It’s a little like handing a cement lifejacket to a drowning man.

Constipation is not exactly a dinner topic, but it is a condition that affects almost every living person at one time or another. It’s a common complaint at the doctor’s office.

Jeff Denholm of Capitola is more than just a survivor. His ability to push beyond his limitations and excel as a surfer, paddle boarder, skier and entrepreneur is an inspiration to others. And he does it all with one arm.

- Submit Datebook items to [email protected] or drop off press releases or photos at 5215 Scotts Valley Drive, Ste. F, Scotts Valley 95066. Deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Entries are subject to editing, and publication is not guaranteed.

Editor’s Note: After receiving so much positive response about a March 1 column about Corvin Bazgan, Julia Blanton decided to write a second column about her experiences running with the legally-blind athlete. The column is available at www.pressbanner.com by searching “Running Blind.”

Recently I received a bouquet of Stargazer lilies. The spectacular flowers on each stem open in succession and the display will last for nearly two weeks if I take care of them changing the water regularly and re-cutting the stems.

Madison Avery Smith, a 7-pound baby girl, was born at 5:42 p.m. April 22, 2013, to Nichole Raschel Venturelli and Seren Jaro Smith of Scotts Valley. She was delivered at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz.

Small pox, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps and rubella are all potentially life-threatening diseases that have been almost completely eliminated from our society during our lifetimes. The reason for this is the routine childhood immunization program that has been widely accepted in the United States, as well as most of the modern world.

At Quail Hollow Ranch in Ben Lomond, I’ve seen the gopher-eating great blue heron and the mountain lion that hides in a small grove of trees across from the pond and takes his deer kill from the nearby fields. But what about the animals who live a life unseen — those who live in the realm of the creepy crawlers, under a rotting branch or in the water?

- Submit Datebook items to [email protected] or drop off press releases or photos at 5215 Scotts Valley Drive, Ste. F, Scotts Valley 95066. Deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Entries are subject to editing, and publication is not guaranteed.