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WITandWISDOM(tm) - September 13, 2002 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: What the heart knows today, the head will understand tomorrow. - James Stephens Source: DailyInBox: Proverbs Plus, http://mailroom.dailyinbox.com/pplus/ ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband was invited to spend the weekend at the husband's employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the water-way, and cars costing more than her house. The first day and evening went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very wealthy live. The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely. As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment. Arlene wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached and picked up the penny. He held it up and smiled, then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up? Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She causally mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value. A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this? "Look at it." He said. "Read what it says." She read the words "United States of America." "No, not that; read further." "One cent?" "No, keep reading." "In God we Trust?" "Yes!" "And?" "And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust Him! Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!" When I was out shopping today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot change. I read the words, "In God We Trust," and had to laugh. Yes, God, I get the message. It seems that I have been finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then, pennies are plentiful... And God is patient... Submitted by Thurman Petty ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: HOW TO IDENTIFY WHERE A CANADIAN DRIVER IS FROM One hand on wheel, one hand on horn: MONTREAL One hand on wheel, one hand out window: TORONTO One hand on wheel, one hand out window, cutting across all lanes of traffic: OTTAWA One hand on wheel, one hand on newspaper, cradling cell phone, balancing Tim Horton's coffee on knee, foot solidly on accelerator: CALGARY Both hands on wheel, eyes shut, both feet on brake, quivering in terror: SASKATOON, but driving in TORONTO Both hands in air, gesturing, both feet on accelerator, head turned to talk to someone in the back seat: QUEBEC CITY One hand on 12 oz. double shot latte, one knee on wheel, cradling cellphone, foot on brake, mind on radio game, banging head on steering wheel while stuck in traffic: VANCOUVER One hand on wheel, one hand on hunting rifle, alternating between both feet being on the brake and both feet on the accelerator throwing McDonald's bag out the window: RED DEER 10. Four wheel drive pick-up truck, shotgun mounted in rear window, raccoon tails attached to the antenna: MOOSE JAW Two hands gripping wheel, blue hair barely visible above windshield driving 40 km/hr on Hwy 1 in the left lane with the left blinker on: VICTORIA One ski-doo mitt on steering wheel, one ski-doo mittscraper in hand out front window scraping frost, Guess Who on 8 track playing Share The Land, hockey equipment smelling up car interior, waiting at lights for snow removal equipment to finish clearing intersection: EDMONTON Submitted by Norma Lasser ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Dial "L" for Loser According to the U.K. Sunday People, http://www.people.co.uk/ thousands of English men are getting the brush off when women they're interested in had them their phone number, which turns out to be a recording that, when called tells the hapless Romeo: "The person you are calling was obviously not interested. For advice on personal hygiene, improving your dress sense or better ways of approaching females, please hold." After a short pause, the message continues: "I'm sorry, all our operators are busy washing their hair." From: Bonehead of the Day Award, http://bonehead.oddballs.com/ Source: The Oregonian, Copyright (c) July 2, 2002, http://www.oregonian.com/ Submitted by Barbara Henry ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Kuantan, Malaysia (Ananova): Malaysian firefighters had to carry a woman to an ambulance after she got her foot stuck in a toilet's sewage pipe. They smashed the bowl, but couldn't remove the pipe so they sawed it and the 65-year-old went to hospital with part of it still attached. Ee Yeng Moi from Kuantan had been standing on the toilet cleaning when she slipped and got her foot stuck. Doctors managed to free Ee's leg and she was treated for cuts and bruises, the New Straits Times reports. District fire chief Mohamad Osman said: "Our men could not pull her foot out. We then broke the toilet bowl and found that her foot was stuck firmly in the connecting pipe." He said his men had even tried applying coconut oil to help lubricate the foot but it didn't work. Source: WhiteBoard News, http://www.joeha.com/whiteboard |