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WITandWISDOM(tm) - September 23, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." - Pablo Picasso Source: Cybersalt Digest, http://www.cybersalt.org/ ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: I just returned from New Jersey. While en route there, I was stuck in traffic on Interstate 81, just below the Virginia state line(Bristol, Tennessee), due to a traffic accident with a fatality involved. This accident involved a tanker truck hauling a hazardous material load that developed a leak, which meant that we weren't going anywhere for several hours. After being told by the Tennessee state troopers that we would be sitting still until the clean up was completed, I set my brakes on the truck and got to stretch my legs. Other truck drivers did the same, and at one point there were 5 of us standing there by my truck, complaining. Sitting right beside me in the left lane, were two elderly people in a Silverado pick up truck, which was loaded quite well. The man (Joe),lowered his window and asked what was going on regarding the traffic situation. Soon we were all talking with this couple. I mentioned that if I had known about this, I would have bought something to drink, (water),for I was becoming thirsty. The lady, (Anna), said that they had plenty of water, and sodas in the cooler in the bed of the truck, and offered everyone present something. While she was back there, she said that she had plenty of tuna salad made up, and asked if we would be interested in a sandwich. After some urging from Joe, we agreed to a sandwich. While Anna was making the sandwiches on the tailgate of the truck, she was singing like a songbird. To be close to 70, (I guess), she had a remarkable voice. When she finished making the sandwiches, and putting everything up, Joe raised the tailgate of the truck to close it. I noticed a Mississippi license plate on it. I inquired as to what part of Mississippi they were from. Joe said Biloxi. Knowing that Biloxi had been ravaged also by hurricane Katrina, I asked if they sustained any damage. Joe said that they lost everything but what they had on and what was in the pickup. All of us drivers tried unsuccessfully to pay them for their drinks and the sandwiches. They would have nothing to do with it. Joe said that their son was living around Harrisonburg, Virginia. And that they were going there. He was in the real estate business and that there was a home that became open, and that they were going to start all over there. Staring over at their age would not be easy. I will soon be 48 years old, and I have say that I have never eaten a tuna sandwich with side orders of reality and humility. These people lost everything except the pictures, important documents, and some clothes. Joe had managed to get their antique heirloom grandfathers clock into the bed of the truck and Anna got her china and silverware, but that was all. These wonderful people lost practically everything they owned and they still would not accept any money for the food and drinks. Joe said "It is better to give than it is to receive". They sought refuge behind a block wall that he had built years ago, and they watched their belongings and their home disappear in the winds of Hurricane Katrina. Joe said that during all this he had one hand holding onto Anna and the other holding on to God. Both their truck and them selves came out of Katrina unscathed. As I stated before, Anna was singing a song while making the sandwiches. The song is titled "I know who holds tomorrow," an old gospel song. She knew every word, and was quite a gifted singer of it. Have you ever heard it? The chorus of this song is, "Many things, about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand. But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand". There is no doubt in my mind, who was holding both their hands. I know, there have been many, many email that have circulated over the years about things that will touch your heart, but this one I personally was involved in. Forget all of the politics that the news is striving on, and think about people just like Joe and Anna. If you can, help out with the victim's relief funds. If you cannot help, at least offer a prayer for everyone. Do what you wish with this email, forward it, delete it, whatever. I know that these two elderly people got to this old boy. I will always remember them. "Joe and Anna". If by some strange way you, or someone you know gets this, and shows it to you, God Bless you! Submitted by RP Cly ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: We were hosting an exchange student, Klera, from Austria, who rarely displayed emotion about anything. One day my uncle offered to take us out to an island 20 miles out in Lake Erie in his motorboat, and we spent the day on pristine sun-warmed beaches. In the late afternoon as we headed back to the boat, we stared nervously at the inky black clouds approaching -- a massive storm was brewing and waves were already whipping about. Uncle Steve exclaimed, "We can beat it!" A few miles out, with the angry heavens cracking above, waves crashing into the boat, a torrential downpour blinding us, we turned and fled back to the island. We stood out in the storm on a deserted dock, drenched and cold. Klera had never known the fierce power of the Great Lakes nor had she ever before feared for her life. We waited, and when the storm was over, we set out again. In the dark, moonless night, we lost our way. Then we noticed a distant light and headed for it, only to discover when we landed that the waves had carried us to the wrong harbor. Back to our nightmare. After another hour we finally docked. With aching heads, sick stomachs and wildly beating hearts, we made our way to the car. No one said a word, except Klera -- who shook my uncle’s hand and thanked him for the most thrilling adventure of her life! Source: Top Greetings ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city. - George Burns Source: Quotes of the Day, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Save money with online secret codes Q. On your show this past weekend, you were talking to a man who wanted to buy a laptop. You explained to him what he needed and then, you mentioned how to get promo codes. Can you please go over that and the sites to get the codes again? I love your show and listen every week. I even got my poker buddies to listen now too. We talk about what you said during each game. A. Spending more money than I have to on anything drives me crazy. That's why I am especially fond of the secret code words, sometimes called "promotional codes," used by Web retailers. Know the code and you save money. Otherwise, you pay full price. On most Web sites, there is a place during the checkout process to enter a promotional code. Type in the code and your total amount due is automatically adjusted. Getting the promotional codes is easy. There are several web sites that do nothing but accumulate and list promotional codes to use when shopping online. These promo code gathering sites let you find codes by category or by the online retailer's Web site name. Sometimes, more than one code is listed for a site. You normally cannot enter more than one promotional code. It pays to figure out if you're better off taking the discount or the free shipping. It's been my experience that free shipping is normally ground, or 7 to 10 days. If you need your purchase quickly, forgo the offer for free shipping. Some places to look for these promo codes include: Coupon Cabin, http://www.couponcabin.com Coupon Craze, http://www.couponcraze.com Current Codes, http://www.currentcodes.com CoolSavings, http://www.coolsavings.com and KeyCode, http://www.keycode.com How do these sites get the codes? Promotional codes are distributed by the retailers. Many people who are regular customers of these stores get the codes by e-mail or regular mail. The retailers may hope to achieve viral marketing, as the recipients pass the information on to friends. Posting of codes on sites helps attract customers. People who shop with the codes may spend more on other things. Many sites offer coupons, in addition to codes. The coupons look just like the coupons you receive in the mail. But you don't have to worry about holding onto the paper coupons you receive. Instead, when you're ready to eat out, for instance, you just check the coupon sites. In fact, I lunched at an Italian restaurant last week with a friend. We used a buy-one-get-one-free coupon printed from the Internet. The food was excellent and the price inexpensive. Although most online coupons are in color, there's no need to print them that way. You'll save the same amount of money if you print the coupon in black-and-white. When using a coupon in a restaurant, don't expect to save on the tip. Always calculate the server's tip using the full price. That's the right thing to do. Many coupon sites tailor the coupons to your ZIP code. So the restaurants that are included should be near your home. That's true of other businesses, too. With these kinds of offers available, you'd be foolish to shop online or eat out without at least checking to see what's on the Internet for the taking. Copyright 2005, The Kim Komando Show. All rights reserved. Kim Komando's Cool Site of the Day http://www.komando.com/newsletter.asp