What to do with those old parts...

I gave my heart away when I got married, but...I got my driver's license renewed last week, and told them to put me down for an organ donor, but then I thought, "Who'd want any of this 68-year-old stuff?" And I remembered a lot of the newspaper people I've known. Some of them smoked, they drank, they kept weird hours, got stressed out over deadlines, didn't exercise, ate french fries, cheese steaks, didn't exercise...

That's not me, of course, except for the occasional cheese steak and deadline stress, so I called The Gift of Life, an organization that promotes organ donation, and asked them, "Who would want what I've got?

You're never too old to be an organ donor, I was told.  The man on the phone told me about an 84-year-old who'd been a liver donor. The liver, it seems, is constantly regenerating itself. Your skin, your corneas, your bones and many other parts are harvestable - that's what they call it, harvesting, like wheat. My heart, lungs and kidneys probably wouldn't make the cut, to coin phrase, but I was surprised at how many useful parts can be put to use.

So if you're getting your license renewed, think about checking that "yes" box. And then hope that it's a long time before anybody has to look at it.

U.S. rider is an upset winner in World Cup dressage. Steffen Peters and Ravel, his 11-year-old mount, bested the best in this year's competition, held April 18 in Las Vegas. Horse and rider are featured in this month's edition of Mid-Atlantic Horse, included in this week's Lancaster Farming.

And then there's that old John Deere parked out back...Got 13,029 hours to spare playing around? This fantastic machine was actually built out of old tractor and irrigation parts. (Thanks, Dave.) http://www.truveo.com/Pipe-Dream/id/2605785716