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WITandWISDOM(tm) - November 24, 2000 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Mistakes are the bridges between foolishness and wisdom when built by humility." - Michael Hodgin Source: Weekend Encounter, by Dick Innes, Copyright 2000, www.actsweb.org/subscribe.htm via http://www.witandwisdom.org ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: The summer of 1986, my wife and I were heading east when we came upon an 18 wheeler. The driver was signaling to get into my lane, so I eased down on the brake. As the truck pulled ahead we heard on our CB radio, Thank you, four wheeler. We engaged in CB chat and asked him if he knew of a good place to eat. He said to follow him. We sat together at the restaurant and asked him about his handle (CB name). It was Frankie the Clown. He said that he spends a lot of time on the road and many lonely nights in hotel rooms. He carries a clown suit with him, and sometimes during a layover, he dresses up and visits with children at the nearest hospital. A towering man with gigantic, rough hewn hands, it was hard to imagine him in costume. Then he told us a story about why he did this. The twinkle in his soft brown eyes spoke volumes about his rewards. I was pulling a load, nervous because I was behind schedule. Just then, my engine starts to overheat so I took her to a garage. They told me to leave her while they waited for parts. So I checked into a hotel, bent out of shape because this was going to cost me big. Even though I felt like sulking alone in my room, I convinced myself to put on my clown outfit and head to the nearest hospital. When I arrived, I told the nurse in charge of the children's ward why I was there. Reluctantly, she let me do my thing. I knocked softly on the first door but got no response. I carefully opened the door and saw a little boy, about three or four years old, lying in his bed and sharing at the ceiling. I bounced over to him and said, Hi! I'm Frankie the Clown. What's your name? He continued to ignore me, his small lips pursed together. Fighting the urge to move to the next room, I started my routine. Finally, I got a smile, which kept me going. Within minutes, the boy was laughing out loud and so was I. We were having so much fun that I hardly noticed the nurse as she came in, wrinkled her brow, then left. We began to talk. He told me his name was Johnny and he was four years old. Just then, I noticed the room filling up with nurses, doctors and orderlies. Oops, what did I do? I thought. Turning to the nurse, I apologized for making such a racket. She looked me straight in the eye and said, Frankie, you've got it all wrong. You aren't a nuisance, you're a blessing! This little boy has been with us for three weeks and no one, I mean, no one has been able to get any response from him. We apologize for interrupting, but when I told my co-workers that the little boy in room 109 was talking and laughing, they had to see it for themselves! As I rode back to my hotel, I wasn't frustrated or mad because I was losing money. I was on top of the world. My load would be late and I still wouldn't be rich. But I had made a little boy in room 109 laugh, and I felt like a million bucks. - Author Unknown via http://www.witandwisdom.org Submitted by: Alice Bryan ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: EMPLOYEE POLICY CHANGES Effective Immediately! SICKNESS: No excuse. We will no longer accept your doctor's statement as proof, as we believe if you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work. LEAVE OF ABSENCE (For an operation): We are no longer allowing this practice. We wish to discourage any thought that you may have about needing an operation. We believe that as long as you are employed here, you will need all of whatever you have and should not consider having anything removed. We hired you as you are and to have anything removed would certainly make you less than we bargained for. REST ROOM: Too much time is being spent in the Rest Room. In the future, we will follow the practice of going to the Rest Room in alphabetical order. For instance, those whose names begin with "A" will go from 8 a.m. to 8:05 a.m. B will go from 8:05 a.m. to 8:10 a.m. and so on. If you are unable to go at your regular time, it will be necessary to wait until the time when your turn comes again. DEATH (other than your own): This is no excuse. There is nothing you can do for them, and we are sure that someone else in a lesser position can attend to the arrangements. However, if the funeral can he held in late afternoon, we will be glad to let you off one hour early, provided that your share of work is ahead enough to keep the job going in your absence. DEATH (your own): This will be accepted as an excuse, but we would like a two week notice, as we feel it is your duty to teach someone else your job prior to . . . Or after death. Submitted by Dottie Lewis, John Hoh ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: I took a friend of mine who is visually impaired to church with me this morning. Several of the children in the congregation were fascinated with her Braille Bible. One of the adults came over to see what the kids were so excited about, and Ellen told the woman, "Oh, well, I was telling them how bumpy the road to salvation is." Source: Sermon Fodder, Sermon_Fodder-subscribe@onelist.com via http://www.witandwisdom.org ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: What animal always bears identical quadruplets? . . . Female nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) always bear their young in batches of four identical quadruplets. Each fertilized egg divides into two eggs, and each of those divides once more before all four eggs become embryos that develop into baby armadillos. Other species of armadillos also have unusual birth habits. Some always give birth to identical duodectuplets (twelve identical babies). Armadillos are small insect-eating mammals with articulated, leathery shells covering their backs. They live in tropical areas because they are not good at retaining heat. The nine-banded species is now spreading rapidly north from the southern United States. More about the nine-banded armadillo: http://www.discovery.com/news/features/armadillo/armadillo.html h ttp://www.flex.net/~lonestar/armadillo.htm Source: The Learning Kingdom, Copyright (c) 2000, www.tlk-lists.com/join via http://www.witandwisdom.org |