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WIT & WISDOM - December 21, 1998 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." - John Andrew Holmes [1] ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: ARE YOU WILLING - to stoop down and consider the needs and desires of little children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you, and to ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the things that other people have to bear in their hearts; to trim your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke; to make a grave for your ugly thoughts and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate open? Are you willing to do these things for a day? Then you are ready to keep Christmas! By Henry van Dyke [2] ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: WOULD YOU BELIEVE?. . . these are copies of actual correspondence received by the Mormon Church Family History Department: Our 2nd great grandfather was found dead crossing the plains in the library. He was married 3 times in the endowment house and has 21 children. He and his daughter are listed as not being born. I would like to find out if I have any living relatives or dead relatives or ancestors in my family. Will you send me a list of all the Dripps in your library? My Grandfather died at the age of 3. We are sending you 5 children in a separate envelope. Documentation: Family Bible in possession of Aunt Merle until the tornado hit Topeka, Kansas, now only the Good Lord know where it is . . . The wife of #22 could not be found. Somebody suggested that she might have been stillborn - what do you think? I am mailing you my aunt and uncle and 3 of their children. Enclosed please find my Grandmother. I have worked on her for 30 years without success. Now see what you can do. I have a hard time finding myself in London. If I were there I was very small and cannot be found. This family had 7 nephews that I am unable to find. If you know who they are, please add them to the list. We lost our Grandmother, will you please send us a copy? Will you please send me the name of my first wife? I have forgotten her name. A 14-year-old boy wrote: "I do not want you to do my research for me. Will you please send me all of the material on the Welch line, in the U.S., England and Scotland countries? I will do the research. [3] ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: I was casting kids in our church for our annual Christmas play, and I was giving out choices, such as Shepherd, Lamb, Villager. One 5-year-old couldn't decide, so I said, "Luke, you can be a Villager." He said, "ok" - ran over to his parents. Very excited, he said to them, "Guess what! I get to be a mini-van!" [4] ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: NINE-YEAR-OLD WINS TOY OVEN BAKE-OFF IN NEW YORK By Ellen Wulfhorst, NEW YORK (Reuters-10/09/98) It is not easy baking a prizewinning cake in a toy oven heated by just a light bulb, but a 9-year-old from Arkansas it can be done. Lindsey Thompson of Little Rock, Arkansas, won the Baker of the Year contest sponsored by Easy-Bake Oven -- the children's toy that bakes tiny cakes by the heat of a 100-watt light bulb inside a metal reflective oven. Thompson triumphed with her Toffee Trifle Cake, a candied concoction made from Easy-Bake cake mix, instant vanilla pudding and heaps of chocolate toffee. Like the other entries, the prizewinning cake was baked in a pink-purple-and-white toy oven, using little pink-and-purple plastic utensils and cake pans hardly bigger than coasters. Thompson earned a $5,000 savings bond and a two-year supply of Easy-Bake cake mixes. She said she learned to bake when she was 4 years old. "What I like about it most is when you get to taste the ending," she said. The contest was held to mark the 35th anniversary of the Easy-Bake Oven, made by Hasbro Inc. of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. More than 16 million Easy-Bake Ovens have been sold since the toy was invented in 1963, Hasbro said. [5] ~~~~~~~ CONTRIBUTORS: [1] (David Baker via Bill's Punch Line [2] (Bits & Pieces, December 13, 1990, [3] (Big Al via Fast Eddie's Funnies [4] (Granny's Funnies [5] (InfoBeat via Keith's Mostly Clean Humor |