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WITandWISDOM(tm) - September 3, 2004 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Laziness is nothing more than resting before you get tired. - Jules Renard Source: DailyInBox: Proverbs Plus, http://mailroom.dailyinbox.com/pplus/ ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: "Dr. Papaderos, what is the meaning of life?" The usual laughter followed, and people stirred to go. Papaderos held up his hand and stilled the room and looked at me for a long time, asking with his eyes if I was serious and seeing from my eyes that I was. "I will answer your question." Taking his wallet out of his hip pocket, he fished into a leather billfold and brought out a very small round mirror, about the size of a quarter. And what he said went like this: "When I was a small child, during the war, we were very poor and we lived in a remote village. One day, on the road, I found the broken pieces of a mirror. A German motorcycle had been wrecked in that place. I tried to find all the pieces and put them together, but it was not possible, so I kept only the largest piece. This one. And by scratching it on a stone I made it round. And I began to play with it as a toy and became fascinated by the fact that I could reflect light into dark places where the sun would never shine in deep holes and crevices and dark closets. It became a game for me to get light into the most inaccessible places I could find. I kept the little mirror, and as I went about my growing up, I would take it out in idle moments and continue the challenge of the game. As I became a man, I grew to understand that this was not just a child's game but a metaphor for what I might do with my life. I came to understand that I am not the light or the source of light. But light truth, understanding, knowledge is there, and it will only shine in many dark places if I reflect it. I am a fragment of a mirror whose design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world into the black places in the hearts of men and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I am about. This is the meaning of my life." And then he took his small mirror and, holding it carefully, caught the bright rays of daylight streaming through the window and reflected them onto my face and onto my hands folded on the desk. Much of what I experienced in the way of information about Greek culture and history that summer is gone from memory. But in the wallet of my mind I carry a small round mirror still. - By Robert Fulghum Submitted by Ann Barnhart ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: A cultural centre in Amsterdam has installed sensors in its toilets that tell users if they're taking too much time. The sensors, linked to a computer called Private room 02, have been installed at the Cultural Centre De Balie. Toilet users will also be given a reminder if they fail to flush the toilet, smoke, don't put up the toilet seat, or use to much toilet paper. Inventor Leonard Van Munster said if sensors in the toilet feel someone is trying to make a mess, they'll be warned to leave it tidy, says the nu.nl website. He added: "The computer has developed its own moods. Sometimes he doesn't say anything, but will then suddenly start to sigh. "And when someone is spending a lot of time in the little room, one can hear him make funny remarks such as 'Do you know that during this 50 minutes you've spent in the toilet, 50 people have died in wars all over the world?'", Van Munster added. He said he's also working with a number of others to compose a special beat for people on the toilet. "I want them to feel at ease in the little room." Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Ken and Melba had finished their breakfast at the retirement home and were relaxing in the library. "You know," said Melba, "today, in most marriage ceremonies, they don't use the word 'obey' anymore." "Too bad, isn't it?" replied Ken. "It used to lend a little humor to the occasion." Source: Cascade_Express(tm) E-Zine, mailto:Cascade_Express-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Butterflies Of North America http://www.butterflies.com/nabutterflies.htm Source: Cascade_Express(tm) E-Zine, mailto:Cascade_Express-subscribe@yahoogroups.com |