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WITandWISDOM(tm) - December 19, 2000 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: We do not usually discover happiness in the pursuit of it. Most often it is a byproduct, coming to us as we are in the midst of giving ourselves to another. - Alan Loy McGinnis Source: This Day's Thought ThisDaysThought- subscribe@listbot.com via http://www.witandwisdom.org ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Shortly before Christmas one year I almost stumbled over a little boy in the middle of the pavement who was so busy playing with a toy merry-go-round, a waddling duck and a walking man that he was oblivious to the crowd milling around him. His obvious pleasure made me think the same toys would delight my own youngster. I asked the little boy where he got them. "In there," he said, pointing to a shop behind him. I went in and asked for the toys the small boy was playing with. "Who is he?" I asked, as the proprietress wrapped my purchases. She smiled, "you might say he's my Christmas present. A few days ago he came in and stood staring longingly at the merry-go-round. "Would you like it for Christmas," I asked. "Mummy says there isn't any money for Christmas this year. We lost our Dad a little while ago," he explained, and turned to go. It had been a lean season for me: but it was the week before Christmas. I gave him the merry-go-round and he was so delighted that he got no further than the footpath before he sat down and wound it up. Then the most amazing thing happened. People stopped to talk to him: and I've never had so many customers. I kept count of the merry-go-rounds I sold and when he got up to go I called him in and gave him a small commission. I asked him to come back the next day, and added the duck and the man to his playthings. Yesterday his commission amounted to $11!" - Author Unknown Source: Peter's Pearls, subscribe@peterspearls.com.au via http://www.witandwisdom.org ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: USES FOR FRUITCAKES It seems that fruitcake is either loved or detested. Here are some suggestions so that every one might have a reason to love fruitcake. :o) So, if you don't yet love fruitcake and well-meaning friends send you a fruitcake this holiday season, Party411.com, an event-planning Web site, has some suggestions as to what to do with it so you don't have to eat a bite: Trivet - Self explanatory. Centerpiece - Put on the table center atop a bed of pinecones, holly and evergreen branches. Guest Towel Holder - Place two fruitcakes side by side. Insert popsicle sticks to hold your favorite guest towels. Decoupage them if you feel up to it. Knife Rest. Cut the fruitcake into rectangles and put one at each place at the dinner table. Your guests will marvel at your creativity. Place Card Holder. Cut the fruitcake into rectangles and make a small groove in the top to hold your card. Coat with polyurethane so you can use year after year. Holiday Door Knocker. Super-glue a hinge to the fruitcake bottom and use removable double stick tape to attach the back of the hinge to your door. Punch Hole Ring. Freeze your fruitcake in a block of ice and throw it in your punch bowl for an unusual, yet attractive garnish. Source: www.party411.com Submitted by John Hoh www.geocities.com/brandedhand/ ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: A mother was complaining to her friend that her two young sons were constantly squabbling over the division of things around the house. "I'm at my wits end," she sighed. "That's a simple problem," said her friend." Just appoint one of them to always do the dividing . . . and allow the other first choice." Source: Bits & Pieces, April 30, 1992, Copyright (c) Economic Press, Inc., www.epinc.com via http://www.witandwisdom.org ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Why is a useless gift or possession called a "white elephant? Of course, if the gift were literally a white elephant, that would make it pretty useless. To what possible good use could you put a pachyderm, no matter what the color? But we're not being literal, so why do we invoke this big pale beast to describe what you got from your Uncle Irving - that electric can opener shaped like a washing machine? White elephants were rare even in Siam (the modern Thailand). If you found one the emperor automatically owned it and you couldn't harm it. When the emperor wanted to punish someone, he gave him or her a white elephant as a "gift." They couldn't ride it or work it, but they still had to take care of it and clean up after it. And you know what elephants do besides eat. So the gift was useless. Hence the expression. From: Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? by David Feldman Source: MailBits.com Copyright (c) 1998-2000. All rights reserved. Trivia-subscribe@mailbits.com via http://www.witandwisdom.org |