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WITandWISDOM(tm) - October 24, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: The things which hurt, instruct. - Benjamin Franklin Source: Carol's Thought for Today, http://users.adelphia.net/~mrs.carol ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: I was looking through a boxful of papers that had been tossed out for the trash, aggravated because I couldn’t find a bill I’d been searching so fervently for. Like the most cherished possession I have is a discarded bill—it’s so important! The more I dug the more discarded homework assignments I discovered. I’ve noticed an interesting correlation between bills and homework…There is no correlation! You can ignore the bills and they never fail to send another! But I can’t recall ever opening a piece of mail containing homework that I‘d ignored the first time around. Hmm… Interesting! That’s when it struck me. I had to ask myself: What’s more important, discarded bills from people I don’t know or my kids’ homework? When was the last time I stopped to really study all the papers my kids had worked so diligently on so they could make the grade and feel good about themselves? [And keep from going to detention!] When was the last time I stopped doing something that important [in my eyes which are subject to tunnel vision] so I could instead concern myself with the goings-on of my children? These precious gifts from God, these little people, are only with us for a short duration of time and then they’re gone. I dumped the whole box of papers looking for the buried treasure it held. What this treasure lacked money-wise it more than compensated me for with its true value. These discarded papers spoke volumes about the little people who mean the world to me; more than any earthly treasure, which is just empty baubles. Jewels may sparkle, they may cause envy in the eyes of fools, but they don’t speak and they don’t satisfy. Their value is only an illusion. So I perused my children’s graded homework papers and they told me things I hadn’t known before: their talents, dreams, anecdotes I‘d forgotten or never heard, and even their concerns. I had the chance to really know my kids, but my self-absorbed lifestyle had caused me to miss the mother lode. What a fool I’d been! By Robert Paul Sax © 6-12-2005 Source: Sir Froggie's Positive News Network, http://www.sfpnn.com/ ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: My husband, Herman, a representative for a major-appliance company, called on one of his accounts. A couple in the store was interested in a refrigerator and approached him for information. He offered his assistance and pitched the product. Soon after, Herman left and made a stop at another appliance store nearby. In a half-hour, the same husband and wife walked in for comparison shopping. The salespeople were busy, so my husband answered the couple's questions. When he finished, the wife said, "You know, there's a salesman across the street who looks just like you." "That's my twin," Herman quipped. "Well," she replied, "when we're ready to buy, we're coming back to see you. We like you a lot better than your brother." Contributed to "All In a Day's Work" by Blanche Hoppenstand Source: DailyInBox Presents, http://dailyinbox.com ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Being newlyweds, my husband, Adam, and I had received many secondhand items from my parents. I hadn't realized how many until we were at my parents' house for my mother's birthday. As Mom was about to unwrap her present from my father, Adam leaned over and said, "I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, can we have your old one?" Submitted Lorraine ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Three elderly US ladies took 24 hours to get home after they got lost on the way back from church. Alice Atwater, 72, and her friends Florence King, 86, and Ruthelle Outler, 84, had only traveled 20 miles to church from their home in Upson County, Georgia. But it took them 24 hours, including detours to Birmingham, Alabama, Atlanta and Macon to get home again, reports the Macon Telegraph. "We tried to find our way home and the more we tried the farther we went," said Mrs. Atwater. "I wasn't scared. We just locked the car doors and just rolled." The trio went to the Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Griffin more than 20 miles away from their homes to hear a particular preacher. Their disappearance caused friends, family and law enforcement to search the area as media outlets referred people with information to the police. All that was news to Mrs. Atwater when she was pulled over by a Thomaston police officer Monday evening, she said. "He said, 'Did you know they have a APB on you?' and I said 'no,' " she said. Mrs. Atwater was cheerful but tired after driving for more than 24 hours without sleep. Alice Atwater's daughter, Suzette Atwater, said she was upset her mother did not call but relieved that she was safe. Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com