It seems that with all of this heat lately, many of us have become wound a little too tightly. Believe me when I say that I consider myself an expert on being wound too tightly.

I think that it is important to get away from the stresses of life whenever we can. This is easier than we have been led to believe, especially in a town like Moorpark.

Last weekend, after a couple of very stressful weeks at work, my wife and I went to the Apricot Festival at the college. Just a few hours of walking around, looking at the booths, talking to the vendors and running into old friends really took the edge off.

I was calm and rational again but this only lasted until, once again, I realized that there was just about everything a small town could want at an apricot festival, except apricots. In fairness, there were apricots at the festival this year, but they were gone by the time we got there. Still, it was a lot of fun.

A few days before the Apricot Festival we had the Fireworks Extravaganza at the high school. I had to miss it, but I understand that it was a lot of fun.

Also on the list, as always, is the usual warning to parents not to take youth sports too seriously. When all is said and done, we will realize that even though mankind has begun to understand the infinitely small world of the atom and the endless vastness of the universe, deciding whether a pitch is a strike or a ball is something that will elude us for many years to come, so we'll just have to live with it and have some fun while we're out there, no matter what the sport.

If you can keep your head while all those around you are loosing theirs, then you're either a calm and rational person or the time has come to admit that your grasp of the situation is somewhat shaky. If you are one of the former, you are to be commended. If, on the other hand, you fall into the later group, it might be time to reassess your career choice.

I once heard a little ditty that has stayed with me for years. It has helped countless thousands, if not millions, of people deal with the crisis at hand. I am happy to pass it on to all of our readers. It went something like this:

"When in trouble, or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout."

Another simple little thing you can do is take a little walk once in a while. Some people like to run or ride bikes, but I like to walk. If you're running or riding, you'll no doubt get there quicker, but I like to walk because I don't want to miss anything along the way.

I feel a little sorry for some of the people I see walking along a trail all the while yelling back and forth to each other, or calling their dogs, because while they might consider it a nature walk, it's more like a nature scatter. Any of the wonders these folks might have encountered along the way have long since scattered into the hills and have sat down to see just what the heck all of the noise is about.

I think that maybe stress is akin to matter. We don't know with a certainty where either originates, but they can neither be created nor destroyed. They can only transfer states.

For example, let's say that you're cruising along the freeway and you start to feel relieved as you unburden yourself to your friend over the cellphone. As you weave to and fro, the stress leaves you and is transferred to the folks driving beside and behind you as they swerve to get out of your way.

Another example would be the case where writing relieves my own stress. You can just imagine how that stress will transfer to my editor when he realizes that I've sneaked another rhyme into my column.

Ed. note: You're busted, McCoy.