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WITandWISDOM(tm) - September 19, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Be more like a child today, for children sing whether they sound good or not." Source: Cybersalt Digest, http://www.cybersalt.org/ ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: It had been an ordinary, busy day. I had attended classes at the seminary in France in the morning and had just spent my afternoon working at the Calvin Center in Geneva. For some reason, I left the Centre a little late, and I knew I wouldn't make it back to the seminary in time for dinner. I would have to stop somewhere in Geneva to get something to eat. As I set out to find a restaurant, however, I couldn't shake the nagging feeling that there was something very wrong with this plan. It was a few minutes before it dawned on me: I had spent my last Swiss francs just that morning on gas! At the next stop light, I pulled out my wallet to double check. Sure enough, it was empty! I pushed my wallet back into my pocket with just a little more force than necessary. What good was a wallet anyway, if there wasn't any money in it? I reluctantly turned my car down the road that led to the French/Swiss border. I would simply have to go hungry tonight! But for some reason, when I passed Migros, a popular chain of grocery stores in Switzerland, I turned into the parking lot. I didn't understand my actions. After all, there was no way they would sell me food without any money, and being a student, I didn't have a credit card. But some force stronger than me seemed to be dictating that I be there. I quietly bowed my head: "Lord, I don't know what to do. The cafeteria is closed. I'm hungry and I don't have any money. Please help me! Thanks for providing for me. In Jesus' mighty name, Amen." Again being pulled by a force that I couldn't seem to resist, I got out of my car and went into the grocery store. Boy, was that pure torture. Just looking at food made my stomach ache and my mouth water! I could only stand it for a few minutes, then I turned and bolted back to my car. As I neared my parking spot, however, I noticed something laying on the pavement. To my amazement, it was a bill for 5 Swiss Francs! I picked it up, looking around it see who it might belong to, but the parking lot was empty. Immediately, I heard a peaceful inner voice: "This is my gift for you." Those 5 Swiss Francs were just enough for a nice meal, and I was able to return to my dorm room completely satisfied. Source: Illustrator, http://www.answers2prayer.org ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Airplane Stories..... Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!" Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!" ~~~~~ A student became lost during a solo cross-country flight. While attempting to locate the aircraft on radar, ATC asked, "What was your last known position?" Student: "When I was number one for takeoff!" Source: Cascade_Express(tm) E-Zine mailto:Cascade_Express-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Our young daughter had adopted a stray cat. To my distress, he began to use the back of our new sofa as a scratching post. "Don't worry," my husband reassured me. "I'll have him trained in no time." I watched for several days as my husband patiently "trained" our new pet. Whenever the cat scratched, my husband deposited him outdoors to teach him a lesson. The cat learned quickly. For the next 16 years, whenever he wanted to go outside, he scratched the back of the sofa. Source: Cybersalt Digest, http://www.cybersalt.org/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Magic Mudhole Is Game's Big Secret Thu Sep 15, 2005 02:12 PM ET By Philip Barbara DELRAN, New Jersey (Reuters) - Somewhere along the mudflats of a Delaware River tributary in New Jersey is the spot where baseball's "magic mud" is mined, a location known only to a few and kept secret for decades. The unique mud is rubbed on every new baseball used by Major League teams to remove the sheen, soften the seams and give pitchers a better grip. "It definitely changes the way the ball feels," said Washington Nationals pitcher John Patterson. "If you get a new baseball, it's slick, it's hard to hold on to. If you put some mud on it, it gives you a better grip." Before a game, Nationals ballboy Lamont Poteat "rubs up" several dozen baseballs by dabbing each one with a fingertip-full of mud and massaging it with both hands until its sheen is dulled. The origins of the mud are swathed in folklore. Asked where it came from, Patterson said: "From the Mississippi." Other players believe it is taken from an Alabama swamp. In fact, the mud is supplied by a husband-and-wife outfit in New Jersey but the exact site of their mudhole is a closely guarded secret. The few outsiders taken to the mudhole have been blindfolded and sworn to secrecy. "You'll never find it no matter how hard you look," said Jim Bintliff, owner of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud. Source: Reuters, http://reuters.com