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WITandWISDOM(tm) - July 30, 2003 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don't give up." - Anne Lamott, author of Traveling Mercies ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: I once told a man that I no longer voted. He responded by telling me this: The choice of whether I voted or not was why he waded through rice paddies, toted guns, and fought battles. It wasn't long afterward that I began to vote again. ~~~~~~~ I once told a man a lie. He responded by telling me this: All of the decisions that he made were based upon the words that I spoke. I have long since told the truth. ~~~~~~~ I once became upset over a gift I received, because it wasn't what I wanted. The giver saw the disappointment in my eyes and told me this: He chose the most valuable gift he could find, because he felt I should have it. I am since very joyful over each gift that I receive. ~~~~~~~ A man once told me a secret which I quietly whispered in another friend's ear. The man told me this, after hearing his own secret repeated. The reason he told me the secret was because he trusted me, not my friend. I no longer take trust so lightly. ~~~~~~~ I once gave a gift to a friend and she cried. I told her it was just a small gift I had found. Her response was that it was not the gift, it was that I had thought of her. I now give gifts often. ~~~~~~~ The shiny coin was not to be mine, so I had been told. But on my way out the door, it found its way in my hand. When it was discovered that I had stolen the coin, I was quietly taken aside. The owner of the coin told me this. Integrity is given with a choice. I have since chosen to stand with integrity. ~~~~~~~ Once I told a man of all of my dreams. He smiled warmly and even chuckled then asked if I ever planned on living any of them. I now choose the spending of my days very differently. Author Unknown Source: Laugh & Lift, http://www.laughandlift.com/ ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Heap O'Facts 45 bank robbers a year are arrested because they write their holdup notes on the back of their own deposit slips. The Atlantic Ocean is saltier than the Pacific Ocean. Smokey Bear was given his own Zip code in 1964. (20252) Americans consume 18 acres of pizza a day. The moon smells like exploded fireworks. Source: The Oregonian, Copyright (c) November 21, 2002, http://www.oregonian.com/ Submitted by Barbara Henry ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Two state supreme court justices went fishing, and were surprised the lake was empty except for them. They deduced fishing season had concluded, and they were fishing illegally. Being judges, they decided to try one another, by the side of the lake. "I find you guilty of fishing out of season and sentence you to $5," said one judge to the other, and the money was handed over. "And I sentence you with a $10 fine," said the other judge. "But, if it please the court, recent precedent suggests a more lenient sentence," said the judge. "True," said the other. "but there has been too much of this going on lately." Source: The Masters Forum , http://www.mastersforum.com/archives/kushner/kush.htm ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: We'd just moved from Chicago, Illinois to Idaho, and I was in our basement bedroom getting ready for work when I heard a wild fluttering noise inside the wood-burning stove. I raised the upper door of the stove slightly and peered inside. A sparrow-sized bird was fluttering around. I didn't want to leave the bird there all day. So while dressed in my nightgown, I pulled on my husband's old pair of elbow-length fire-resistant gloves and opened the stove door a crack. The bird flew out! It soared high around the room once, then circled lower and lower until it finally landed on top of my head! With the dusty bird clinging to my hair, I slowly climbed the stairs and approached the back door. I carefully reached for the doorknob and gently opened it. Then I stepped onto the stoop and held my breath. The bird flew away to a nearby tree, leaving only a puff of ashes. It was only then that I noticed our next-door neighbor in his car watching me. No, I never did give him a full explanation and still wonder what he thought about his funny-dressed neighbor from the big city. By Meredith Thomas, Pocatello, Idaho Source: Birds & Blooms, August / September 2003, http://www.birdsandblooms.com |