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WITandWISDOM(tm) - June 26, 2001 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Lord, when we are wrong, make us willing to change. And when we are right, make us easy to live with. - Peter Marshall Source: Thought for Today, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thoughtfortoday ~~~~~~ ~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: "THE PICKLE JAR" By A.W. Cobb, (c) 2000 As far back as I can remember, the large pickle jar sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled. I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window. When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank. Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck. Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully. "Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, son. You're going to do better than me. This old mill town's not going to hold you back." Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly. "These are for my son's college fund. He'll never work at the mill all his life like me." We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone. I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. "When we get home, we'll start filling the jar again." He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. "You'll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters," he said. "But you'll get there. I'll see to that." The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed. A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith. The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done. When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me. No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill, and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar. To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me. "When you finish college, son," he told me, his eyes glistening,"you'll never have to eat beans again unless you want to." The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms. "She probably needs to be changed," she said, carrying the baby into my parents' bedroom to diaper her. When Susan came back into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes. She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and quietly leading me into the room. "Look," she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins. I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak. By A.W. Cobb, from "Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul," by Raymond Aaron, Jack Canfield, Kimberly Kirberger, Published by Health Communications, Inc., Copyright (c) 2000, ISBN: 1558747478 http://isbn.nu/1558747478/price Submitted by Kimberley Broyles ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: SEINFELD-ISMS If airline seat cushions are such great flotation devices, why don't you ever see anyone take one to the beach? Why do they call it a "building"? It looks like they're finished. Why isn't it a "built"? Why is it illegal to park in a handicapped parking space but okay to go the bathroom in a handicapped stall? All the king's HORSES and all the king's men? Are you kidding me? No wonder they couldn't put Humpty together again. Just what did they expect the horses to do, anyway? Did you ever notice, when you are sitting at a red light, that when the person in front of you pulls up a couple of inches, you are compelled to move up too? Do we really think we are making progress toward our destination? "Whew, I thought we would be late, but now that I am nine inches closer, I can stop for coffee and a danish!" Have you ever noticed how they keep improving your laundry detergent, but they still can't get those blue flakes out? Why do we trust them to get our clothes clean? Source: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/ ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Someone asked me what is it like to have three kids in three years. I said, it is much more satisfying then the man who has three million dollars. How so? Well the guy with three million wants more. By Author Phil Callaway, Heard on Focus on the Family, http://www.family.org/ Submitted by Kiri Christina Hyatt ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Looking for Fuel Bargains? Boot Up Before Gassing Up By Heidi A. Schuessler People who drive 20 miles out of their way to save a penny on a tank of unleaded may now save a trip by visiting http://www.gaspricewatch.com. That Web site tells users where the cheapest gasoline is within a 20-mile radius of any ZIP code. Pump prices are monitored by 30,000 volunteers in the United States and Canada. "Yesterday there was a 32-cent price difference in Dayton, Ohio, alone," said Brad Proctor, president and chief executive of GasPriceWatch. Gaspricewatch.com also tracks the price of heating oil, and it will soon add data on marine fuel from 12,000 marinas. Source: New York Times, Copyright (c) June 12, 2001, http://www.nytimes.com/ Submitted by John L. Bechtel |