WITandWISDOM(tm) - January 26, 1998
~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS:
Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible. - Cadet maxim, West Point Military Academy
Shared by Martin Lee
~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS:
We have been doing craft shows every Saturday this fall. I always help Diane set up and then sell her things but then sometime during the day I make my way around the building to see what the other crafters are selling. This last Saturday I saw a snowman with an inscription that I found thought provoking. It said, "I was once a drift."
It got me to thinking. The testimony of that snowman is very much like every Christian. Without Christ as our Savior giving purpose, and form, and meaning to life we are a-drift in the sea of life, but when we believe on Christ and are born again we are no longer a-drift. We have new life in Christ, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (II Corinthians 5:17) Someone comes along and forms that snowman out of a drift of snow. That individual gives to that snowman something of a personality (or would it be snowman-ality?)
God takes the raw material of a man and gives him a reason for existence, an opportunity to bring glory to his Creator, a potential for doing and being something that is truly important. It gave me a new appreciation for snowmen. It gives added significance to the verse in Job 38:22 "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?"
By Phil Mikkelson philmikk@execpc.com
~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT:
Dear Sir:
I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block #3 of the accident reporting form. I put "Poor Planning" as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient.
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I found I had some bricks left over which when weighed later were found to weigh 240 lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor.
Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 240 lbs of bricks. You will note on the accident reporting form that my weight is 135 lbs.
Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.
In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. This explains the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collarbone, as listed in Section 3, accident reporting form.
Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley which I mentioned in Paragraph 2 of this correspondence. Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of the excruciating pain I was now beginning to experience.
At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground-and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you again to my weight. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.
In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and severe lacerations of my legs and lower body.
Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.
I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope.
Source: Kitty's Daily Mews, Copyright (c) 1997-2001 All rights reserved worldwide, mailto:kittysubs@katscratch.com?subject=Sub_KDM
Submitted by Braxton Hagele
~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING:
After a preacher's wife took her overworked husband to the family physician, the physician took the wife aside and whispered: "I don't like the way your husband looks." "I don't either," she replied, "but he's always been a good father to the children."
Shared by Bill's Punch Line tcmrtalk@airmail.net
~~~~~~~ TRIVIA:
Despite the many rat infested slums in New York City, only 311 people are bitten by rats in an average year. But 1,519 residents are bitten annually by other New Yorkers.
Shared by Just 4 Laughs! http://www.GeoCities.com/Hollywood/Set/6993
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