| Prior Date | Back to Archive Index | Next Date |
|
~~~~~~~ WITandWISDOM™ - June 8, 1999 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use." - Earl Nightingale (E-zine: THIS AND THAT Mailto:milady@mediaone.net) ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: There was a group called The Fisherman's Fellowship. They were surrounded by streams and lakes full of hungry fish. They met regularly to discuss the call to fish, the abundance of fish, and the thrill of catching fish. They got excited about fishing! Someone suggested that they needed a philosophy of fishing, so they carefully defined and redefined fishing, and the purpose of fishing. They developed fishing strategies and tactics. Then they realized that they had been going at it backwards. They had approached fishing from the point of view of the fisherman, and not from the point of view of the fish. How do fish view the world? How does the fisherman appear to the fish? What do fish eat, and when? These are all good things to know. So they began research studies, and attended conferences on fishing. Some traveled to far away places to study different kinds of fish, with different habits. Some got PhD's in fishology. But no one had yet gone fishing. So a committee was formed to send out fisherman. As prospective fishing places outnumbered fisherman, the committee needed to determine priorities. A priority list of fishing places was posted on bulletin boards in all of the fellowship halls. But still, no one was fishing. A survey was launched, to find out why. Most did not answer the survey, but from those that did, it was discovered that some felt called to study fish, a few, to furnish fishing equipment, and several to go around encouraging the fishermen. What with meetings, conferences, and seminars, they just simply didn't have time to fish. Now, Jake was a newcomer to the Fisherman's Fellowship. After one stirring meeting of the Fellowship, Jake went fishing. He tried a few things, got the hang of it, and caught a choice fish. At the next meeting, he told his story, and he was honored for his catch, and then scheduled to speak at all the Fellowship chapters and tell how he did it. Now, because of all the speaking invitations and his election to the board of directors of the Fisherman's Fellowship, Jake no longer has time to go fishing. But soon he began to feel restless and empty. He longed to feel the tug on the line once again. So he cut the speaking, he resigned from the board, and he said to a friend, "Let's go fishing." They did, just the two of them, and they caught fish. The members of the Fisherman's Fellowship were many, the fish were plentiful, but the fishers were few. (E-zine: This and That Mailto:milady@mediaone.net) ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: When I'm an old lady, I'll live with my son, and make his life happy and filled with such fun, I want to pay back all the joy he's provided, returning each deed. Oh, he'll be so excited . . . when I'm an old lady and live with my son. I'll write on the wall with red, white, and blue; and bounce on the furniture wearing my shoes. I'll drink from the carton and then leave it out. I'll stuff all the toilets and oh, will he shout! . . . when I'm an old lady and live with my son. When he's on the phone and just out of reach, I'll get into things like sugar and bleach. Oh, he'll snap his fingers and then shake his head, and when he is done I'll hide under the bed. . . . when I'm an old lady and live with my son. When my son's wife cooks dinner and calls me to meals, I'll not eat my green beans or salads congealed. I'll gag on my okra, spill milk on the table, and when she gets angry, run fast as I'm able. . . . when I'm an old lady and live with my son. I'll sit close to the TV, thru the channels I'll click, I'll cross both my eyes to see if they stick, I'll take off my socks and throw one away, and play in the mud until the end of the day. . . . when I'm an old lady and live with my son. And later, in bed, I'll lay back sigh, and thank God in prayer and then close my eyes; and my son will look down with a smile slowly creeping, and say with a groan, "she's so sweet when she's sleeping," . . . when I'm an old lady and live with my son. ©Copyright April 1991 - Joanne Bailey Baxter, Lorain, OH ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Yesterday's trivia on the health benefits of drinking purple grape juice sparked the imagination of one of our readers. She, "Doggymom", suggests the following marketing idea: :o) "So, have you been to Betty's lately? Did you see those awful GRAPE JUICE STAINS on her counter?" "Well . . ., they're NOT just on her counter! She has them on the PATIO too!!!" "WOW!!! I wonder what her SECRET is!!! She never used to let her house go like THAT!" "Well, I HEAR that she's DRINKING GRAPE JUICE NOW!!! She figures she'll have another 20 years to clean up the grape juice stains later, so she's ENJOYING LIFE NOW!!! What's holding YOU back from buying GRAPE JUICE? HUH????" :o}~ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: In 1828, a debating society made a request of the school board in Lancaster, Ohio, for the use of the schoolhouse for the discussion of the question as to whether or not railroads were practical. Their request was denied, and the following reason was given by the board: "You are welcome to use the schoolhouse to debate all proper questions in, but such things as railroads and telegraphs are impossibilities and rank infidelity. There is nothing in the Word of God about them. If God had designed that His intelligent creatures should travel at the frightful speed of fifteen miles an hour, by steam, He would have clearly foretold it through His holy prophets. It is a device of Satan to lead immortal souls down to hell." By Carlyle B. Haynes, Signs of the Times, January 20, 1925 (Dale Galusha How can consumers have their names removed from marketing lists? . . . Answer tomorrow. |