! I was so worried about you and we almost won and I got to pull the sled and race in the Iditarod!” Luna was jumping up and down and so was Buddy, although he wasn’t sure why. “Where did you go?” she said finally stopping all her jumping and panting. “I went inside that house and a little girl gave me a cookie, so I decide to stay.” Buddy said with a certain amount of pride.

Old Jake and the doc talked for a while and then went inside. They quickly returned with Rusty, who looked like a million dollars. He was completely healed and bolted toward the other Huskies. They all rolled around in the snow and yelped and played for a while and then they all quieted down. It seemed like they talked among themselves for a bit and then Rusty glanced over at Buddy and Luna. Then he trotted over to where they were sitting and thanked Luna for filling in for him while he was hurt. He even bent down and licked Luna right on the face, right in front of Buddy and Buddy didn’t mind a bit. He was very proud of Luna, but he rarely liked to show it. This was different because Buddy and Luna had never been apart for so long before and also because Buddy knew that Luna’s dream came true and he was happy for her. This was her moment.

The doc was talking to Old Jake and then they both looked over at Buddy and Luna and doc was nodding in a way that confirmed his suspicions. Buddy and Luna were meant to be together. They both came over and petted all the Huskies and then petted Buddy and Luna marveling at what he had heard about Luna pulling the sled and sleeping in the snow and bunking with a whole pack of Huskies. It was very hard to believe it all, but there she was.

Just then, Luna heard something and sat straight up on the couch. It was Buddy and he was barking at something. She was confused for a moment and didn’t remember being on the couch and then she did. Everything seemed so strange now. She was back home with Buddy on the couch and the fire was still burning and it was suppertime. “How did I get home?” she thought. “We were just in Alaska and I ran in the Iditarod and where’s the Huskies and Old Jake?” Buddy just looked at her and asked, “Are you going to eat your dinner?” noticing that their supper was on the floor. Luna hopped off the couch and walked over to her supper dish thinking about next year. “it was good to be home” she thought.

 

DON'T DIE!

Most of us drift from day to day complaining about our boring schedule and yet, almost never lift a finger to do anything different. It’s somehow comforting and comfortable for us to wrap ourselves up in a familiar misery we’ve come to count on as the one constant thing in life. It’s much easier to do nothing different and to cruise through life on auto pilot expecting a miracle or someone to rescue us from our fate. This is so much easier than taking a risk, stepping out of our comfort zone, and maybe having to face our fears. That’s what it takes to break through to our authentic self. That’s what it takes to win!

I must admit I was one of those people who lived life like that. It wasn’t that I didn’t have good ideas. I did! The problem was I couldn’t get anyone to encourage me and so I let everyone discourage me. I didn’t really believe in myself, so I gave them power over my life choices! I did that to myself my whole life until I met Arsen Marsoobian. He invited me to attend his event. It was called “The Time of Your Life is Now!” and it was an incredible watershed event in my life.

See, I had suffered a heart attack and after about nine months of struggling with the medications, I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to live with this condition. My life was drifting toward a place where I couldn’t see much use for me to hang around. I couldn’t do a lot of the things I used to be able to do. It was simply a huge and painful struggle each day. Arsen’s event changed all of that and made me believe I had something more to contribute to life.

Arsen Marsoobian is seventy seven years old, he’s had two quadruple bypass surgeries, and he keeps on going! Arsen isn’t just getting by these days…he’s living his life his way! And now he’s published his own book called, “Don’t Die!” The book is about adding life to your years no matter what your age. If you’re one of those people in between careers or standing at the fork in the road of your life, you might want to grab this book. It’s a funny, heartwarming, and powerful book that will point you in the right direction, which is coincidentally, the way you want your life to go rather than the way it’s been.

Even before Arsen wrote his book, he had affected the way I looked at life. I should say he infected me with his enthusiasm and common sense. See, Arsen doesn’t just say it, he lives it! And he inspired me to believe in myself even when I didn’t believe in myself. As a direct result of his infectious enthusiasm, he encouraged me to begin my writing career. And I did! A year later I had finished my first serious book and stayed with the project all the way to publication. A lot of people talk about writing a book and some people actually write the book, but very few get it published. I did what I set out to do and saw it through to the end thanks to Arsen.

What I learned from Arsen Marsoobian is to be grateful for everything I have, to use my skills and talents as best I can, and to never give up on my dreams. He was right! It was worth it! I am now doing what I always dreamed of my whole life. Don’t let the negativity around you stop you from realizing your dreams. Whoever you are, you have a story, a painting, or a song to sing. It’s already in your heart and you know it’s there, so go after it! If you need a push, I suggest you spring for the fifteen bucks and buy Arsen’s book. And if you like it let him know. Please remember the key to long life is: DON”T DIE!