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WITandWISDOM(tm) - September 8, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: The greatest pleasure I have known is to do a good action by stealth, and to have it found out by accident. – Charles Lamb, 1775 -1834 Source: The Most Brilliant Thoughts of All Time, Edited by John M. Shanahan, Copyright © 1999, http://isbn.nu/0060194111 ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: I was barely six years old when I first began to notice the beverages that my parents drank. Most of the time, they would share them with me if I asked, but there was this one brownish liquid that my dad drank, that no matter how hard I begged, he wouldn't let me try. He called it "Alcohol". I didn't understand. Why was this stuff "off-limits" for me, when his juice and soda were readily shared? He explained that it was because I was "too young", but the more I thought about it, the more it didn't make any sense. Why was I too young for this, and not for the other drinks? If it was as good as my dad seemed to think it was, why shouldn't it be enjoyed by everyone? Especially a 6 year-old? The more I thought about it, the more I determined I became to try some of this forbidden liquid. I bided my time until one evening my parents went to a movie, leaving my older brother and I in the care of our grandmother. I was playing in the kitchen, and naturally, my eyes were attracted to the cupboard over the sink where my dad kept the different flasks of that brownish liquid. "I wonder what it tastes like," I whispered. I looked around quickly to see who might be watching me, but I was in luck. My grandmother was busy watching T.V. and my older brother was reading in the other room. There was absolutely no one there to stop me! I carefully crawled up onto the kitchen counter, and with one last guilty look over my shoulder, I made my way to the cupboard. Grabbing the first bottle I could reach, I screwed off the top and smelled it. Yuck! It burned my nostrils! Maybe my nose should have stopped me, but it didn't. If my dad enjoyed it as much as he did, surely the taste must be better than the smell! But when I swallowed that first mouthful, I thought I was going to die. It burned my throat, it made my eyes water, and it was all I could do to pant in breath. How could anyone drink this stuff and act like they were enjoying it! I began to feel a bit dizzy. I didn't know why, but in case it was the brown liquid, I closed the bottle, put it exactly where I had found it and crawled back to the floor. Now what? I decided to go into the living room where my grandma was watching TV, and to my amazement, she was watching a documentary on the dangers of alcohol! I was too young to fully comprehend what was being said, but I remember how shocked I felt about the possible disastrous consequences caused by that brownish liquid. Right then and there, I decided to never touch the stuff again. I only broke my resolve once. When I was 12, we were in a car accident and to "get over the shock", my parents forced me to drink a small glass of Brandy. But the taste hadn't improved in six years and being reminded of my early decision, I recommitted myself to a life of abstinence, and though the peer pressure and social obligations of my teen and early adult years often made it difficult, I was never again swayed. It was years later that I learned that I came from several generations of alcoholics on both sides of my family. My decision, made at six years of age, was perhaps what helped me to escape the fangs of this monster that continues to hold held the rest of my family in its nasty grasp. Source: Illustrator, http://www.answers2prayer.org ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: At the airport for a business trip, I settled down to wait for the boarding announcement at Gate 35. Then I heard the voice on the public address system saying, "We apologize for the inconvenience, but Delta Flight 570 will board from Gate 41." So my family picked up our luggage and carried it over to Gate 41. Not ten minutes later the public address voice told us that Flight 570 would in fact be boarding from Gate 35. So again we gathered our carry on luggage and returned to the original gate. Just as we were settling down, the public address voice spoke again: "Thank you for participating in Delta's physical fitness program." ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: The word 'aerobics' came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we're going to charge $10 an hour, we can't call it Jumping up and down. - Rita Rudner ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Scientists in Australia's tropical north are collecting blood from crocodiles in the hope of developing a powerful antibiotic for humans, after tests showed that the reptile's immune system kills the HIV virus. The crocodile's immune system is much more powerful than that of humans, preventing life-threatening infections after savage territorial fights which often leave the animals with gaping wounds and missing limbs. Scientists hope to collect enough crocodile blood to isolate the powerful antibodies and eventually develop an antibiotic for use by humans. However, the crocodile's immune system may be too powerful for humans and may need to be synthesized for human consumption. http://snipurl.com/h07m Source: Nybble Bi-Weekly Newsletter, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nybble