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WIT & WISDOM - October 13, 1998 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart. - Washington Irving [1] ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Even without the torn jeans, he made a scruffy-looking ten year old. His fifth grade classmates had never seen anyone as poorly dressed and unpolished as Marco. This was his first day of elementary school in a quaint New England town of well-to-do families. Marco's parents were migrant fruit pickers and his classmates eyed him with suspicion for the first part of the day. Even though they whispered and made comments about his clothes, he didn't seem to notice. Then came recess and the kickball game. Marco led off the first inning with a home run, earning him a bit of respect from his wardrobe critics. Next up to kick was Richard, the least athletic and most overweight child in the class. After his second strike (amid the groans of his classmates), Marco edged up to Richard and quietly said, "Forget them, kid. You can do it!" Richard kicked a home run and at that precise moment, something began to change in Marco's class. Over the next few months, Marco was able to teach the class many new things. Things such as how to tell when fruit was ripe, how to call a wild turkey and, especially, how to treat other people. By the time Marco's parents finished their work in the area, the class was preparing to celebrate Christmas. While other students brought the teacher fancy scarves, perfumes and soap, Marco stepped up to the teacher's desk with a special gift. It was a rock that he delivered into the teacher's hands which was beautiful and bright. "I polished it up special," he said. Years later, the teacher still had Marco's rock on her desk. At the beginning of each school year, she would tell her class about the gentle boy who taught her and her class not to judge a book by its cover. And that it's what`s on the inside of others that truly counts. From This Little Light of Mine, from A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Barry Spilchuk [2] ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: POSSIBLE SAYINGS OF BIBLICAL MOTHERS: SAMSON! Get your hand out of that lion. You don't know where it's been! DAVID! I told you not to play in the house with that sling! Go practice your harp. We pay good money for those lessons! ABRAHAM! Stop wandering around the countryside and get home for supper! SHADRACH, MESHACH AND ABEDNEGO! Leave those clothes outside, you smell like a dirty ol' furnace! CAIN! Get off your brother! You're going to kill him some day! NOAH! No, you can't keep them! I told you, don't bring home any more strays! GIDEON! Have you been hiding in that wine press again? Look at your clothes! JAMES AND JOHN! No more burping contests at the dinner table, please. People are going to call you the sons of thunder! JUDAS! Have you been in my purse again?! [3] ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: I have two sons, ages 8 & 4, and they were discussing Adam and Eve. The 8-year-old asked: "How did Adam and Eve die?" And the 4-year-old said: "They ate bad fruit." ~~~~~~~ Our parish priest was making a visit to my nephew's home. He knocked on the door, and the little 4-year-old boy went to the door and saw the priest. He called to his dad, "Hey, Dad! That guy that works for God is here!" [4] ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13) costs the United States roughly a billion dollars a year in canceled travel plans and missed work. - From Context, Signs of the Times, October 1993. [5] ~~~~~~~ CONTRIBUTORS: [1] ("This and That" [2] (Chicken Soup for the Soul: Free Home Delivery [3] (aDaM via Mikey's Funnies [4] (Ken Morland via Fast Eddie's Funnies [5] (Dale Galusha |