PARIS HILTON'S CHANGES IN ATTITUDE

Paris Hilton’s Changes in Attitude
By Barb Hansen
July 2007

The doctor is IN.

It will be interesting to see if Paris Hilton’s change of heart has legs. I tend to doubt it.

She told Larry King after her 23-day incarceration that she was going to change. When he asked her what she would like to change about herself she told him that when she got nervous her voice became higher-pitched. She’d like to change that, she said.

What does this have to do with boating? Here’s what: she also complained that her jail cell was just an 8 X 12 and I thought, wow, if that were a cabin on a boat, it would be huge.

Unfortunately for her, Paris Hilton doesn’t have much at all to do with boating except, perhaps, an occasional photo shoot on a vessel. Neither, so far as I know, do two other Hollywood tabloiders also in need of attitude adjustments, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan.

Too bad for them because if they were regular boaters I think it would help them stay on an even keel and avoid angering policemen on the mean streets of L.A. at 5 in the morning.

Think about it. How many times have you read in the paper, “The suspect, an avid yachtsman, was jailed on charges of bank robbery.” Never. Or, “The accused is an Olympic sailing champion.” Doesn’t fit, does it?

Truly, boating helps us keep our heads screwed on straight.

It is a change of scenery, at least. Boating gets us away from what reminds us of work. It is for when we’re up to our earlobes in cell calls and our inbox is jammed with unanswered messages. When you’re at home and you’re getting calls from the office, it’s time.

Boating is anti-anxiety medicine and we don’t even need a prescription. It requires a certain amount of physical effort as well as mental concentration. This keeps the worries away. A little anxiety even helps one lift the anchor.

Sleep on a boat is the best medicine, the epitome of rest and relation. (An 8 X 12 space is plenty big, Paris.) Alas, jail cells don’t give beds that gentle rock-me-to-sleep motion that you get in a boat.

Boating is, for the most part, wholesome, nurturing and a way for families and friends to grow closer.

Boating is the best R and R, in my book, and it’s not just me saying this. A few years ago researchers asked Americans about the quality of their lives. Boat owners said they were happier and healthier, too. Boat owners reported they experienced greater self-esteem, enjoyed life more, and had better sex lives. Non-boat owners were more prone to feeling useless, lonely, unhappy and tired.

Another survey suggested that children who got involved in boating were healthier, physically and psychologically, than their non-boating counterparts. It is too bad that Paris’ parents didn’t get her involved in a boating program when she was in their charge.

Well, anyway, rehab on a boat is probably too late for Miss Hilton and friends. Besides, I’m not sure I’d wish her on the boating industry. Her behavior suggests a different kind of “getaway.” She could ask Britney and Lindsay for their personal recommendations. Maybe she could get some voice lessons, too.