What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom "to" and freedom "from."

The difference between talking on your cell phone while driving and speaking with a passenger is huge. The person on the other end of the cell phone is chattering away, oblivious.

Although spoken English doesn't obey the rules of written language, a person who doesn't know the rules thoroughly is at a great disadvantage.

Know how to treat frostbite until you can get indoors.

Be able to recognize the dangerous snakes, spiders, insects, and plants that live in your area of the country.

Be able to draw an illustration as least well enough to get your point across to another person.

Know how to behave at a buffet. Take a clean plate for a second helping.

Be able to analyze statistics, which can be used to support or undercut almost any argument.

I would not encourage children or teens to multitask because we don't know where those efforts may lead.

Be able to suffer wearing a necktie or slightly high heels for an entire evening without complaint or early removal.

Be able to sneeze without sounding ridiculous. That means neither stifling yourself or spraying your immediate vicinity.

Know why certain foods, such as truffles, are expensive. It's not because they taste best.

Email, instant messaging, and cell phones give us fabulous communication ability, but because we live and work in our own little worlds, that communication is totally disorganized.

When our spelling is perfect, it's invisible. But when it's flawed, it prompts strong negative associations.

Be able to confide your innermost secrets to your mother and your innermost fears to your father.

Experts say you can't concentrate on more than one task at a time.

Society needs people who can manage projects in addition to handling individual tasks.

Be able to decline a date so gracefully that the person isn't embarrassed that he or she asked.

Know how and how much to tip people who expect gratuities, even in the case of poor service.

Know how to garnish food so that it is more appealing to the eye and even more flavorful than before.

Know where to find the sunrise and sunset times and note how the sky looks at those times, at least once.

Be able to blow out a dinner candle without sending wax flying across the table.

The freedom to be an individual is the essence of America.

If your head tells you one thing, and your heart tells you another, before you do anything, you should first decide whether you have a better head or a better heart.

Attention-deficit disorders seem to abound in modern society, and we don't know the cause.

Know how to effectively voice a complaint or make a claim at a retail store.

Learn at least two classic ballroom dances, at least one of them Latin.

Be able to live alone, even if you don't want to and think you will never find it necessary.

While you're writing, you can't concentrate nearly as well on what the speaker is saying.

Be able to recognize many of the major constellations and know the stories behind them.

Be able to identify the most common breeds of dogs and cats on sight.

What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom "to" and freedom "from."

Skill is successfully walking a tightrope between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center. Intelligence is not trying.

No one would choose to be jerked randomly off task again and again until you have half a dozen things you're trying to get done, all at the same time.

A person who learns to juggle six balls will be more skilled than the person who never tries to juggle more than three.

Be in the habit of experimenting with your clothing so that you don't get stuck for life with a self-image developed over the course of high school.

Have you ever noticed that when you must struggle to hear something, you close your eyes?

Be able to meet any deadline, even if your work is done less well than it would be if you had all the time you would have preferred.

Know which officials are voted into office and which are appointed, and by whom.

Evolution has long been the target of illogical arguments that use presumption.

Know how your representatives stand on major national or state issues.

Be able to defend your arguments in a rational way. Otherwise, all you have is an opinion.

People who work crossword puzzles know that if they stop making progress, they should put the puzzle down for a while.

Be able to keep a secret or promise when you know in your heart that it is the right thing to do.

Know the difference between principles based on right or wrong vs. principles based on personal gain, and consider the basis of your own principles.

Know how to drive safely when it's raining or when it's snowing. The two conditions are different.

Be able to describe anything visual, such as a street scene, in words that convey your meaning.

Be able to notice all the confusion between fact and opinion that appears in the news.

Know how to behave at a fine restaurant, which is a telltale measure of social maturity.