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WITandWISDOM(tm) - June 7, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Life's most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others? - Martin Luther King, Jr. Source: Carol's Thought for Today, http://www.kalama.com/~carola/ ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: You Can Do Anything By Tina Karratti Many years ago, my dad was diagnosed with a terminal heart condition. He was put on permanent disability and was unable to work at a steady job. He would be fine for quite a while, but would then fall suddenly ill and have to be admitted to the hospital. He wanted to do something to keep himself busy, so he decided to volunteer at the local children s hospital. My dad loved kids. It was the perfect job for him. He ended up working with the terminally and critically ill children. He would talk to them and play with them and do arts and crafts with them. Sometimes, he would lose one of his kids. In certain instances, he would tell the grieving parents of these children that he would soon be with their child in heaven and that he would take care of them until they got there. He would also ask the parent if there was a message they would like to send with him for their child. My dad’s assurances seemed to help parents with their grieving. One of his kids was a girl who had been admitted with a rare disease that paralyzed her from the neck down. I don t know the name of the disease or what the prognosis usually is, but I do know that it was very sad for a girl around eight or nine years old. She couldn’t do anything, and she was very depressed. My dad decided to try to help her. He started visiting her in her room, bringing paints, brushes and paper. He stood the paper up against a backing, put the paintbrush in his mouth and began to paint. He didn’t use his hands at all. Only his head would move. He would visit her whenever he could and paint for her. All the while he would tell her, “See, you can do anything you set your mind to.” Eventually, she began to paint using her mouth, and she and my dad became friends. Soon after, the little girl was discharged because the doctors felt there was nothing else they could do for her. My dad also left the children’s hospital for a little while because he became ill. Sometime later after my dad had recovered and returned to work, he was at the volunteer counter in the lobby of the hospital. He noticed the front doors open. In came the little girl who had been paralyzed, only this time she was walking. She ran straight over to my dad and hugged him really tight. She gave my dad a picture she had done using her hands. At the bottom it read, “Thank you for helping me walk.” My dad would cry every time he told us this story and so would we. He would say sometimes love is more powerful than doctors, and my dad - who died just a few months after the little girl gave him the picture - loved every single child in that hospital. By Tina Karratti (c) 1998 from Chicken Soup for the Father's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jeff Aubery, Mark Donnelly and Chrissy Donnelly. In order to protect the rights of the copyright holder, no portion of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent. All rights reserved. http://isbn.nu/1558748954 Visit us and read other sample stories and meet the authors. http://www.chickensoup.com Source: DailyInbox: Chicken Soup for the Soul, http://ydib.net/n_soup/subscribe.shtml ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Cat Diary Human Translator 'HERE KITTY, KITTY, KITTY...' Means humans want to take you somewhere, most likely the Vet. Avoid it. 'I HAVE SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR YOU!' Probably left over human food they were about to throw out. 'HERE'S SOME KITTY TREATS...' Most likely another foil wrapped appeals-to-a-human Madison Avenue concoction. Real kitty treats are usually opportunities when no one's paying attention and you get to lick the ice cream in the bowl, or jump on the table for that great piece of meat loaf. 'YOU ARE SOOOOOO CUTE!' You are about to rub noses with a human. They can never get enough of our tiny fur- coated bodies and irresistible faces. Human noses are sooo warm. Ugh. 'YOU'RE IN MY CHAIR!' or 'YOU'RE TAKING UP TOO MUCH OF THE BED!' You picked the right spot. You are right where you should be. 'DARN CAT HAIR!' You left your hair out in the open where humans can see it and properly clean it up. 'STOP THAT!' Means you were caught. Remember exactly where you were and get back to it - once they leave the house. 'GET OUT OF HERE!' Do not take this personally. It's usually the first thing they say after you wake them up by sticking your backside in their face. SNAPPING OF FINGERS: They want you to come over. If they want me, they'll come get me. Otherwise, get a dog. 'I LOVE YOU...' Means just that. No translation needed here. And we love you, too. Source: Molly's Quotes of the Day, mailto:rheamo@centurytel.net?subject=Subscribe_Quotes_of_the_Day ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: "I have claustrophobia combined with fear of success, so I completely fell apart when I did a really good job painting the inside of my closet." (Bob Thaves) Submitted by Lorraine ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: A bank robber who demanded £10,000 cash was baffled when a bank clerk told him he'd got the wrong counter. The cool-headed cashier told the masked robber that if he wanted a loan he needed to go to a different counter. The robber, who had handed over a note demanding the cash, was left stumped by the move and fled empty-handed from the bank in the Austrian city of Graz. In addition, the cashier gave police such a good description of the robber that he was arrested minutes later. The 40-year-old Austrian robber, who was not been named for legal reasons, admitted he had no idea how to react when he was told he was at the wrong counter. Source: Ananova 4/12/2005 http://www.ananova.com