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~~~~~~~ WITandWISDOM™ - June 17, 1999 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it." - Greg Anderson (E-zine: INSPIRATION A DAY! Mailto:jhinds@technologist.com) ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Soon Tommy's parents, who had recently separated, would arrive for a conference on his failing schoolwork and disruptive behavior. Neither parent knew that I had summoned the other. Tommy, an only child, had always been happy, cooperative, and an excellent student. How could I convince his father and mother that his recent failing grades represented a brokenhearted child's reaction to his adored parents' separation and pending divorce? Tommy's mother entered and took one of the chairs I had placed near my desk. Then the father arrived. They pointedly ignored each other. As I gave a detailed account of Tommy's behavior and schoolwork, I prayed for the right words to bring these two together to help them see what they were doing to their son. But somehow the words wouldn't come. Perhaps if they saw one of his smudged, carelessly done papers. I found a crumpled, tear-stained sheet stuffed in the back of his desk. Writing covered both sides, a single sentence scribbled over and over. Silently I smoothed it out and gave it to Tommy's mother. She read it and then without a word handed it to her husband. He frowned. Then his face softened. He studied the scrawled words for what seemed an eternity. At last he folded the paper carefully and reached for his wife's outstretched hand. She wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled up at him. My own eyes were brimming, but neither seemed to notice. In his own way God had given me the words to reunite that family. He had guided me to the sheet of yellow copy paper covered with the anguished outpouring of a small boy's troubled heart. "Dear Mother . . . Dear Daddy . . . I love you . . . I love you . . . I love you." By Jane Lindstorm from Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul, Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Patty Harness (E- zine: CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL http://www.soupserver.com/) ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Dear Dad, $chool i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply can't think of anything I need, $o if you would like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear from you. Love, Your $on. -------------------------------------------------------- Dear Son, I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a Noble task, and you can never study eNOugh. Love, Dad (WITandWISDOM™ February 1996) ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: One day at a trial, an eminent psychologist was called to testify. A severe no nonsense professional, she sat down in the witness chair unaware that it's rear legs were set precariously on the back of the raised platform. "Will you state your name?" asked the district attorney. Tilting back in her chair she opened her mouth to answer, but instead catapulted head-over-heels backward and landed in a stack of exhibits and recording equipment. Everyone watched in stunned silence as she extricated herself, rearranged her disheveled dress and hair and was reseated on the witness stand. The glare she directed at onlookers dared anyone to so much as smirk. "Well, doctor," continued the district attorney without changing expression, "we could start with an easier question." (E-zine: KITTY'S DAILY MEWS http://www.katscratch.com) ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Smoking kills more Americans each year than died in battle during World War II and the Vietnam War combined. More than 1,200 Americans die each day from smoking-related causes. - UC Berkeley Wellness Letter (Magazine: VIBRANT LIFE http://vibrantlife.com/) |