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WITandWISDOM(tm) - May 3, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Democracy needs more free speech, for even the speech of foolish people is valuable if it serves to guarantee the right of the wise to talk. - David Cushman Coyle Source: Quote Lady's Quote of the Day, mailto:quote-a-day-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Is patience difficult for you? A man in Los Angeles, California was arrested for negligent discharge of a weapon after shooting his toilet bowl five times with a 38 caliber handgun. He claims that he just got upset. He couldn't take it any longer. His daughter had flushed a hairbrush earlier in the day and clogged the pipes. So he shot the offending toilet. I have no word on the toilet's condition, but the man's patience was long gone. I once learned a valuable lesson about patience. I came across a box turtle while walking home one day. I brought him home to examine a little more closely. My intention was to keep him for a few hours and let him go. I put the turtle down and waited for him to come out of his shell. He didn't. I pulled up a chair and waited some more. He didn't budge. I sang to the turtle. Still no appearance. I told turtle stories. I coaxed him with food. But nothing worked. Finally, I had to leave. So I barricaded the porch in case the turtle decided to leave, too. After all, I still hadn't gotten a closer look. The turtle decided he had had enough. When I returned, the porch was empty. He apparently didn't think much of my barricade. I learned a valuable lesson from that turtle. He just bided his time and waited. He wasn't much interested in food, songs or stories. He only wanted me to go away. So he patiently waited until I left. Then he left, too. It's been well said: "Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius." Be a genius. Be patient. By Steve Goodier © 2004 Steve Goodier is the editor of The Life Support System, a motivational e-newsletter delivered daily to 85,000 subscribers in over 100 nations. His inspirational newsletter and books are available through his website at http://www.lifesupportsystem.com Source: Life Support System, mailto:LifeSupport-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Deep Observations On Life When I die, I want to die like my grandfather--who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car." - Author Unknown Advice for the day: If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle: "Take two aspirin" and "Keep away from children." - Author Unknown "If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base." - Dave Barry "My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the lake and threw her off the boat. I said, 'Mom, they weren't trying to teach you how to swim.'" - Paula Poundstone "Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my .... I could be eating a slow learner." - Lynda Montgomery "I think that's how Chicago got started. Bunch of people in New York said, 'I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west.'" - Richard Jeni "If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead." - Johnny Carson "My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that's the law." - Jerry Seinfeld "Remember in elementary school, you were told that in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single file line from smallest to tallest. What is the logic in that? What, do tall people burn slower?" - Warren Hutcherson "You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'My, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" - Dave Barry Submitted by the North Family ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: A salesman, calling his wife from a distant city, said good-bye and hung up. As he left, the pay phone rang. He answered it, expecting to be informed of extra charges. But, the operator said, "I thought you'd like to know - just after you hung up, your wife said, I love you." Submitted by Gerry ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: It was June 18, 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. The French under the command of Napoleon were fighting the Allies (British, Dutch, and Germans) under the command of Wellington. The people of England depended on a system of semaphore signals to find out how the battle was going. One of these signal stations was on the tower of Winchester Cathedral. Late in the day it flashed the signal: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N---D-E-F-E-A-T-E-D- -." Just at that moment one of those sudden English fog clouds made it impossible to read the message. The news of defeat quickly spread throughout the city. The whole countryside was sad and gloomy when they heard the news that their country had lost the war. Suddenly the fog lifted, and the remainder of the message could be read. The message had four words, not two. The complete message was: "W-E-L-L-I-N-G-T-O-N- - -DE-F-E-A- T-E-D- - -T-H-E- - -E-N- E-M-Y!" James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 165-166. Source: A Dose of Inspiration, http://www.quietstones.com/mydailydose