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WITandWISDOM(tm) - December 2, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular. - Adlai E. Stevenson Jr., Speech in Detroit, 7 Oct. 1952 Source: Quotes of the Day, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: "Watch me dive off the high board, Dad," my ten-year-old son called out. I looked up to the ten-foot-high diving board and waited as he stood at the edge, stooped over, arms extended. He had jumped off the high board many times before, but now his nerve seemed to falter as he contemplated streaking through the air headfirst. The swimming pool was vacated, so he could take his time. "You can do it, Robby," I encouraged. But he couldn't. Not that evening. For 20 minutes he attempted to muster the courage to make the plunge, and he finally gave up when the pool closed for the night. "I feel disappointed in myself," Robby said on the way home. "I feel terrible. I know I can do it, though. I know I can." He persuaded me to take him swimming again the next evening. Like the night before, we happened to be the only swimmers. "I'm going to do it this time," he said emphatically. "Watch me!" He climbed the ladder and walked to the end of the board as I watched. Again I encouraged him. Again he hesitated. As the previous night, his nerve failed. It seemed that he would never conquer his fear and leap. The lifeguards on duty helped me cheer him on. "You can do it, Robby," we all exhorted. "Just do it! Don't think about it. Just do it!" For 30 minutes we encouraged him. For 30 minutes he started and stopped, he leaned and straightened and fought the fear that held him back. And then it happened. He extended his arms, bent over the edge and fell headfirst into the water! He emerged to the sounds of laughter and congratulations. He did it! He finally did it! And before he went home, he did it three more times. Robby learned something about facing his fear that evening. But he learned something else, too. He learned that some things can't be done with less than full commitment. A chasm cannot be leaped in two small jumps and a dive cannot be made a little at a time. Sometimes you just have to do it. This reading is found in Steve Goodier's popular book ONE MINUTE CAN CHANGE A LIFE http://www.lifesupportsystem.com/books.html Steve Goodier is the editor of The Life Support System, a motivational e-newsletter delivered daily to 85,000 subscribers in over 100 nations. His inspirational newsletter and books are available through his website at http://www.lifesupportsystem.com Source: Life Support System, mailto:LifeSupport-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: There was once a small boy who banged a drum all day and loved every moment of it. He would not be quiet, no matter what anyone else said or did. Various attempts were made to do something about the child. One person told the boy that he would, if he continued to make so much noise, perforate his eardrums. This reasoning was too advanced for the child, who was neither a scientist nor a scholar. A second person told him that drum beating was a sacred activity and should be carried out only on special occasions. The third person offered the neighbors plugs for their ears; a fourth gave the boy a book; a fifth gave the neighbors books that described a method of controlling anger through biofeedback; a sixth person gave the boy meditation exercises to make him placid and docile. None of these attempts worked. Eventually, a wise person came along with an effective motivation. He looked at the situation, handed the child a hammer and chisel, and asked, "I wonder what is INSIDE the drum?" No more problem. Source: ArcaMax - Jokes, http://tinyurl.com/9kf44 ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: At a training session in the fire station, the platoon was assembled around the kitchen table. The training officer was discussing the behavior of fire: you pull up to a house and notice puffs of smoke coming from the eaves, blackened-out windows and little or no visible flame. "What does this tell you?" he asked. Expecting to hear that the house is in a possible back draft situation, a condition very dangerous to fire fighters, he instead heard from one quick wit, "You got the right place." Submitted by Lorraine ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Yale Music School Will End Tuition THE ASSOCIATED PRESS New Haven, Conn. — A $100 million donation to Yale University's School of Music means that the school will no longer have to charge tuition. The gift, which has been promised by an anonymous donor and will be spread out over the next few years, is one of the largest ever pledged to a music school. The money will also go toward exchanges with foreign conservatories for students, faculty, and ensembles, and toward Internet broadcasts of the school's events. The Yale School of Music currently has 211 students. Tuition is $23,750 per year. Free tuition will begin next year. Source: Peninsula Daily News, November 6, 2005, http://peninsuladailynews.com