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WITandWISDOM(tm) - December 13, 2000 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: The man who does not work for the love of work but only for money is not likely to make money nor find much fun in life. - Charles M. Schwab Source: Inspire, subscribe@inspirelist.com via http://www.witandwisdom.org ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Madeline L'Engle got out of Smith College in 1941 and sold three books before she was 30. Then she ran into a dry spell. For the next decade, she sold only two books, neither of which was a great success. On her 40th birthday, she was anxiously waiting to hear from a publisher about a book for which she had great hopes. Instead of a birthday present, she got a call from her husband, who was at the post office. Regretfully, he told her the book had been rejected. At the time, it seemed clear to her that she was being told that she had to give up writing, bake cookies, and concentrate on raising children. She covered up her typewriter and cried. But that night, she conceived the idea for a novel about failure. She wrote in her journal, "I'm a writer. That's who I am, even if I'm never published again." She never sold a book on failure, but she worked on another book, "A Wrinkle in Time," which received nearly 30 rejections before it sold. That book was published in 1962 and from that time on Madeline L'Engle (Mrs. Hugh Franklin) sold a book nearly every year for the next 20 years or so. In the meantime, she raised three children. "A Wrinkle in Time" won the American Library association's Newberry medal for children's literature. It has been read by millions of children and adults and made into a motion picture by Norman Lear. "Over the years I've worked out a philosophy of failure which I find extraordinarily liberating," she said. "If I'm not free to fail, I'm not free to take risks, and everything in life that's worth doing involves a willingness to risk failure. Although I have had 30 books published, there are at least six unpublished books which have failed, but which have been necessary for the book that then gets published. The same thing is true in all human relationships. Unless I'm willing to open myself up to risk and to being hurt, then I'm closing myself off to love and friendship." From: Bits & Pieces, January 13, 2000, Copyright (c) Economic Press, Inc., www.epinc.com/ Source: Weekend Encounter, by Dick Innes, Copyright 2000, www.actsweb.org/subscribe.htm via http://www.witandwisdom.org ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: A psychiatrist visited a California mental institution and asked a patient, "How did you get here? What was the nature of your illness?" He got this reply... "Well, it all started when I got married and I guess I should never have done it. I married a widow with a grown daughter who then became my stepdaughter. My dad came to visit us, fell in love with my lovely stepdaughter, then married her. And so my stepdaughter was now my stepmother. Soon, my wife had a son who was, of course, my daddy's brother-in-law since he is the half-brother of my stepdaughter, who is now, of course, my daddy's wife. So, as I told you, when my stepdaughter married my daddy, she was at once my stepmother! Now, since my new son is brother to my stepmother, he also became my uncle. As you know, my wife is my step-grandmother since she is my stepmother's mother. Don't forget that my stepmother is my stepdaughter. Remember, too, that I am my wife's grandson. But hold on just a few minutes more. You see, since I'm married to my step-grandmother, I am not only the wife's grandson and her hubby, but I am also my own grandfather. Now can you understand how I got put in this place?" This story is based on a January 1948 RCA -Victor recording of "I'm My Own Grandpa." The song is attributed to Dwight Latham and Moe Jaffe and was based on a humorous Mark Twain anecdote. The original single was made by Ken Marvin and Rollin Sullivan. Submitted by Vishwanath Marakath ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: When I heard the sound of the ice-cream wagon's music and saw my front door wide open, I suspected that my 2 ½ year-old son had run outside. As I caught up with him, I saw that he was clutching something in his hand. It was my credit card. Source: Humor Digest ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: On November 27, 2000 there was a list of cars named after actual people. A subscriber responded with these additional examples: Are any cars named after actual people? . . . CHRYSLER: Industrialist Walter P. Chrysler, former locomotive executive who turned Buick around back into profitability. Took over the Maxwell-Chambers operation by request of the bankruptcy court. With in years he renamed the firm "Chrysler," which soon bought... DODGE: Named for its founders, Horace and John Dodge, former suppliers for Henry Ford. In a disagreement with Henry, the brothers took their Ford stock and started their own company. The brothers' widows sold the company to Chrysler. (See "Life of an American Workman" by Walter P. Chrysler) BUICK: For founder David Buick OLDSmobile and REO: For founder Ransome E. Olds. When he lost control of the OLDSmobile operations, he started a new one using his initials: REO. FORD: We all know about. EDSEL: Named for Ford's son. CADILLAC: Named for an early Detroit explorer/founder. Originally called the Henry Ford Motor Company, but a difference of opinion arose. Backers wanted to build quality luxury cars; Ford wanted to build a people's car. They split, and Ford started the Ford Motor Company while the backers re-organized as Cadillac. PONTIAC: For an Indian chief. LINCOLN: In honor of the 16th. president of the US. KISSELL: Built in Hartford, WI. WILLYS: Built in Kenosha, WI. Submitted by John Hoh www.geocities.com/brandedhand/ |