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WITandWISDOM(tm) - October 21, 2003 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Income seldom exceeds personal development. What you become directly influences what you get. Source: The Funnies, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/andychaps_the-funnies ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: I was horse sitting and house sitting a few years back. There were 30 horses on 20 acres, in various paddocks. They included a mare with a foal, a mare in foal, two old dressage horses, a number of yearlings, and some "rescue" horses. My job was to check them, feed them twice a day with hay, and give the broodmares hard feed twice a day. I also had to count the number of horses in each paddock, to check that they were all present and correct. One particular morning I wheeled the barrow to the shed, loaded up with enough flakes of hay, and headed to the first paddock. I had begun throwing the hay over the fence, rather than risk being caught in the middle of a mob of hungry horses. I did a head count - one horse missing. One of the old dressage horses. I only knew that because both were wearing blankets, and there was only one blanketed horse there. Not like him to miss breakfast. I walked around the paddock, looking. I headed to the dam - no horse. I headed back towards the house, and I found him. His blanket snap had got caught up on the fence, and he was standing there patiently waiting to be freed. The ground behind him was marked with his hoofs, so he had been there for a while. Not knowing this horse, or what he would do when I started messing around near his hind legs, I spoke to him quietly. I also knew that he knew breakfast was in progress, and he was missing out. He wanted to run to his pile of hay, and the company of the other horses. I ran my hand from his shoulder to his rump. so he knew where I was. He was pulling on the fence a little, and the snap would not undo. I headed back to his chest, and undid the front strap, hoping he would stick around long enough for me to do it back up before he bolted off. Back to the fence, and I pulled the blanket back enough to free him. Told him to stand still, while I put the snap back on the blanket, and then did up the front strap. The old horse realized he was free, but instead of bolting to his feed, he hesitated. He turned towards me, and shoved his nose into my chest. It was as definite a thank-you as you could ask for. Then he turned and cantered to his breakfast, leaving me to stand and wonder at the intelligence of God's creatures. By Kim Brown, Copyright 2003 ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Grants Pass, Ore. Auto mechanic Darrell Havens says he accidentally sent nine cars to the car crusher this weekend. Some belonged to friends, some to customers. "(The crusher) took out my best friend's Mercedes," Havens said. "I had a Chrysler in cherry condition." Havens called the Josephine County Sheriff's Office but was told the incident was not a crime. Even car crushers make mistakes. Havens said he called the unidentified car crusher to come by his storage lot and crush about 50 cars. According to Havens, the cars to be demolished were set out in a horseshoe shape. Nearby were the nine others. He had intended to sell some of the now-crushed cars on a lot. He estimated the damage at about $9,000. Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Source: Peninsula Daily News, July 3, 2003, http://peninsuladailynews.com ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Teacher to a third grade student: "Billy, if both of your parents were born in 1967, how old are they now?" Billy: "It depends." Teacher: "It depends on what?" Billy: "It depends on whether you ask my father or my mother." Source: Colorado Comments, http://coloradocomments.com/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: At what point is honey no longer fit to eat? Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible. Source: ArcaMax Trivia, http://www.arcamax.com |