DEAR HELOISE: Today's Sound Off is about swimming ...

... and making sure that we teach those who can't: Dear Heloise: Five years ago, while we were on vacation, my son drowned. He was one of more than 4,000 people who drown every year. He was 8 years old.The dangerous part of swimming is that anyone can drown in 20-60 seconds, and from what I've read, it's not a pleasant death. With the warmer weather, more and more people will go to lakes and oceans, so it is vital that they learn to swim and teach their children to swim.Did you know that 88% of children drown with at least one adult nearby? Children ages 1 to 4 often die in the bathtub at home or in a pool in the backyard. But children ages 5 to 19 usually drown because they didn't know how to swim or didn't know how to act if they accidentally got caught in the tide.So, I would encourage everyone who has a child to teach your child to swim and stay close because you never know what can happen. If you or your children are out boating, make sure everyone has a life jacket on and that it is securely fastened so they can't slip out of the jacket.I may not be able to bring my son back, but perhaps this will remind people how important it is to learn how to swim and use caution when boating or doing other water activities. Jessica S.,Hartford, Connecticut Jessica, my deepest condolences for the loss of your son. You are correct about everyone learning how to swim. It's easy and fun, and it burns calories. You never know, it just might save your life someday. Even infants have been taught to swim, so it's never too early or late to learn. Heloise Dear Heloise: Because of my husband's job, we move about every five years. This means I've gotten very good at packing up our belongings. I use gripping shelf liner between dishes, and afterward, I wrap a stack of no more than five plates in packaging material. Then I go onto the next five plates until they are all wrapped and safe.While we always use professional movers, there are some things I will not let others pack for me. I have a few antiques that are very special to me, and I always prefer to wrap those myself and transport them in our vehicle. Sara H.,St. Louis Dear Heloise: A few years ago, I took two dozen cupcakes to a church function and used toothpicks to hold the cling wrap away from the icing. By the time I got there, nearly all the toothpicks had poked through the cling wrap, and the icing was smashed down by the cling wrap.The following year, I decided to use plastic straws to hold up the cling wrap. I cut them to about 3-4 inches in length and gently inserted them into the icing. This method worked beautifully! Pat W.,Port Huron, Michigan Dear Heloise: My doctor has been after me to reduce my weight and eat more vegetables. I was never fond of vegetables until my wife started to add a couple of bouillon cubes to vegetables, which gave them more flavor. We love the fat-free bouillon cubes for cooking vegetables in water. F.R.,in Kentucky Send a great hint to: Heloise@Heloise.com