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WITandWISDOM(tm) - August 18, 1999 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "If you're not learning while you're earing, you're cheating yourself out of the better portion of your compensation." - Napoleon Hill - Reader's Digest, March 1999 (Magazine: Reader's Digest http:www.readersdigest.com) ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: In the winter of 1990, I was asked to appear on a television talk show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At the end of our first day of taping I was on my way back to my plush, high-rise, cable-TV, twenty-four-hour room service hotel, when I saw something I'd never seen before. Lying on the sidewalk against a building in four inches of snow was a man sleeping with only a cardboard blanket to keep him from being completely exposed to the freezing cold. What really broke my heart was when I realized that he wore no shoes or socks. I thought to stop and help him but was not quite sure what to do. As the traffic light turned green, it seemed life was demanding that I move along. So I did. Back in the "anything I wanted was mine" environment of my hotel, I promptly forgot about the man on the street. Several days later, prior to the morning taping, I was having coffee and Danish in the green room at the station. All of the "important" people had left the room and it was just me and the janitor remaining. I had seen him quietly go about his business every day while I was there, and he never said a word except "Good morning" or "Can I get anything for you, sir?" He always had a smile to give to everyone. When I asked him how he was feeling today, he told me that he'd been having to ride his bike to work in the snow and that he'd been feeling rather sorry for himself. . .that is, until he saw a man sleeping down on the corner of Yonge Street and Bloor with just a piece of cardboard for covering from the cold and no shoes. I almost choked on my Danish as I heard him go on to relate how he was so moved with compassion for the man that he went around the corner to a store and bought the man a pair of socks and shoes. As I heard his story, I saw in my mind a poster that used to be in an old friend's bedroom when I was a teenager. It was a picture of a child handing someone a flower and the caption read: "The smallest deed always exceeds the grandest of intentions." I stood there wishing it was me who had bought the shoes and socks for the man, when they called my name to come to the set. As I got to the studio, they were just concluding an interview with a social worker who specialized in benevolence for eastern Ontario. The social worker relayed a story about Mother Teresa, who when asked once how she had accomplished such great things in her life responded, "None of us can do anything great on our own, but we can all do a small thing with great love." When I went home that day, I looked for the man on the street. He was gone, but I knew it wouldn't be long before someone took his place. By Michael Peterson from Chicken Soup for the Country Soul, Copyright 1998 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Ron Camacho (E-zine: CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL http://www.soupserver.com/) ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: COMMENTS FROM KIDS ABOUT LOVE - PART 4 OF 5 HOW A PERSON LEARNS TO KISS "You can have a big rehearsal with your Barbie and Ken dolls." - Julia, age 7 "You learn it right on the spot when the gooshy feelings get the best of you." - Brian, age 7 "It might help to watch soap operas all day." - Carin, age 9 WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE? "When they're rich." - Pam, age 7 "It's never okay to kiss a boy. They always slobber all over you . . . That's why I stopped doing it." - Tammy, age 10 "If it's your mother, you can kiss her anytime. But if it's a new person, you have to ask permission." - Roger, age 6 HOW TO MAKE LOVE ENDURE "Spend most of your time loving instead of going to work." - Dick, age 7 "Don't forget your wife's name . . . That will mess up the love." - Erin, age 8 "Be a good kisser. It might make your wife forget that you never take out the trash." - Dave, age 8 "Don't say you love somebody and then change your mind . . . Love isn't like picking what movie you want to watch." - Natalie, age 9 (Walt Groff) ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: A young preacher was contacted by the local funeral director to hold a grave side committal service at a small local cemetery for someone with no family or friends. The preacher started early but quickly got himself lost, making several wrong turns. He arrived a half-hour late, the hearse was no where in site, and the workmen were eating lunch. The pastor went to the open grave and found the vault lid already in place. Taking out his book, he read the service. As he was returning to his car, he overheard one of the workmen say: "Maybe we'd better tell him it's a septic tank." (E-zine: HEADSCRAPS™ Mailto:headscraps-subscribe@onelist.com) ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: GetNetWise The Internet offers kids many opportunities for learning, constructive entertainment, and personal growth. At the same time, parents are concerned about the risks kids face online. The challenge for parents is to educate themselves and their children about how to use the Internet safely. GetNetWise can help. Visit: http://www.getnetwise.org/ (John L. Bechtel) |