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WITandWISDOM(tm) - July 19, 1999 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." - William James (E-zine: INSPIRATION A DAY! Mailto:jhinds@technologist.com) ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: THE OLD RUSTY BUCKET Written by IamSparrow © 1998 There is an old water bucket, Lying out beside the fence, why anyone would keep it, to me just made no sense. The bottom is so rusty, no water will it hold, the handle is all twisted, the bucket is so old. For many years I kept it, for the good that it had been, It used to serve a purpose, but that was way back then. Now it's just an eyesore, a useless piece of rusty tin, I thought that I would trash it, with other junk and then. . . I heard the sound of thunder in the distant sky, and then a softer, sweeter sound, And this one was near by. Was the sound of summer raindrops beating a rhythm like a drum, I listened in amazement and then began to hum. I noticed a sparrow taking refuge underneath a big green tree and he began to sing along. . . with the raindrops and with me. I saw the leaves were dancing and flowers swayed, beautiful and bold as raindrops on an old rusty bucket made music to cheer the soul. I lifted my eyes toward Heaven and thanked my Father there For teaching me this lesson and now with you I share. I was feeling just as useless as that bucket seemed to be Just going through a season of thinking no one needed me. But then I was reminded that to give an encouraging word or a smile Could mean the world to others and that makes my life worthwhile. All things serve a purpose, so look around and consider again.. the things you thought were useless like the rusty bucket made of tin. (Carol Blum) ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Benjamin Franklin was putting out a newspaper in Philadelphia when someone came into the office of his publishing company where there were some books and pamphlets by Franklin for sale. The customer browsed around and finally picked up a book and asked an assistant how much it cost. "One dollar," said the assistant. The customer demurred. "Couldn't you come down a little?" he asked. "I'm sorry," said the assistant, "the price of the book is a dollar." The customer demanded to see Mr. Franklin. Franklin was in the middle of putting out the newspaper, but that didn't seem to bother the customer. He asked Franklin if he could bring the price of the book down. "The book," said Franklin, "costs one dollar and a quarter." Taken by surprise, the customer said, "But your assistant only asked a dollar." "If you had bought it at that price," said Franklin, "I would honor that price. But you have taken me away from my regular duties." The customer did not give up. "Come on, Mr. Franklin, what is the lowest price you can take for this book?" "One dollar and a half," said Franklin. "And the more this haggling goes on, the more you are taking up my time and the more I must change you." Source: Bits & Pieces, April 1, 1993, Copyright (c) Economic Press, Inc., www.epinc.com via http://www.witandwisdom.org ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: The psychology instructor had just finished a lecture on mental health and was giving an oral test. Speaking specifically about manic depression, she asked, "How would you diagnose a patient who walks back and forth screaming at the top of his lungs one minute, then sits in a chair weeping uncontrollably the next?" A young man in the rear raised his hand and answered, "A basketball coach?" (E-zine: KITTY'S DAILY MEWS http://www.katscratch.com) ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: What's the deepest known cave? . . . Lechuguilla Cave, near Carlsbad, New Mexico, goes down at least 1,571 feet (479 meters), making it the deepest known cave on Earth. It is only partially explored, but already more than 97 miles (156 kilometers) of passages have been mapped. The immense maze of rooms and passages that forms the Lechuguilla system was discovered in 1986. A group of spelunkers (cave explorers) decided to investigate a desert pit called Misery Hole. When they reached the bottom, they dug down and found a chamber from which a howling wind emerged, a sign of a large cave system. Unlike most limestone caves that were formed by water dissolving the rock from above, Lechuguilla was formed by hydrogen sulfide gas coming up from underneath. The gas was released from an underground oil pocket because of geological shifts. Take a tour of Lechuguilla: http://www.extremescience.com/LechuguillaCave.htm (E-zine: THE LEARNING KINGDOM http://www.tlk-lists.com/join/) |