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WITandWISDOM(tm) - July 10, 2003 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "We live by dying to ourselves; we die by living to ourselves." - Author Unknown Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright (c) January 15, 1918, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com Submitted by Dale Galusha ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: When Walt Whitman was a young, aspiring writer-long before he established himself as one of America's premier poets-he had a very difficult time getting published. In fact, one of his most famous books, "Leaves of Grass," was rejected so many times that Whitman published it himself. Working with a little print shop, he produced 800 copies. In order to sell the book he purchased newspaper ads, sent review copies to book critics and prominent citizens, and dragged copies from bookstore to bookstore in a large canvas bag. There is no record that he sold even a single copy. Yet, worse than no sales was the fact the book was denounced by those who received complimentary copies from the author. "A heterogeneous mass of bombast, vulgarity, and nonsense," wrote one critic. "We can conceive of no better reward than the lash," declared another. Poet John Greenleaf Whittier reportedly threw his copy of the book out of a window. Then came a letter from the preeminent poet of that day, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The letter contained three short sentences that gave Walt Whitman the encouragement he needed to keep on writing. The letter read: "Dear Sir, I am not blind to the worth of the wonderful gift: 'Leaves of Grass.' I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed. I greet you at the beginning of a great career." Perhaps it is because modern life is so hectic and strained that the fine and gentle art of encouragement is so often overlooked. Literally, the word means "to put courage into" someone. By Victor M. Parachin Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright (c) February 1991, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com Submitted by Dale Galusha ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: I had a friend return from Africa, feeling very ill. He went to the doctor who immediately sent him to the hospital for tests. He woke up a few days later in a private room. The phone beside his bed rang. "This is your doctor. We've got your test results back and you have an extremely nasty virus that's also VERY contagious." "Oh," says my friend, "that doesn't sound too good. What are you going to do?" The doctor replies, "We're going to put you on a diet of pizza, pancakes, and pita bread." "Will that cure me?" "Probably not," says the doctor, "but it's the only food we can fit under the door." Source: Joke For Your Day, mailto:baldmark@myexcel.com?subject=Subscribe_Joke_For_Your_Day ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: In the YMCA exercise room, a former professional boxer, now in his 70s, was pounding the bag. A middle-aged doctor, a wannabe jock, was doing sit-ups. After a while the doctor stood up and bragged to the boxer that he had just done 500 sit-ups. Without breaking the rhythm of his punches, the former boxer replied, "That's all right. Don't get discouraged. Keep trying and you'll get better." Contributed by William C. Cassen Source: Reader's Digest, Copyright (c) April 2000, http://www.readersdigest.com/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Airplane Seating Charts Planning any summer trips? Before you take the seat the airline wants you to have, visit today's cool site. This way, you won't be crammed into a little seat on an airplane and wished you had more leg room. The Seat Guru has seating plans for many airlines and plane models. Find out which seats have the most leg room, which seats don't recline and more! http://www.seatguru.com/ Copyright 2003, The Kim Komando Show. All rights reserved. Source: Kim Komando's Cool Site of the Day, http://www.komando.com/newsletter.asp Submitted by Sherri Rimmer |