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WITandWISDOM(tm) - March 8, 2002 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "A gentle word, like summer rain, May soothe some heart and banish pain. What joy or sadness often springs From just the simple little things! " By Willa Hoey Submitted by Shauna Brunette Subjects: Words, Encouragement, Speech ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: When I was a small boy, I attended church every Sunday at a big Gothic Presbyterian bastion in Chicago. The preaching was powerful and the music was great. But for me, the most awesome moment in the morning service was the offertory, when twelve solemn, frock-coated ushers marched in lock-step down the main aisle to receive the brass plates for collecting the offering. These men, so serious about their business of serving the Lord in this magnificent house of worship, were the business and professional leaders of Chicago. One of the twelve ushers was a man named Frank Loesch. He was not a very imposing looking man, but in Chicago he was a living legend, for he was the man who had stood up to Al Capone. In the prohibition years, Capone's rule was absolute. The local and state police and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation were afraid to oppose him. But single-handedly, Frank Loesch, as a Christina layman and without any government support, organized the Chicago Crime Commission, a group of citizens who were determined to take Mr. Capone to court and put him away. During the months that the Crime Commission met, Frank Loesch's life was in constant danger. There were threats on the lives of his family and friends. But he never wavered. Ultimately he won the case against Capone and was the instrument for removing this blight from the city of Chicago. Frank Loesch had risked his life to live out his faith. Each Sunday at this point of the service, my father, a Chicago businessman himself, never failed to poke me and silently point to Frank Loesch with pride. Sometime I'd catch a tear in my father's eye. For my dad and for all of us this was and is what authentic living is all about. From: Living Above the Level of Mediocrity By Swindoll, Chuck, Published by Thomas Nelson (Sep 1, 1989), ISBN: 0849931770, http://isbn.nu/0849931770 Source: My Daily Dose of Inspiration, http://www.quietstones.com/mydailydose Subjects: Courage, Mafia, Example ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: An airline pilot with poor eyesight managed to pass his periodic vision exams by memorizing the eye charts beforehand. One year, though, his doctor used a new chart that the pilot had never before seen. The pilot proceeded to recite the old chart and the doctor realized that he'd been suckered all these years. The doctor could not contain his curiosity. "How is it that someone with your eyesight can manage to pilot a plane at all? I mean, how for example do you taxi the plane out to the runway?" "Well," said the pilot, "it's really not very hard. All you have to do is follow the instructions of the ground controller over the radio. And besides, the landmarks have all become quite familiar to me over the years." "I can understand that," replied the doctor. "But what about the take-off?" "Again, a simple procedure. I just aim the plane down the runway, go to full throttle, pull back on the stick, and off we go!" "But once you're aloft?" "Oh, everything's fully automated these days. The flight computer knows our destination, and all I have to do is hit the autopilot and the plane pretty much flies itself." "But I still don't see how you land!" "Oh, that's the easiest part of all. All I do is use the airport's radio beacon to get us on the proper glide path. Then I just throttle down and wait for the co-pilot to yell, 'AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!' pull the nose up, and the plane lands just fine!" Source: Bill's Punch Line, http://www.tcmr.com/billspunchline.html Subjects: Airplanes, Pilots, Blind ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Back in the 1970's, Honda had a campaign that carried to outdoor boards. The dynamic shot of a bike was paired with, "Follow the leader. He's on a Honda." Harley-Davison managed to buy space on boards just ahead of Hondas boards. Their headline was, "Don't follow anybody". Submitted by Philip B. Watkins III Subjects: Signs, Motorcycles ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Kids' Portal The Kids' Portal is U.S. government interagency Kids' Portal. This site was developed and is maintained by the Federal Consumer Information Center. It provides links to Federal kids' sites along with some of the best kids' sites from other organizations all grouped by subject. Explore, learn, and have fun! Kids' Portal http://www.kids.gov Source: Safe Web, http://home.earthlink.net/~barnnies/ezine.html |