You were probably in the Cub Scouts or Brownies when you were young. If not, you certainly had a few friends in the neighborhood with whom you loved to create secret handshakes and passwords and give yourselves a name like, "The Masters of the Universe Club." At the very least, I'm sure you watched the Mickey Mouse Club or Saturday morning Kid's Club shows on network TV.

Then you got to high school and college and either got involved in clubs or avoided them like the plague. In either case, the clubs were a constant presence in your life. Young Achievement, student government, theatre club or some Greek organization, you know that you either lived and breathed it, or were haunted by it day-in and day-out for the eight or so years of your young adulthood.

Let's face it, clubs are cool.

I have a friend who is involved in a group in New York City called, Clubs Inc. A very cool concept: The members of the group decided to get together and create clubs. One club for every category of life that they found interesting. They range from the normal -- Birthday Club and Book Club -- to the creative -- Kiss a Boy for the First Time Club and the Try Something New Club. It's a wonderful idea and it works. The group's calendar is always full and events tend to be well attended.

Clubs Inc. is a great example of groups of people finding creative and fun new ways to experience life. I think we all could use a little shake-up in our lives, and joining a club, or two, or three, is a wonderful way to go about it.

So, if you're in New York, North Carolina, Massachusetts or Pennsylvania, check out their website and see if there is a clubhouse meet-up that fits your interests.

D. Robert -- New York, NY