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WITandWISDOM(tm) - January 10, 2001 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left. - Hubert Humphrey Source: www2.bc.edu/~boweran/quotes.html Submitted by Jay W. Cook ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: The late Commodore John W. Caunce, master of the original Queen Elizabeth, the majestic ocean liner of the Cunard fleet, kept a framed copy of an old prayer on a wall in his quarters. He often showed it to passengers who visited him. Many people know the prayer, but its origin is obscure: Lord, thou knowest better than I know my self that I am growing older and will some day be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody, helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest. Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains, but help me to endure them with patience. I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint - some of them are so hard to live with - but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people. And give me. Lord, the grace to tell them so. Amen. Source: Bits & Pieces, July 20, 1995, Copyright (c) Economic Press, Inc., www.epinc.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: "Did You Ever Wonder... The Truth About Wondering" A careful study of economics usually reveals that the best time to buy anything is last year. A picture may be worth a thousand words but it uses up a thousand times more memory. Character is like a fence - it cannot be strengthened by whitewash. Grandma's advice: Do your best and leave the rest. Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today. No one should live by the early bird policy without finding out whether he classifies as a bird or a worm. Source: The Funnies, andychaps_the-funnies-subscribe@egroups.com ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: One caller to our answering service gave me his name, number and message and then said, "You know my name. What's yours?" "4136," I replied, since we were allowed only to give our operator numbers. Sounding disappointed, he said, "May I call you by your first digit, or would that be too personal?" Source: Kitty's Daily Mews, Copyright (c) 1997-2000 All rights reserved worldwide, mailto:kittysubs@katscratch.com?subject=Sub_KDM ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Why do freight trains with two or more locomotives often have at least one turned backwards? You've seen this on long freight trains, haven't you? How in the world did they end up with backwards locomotives? It looks as if it's a contest to see in which direction the train will move once the locomotives start to pull. Is this any way to run a railroad? A key element here is the fact that locomotives are bidirectional: they can move and pull a load just as well no matter which end is pointed forward. The other factor is that it isn't easy to turn one of them around and it's time consuming. So why bother? Of course the first locomotive at the front of the train will always face forward. Anything else would look stupid. And any engineer willing to run a train while facing the rear is probably operating with a loose caboose. From: DO PENGUINS HAVE KNEES? By David Feldman Source: MailBits.com Copyright (c) 1998-2000. All rights reserved. Trivia-subscribe@mailbits.com |