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WITandWISDOM(tm) - December 14, 2005 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: When you don't know what you are talking about, it's really hard to know when you are finished. Submitted by Betsy ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Joe is in his first year at a prestigious law school in the eastern United States. A lot of folks are impressed by that. But not Becky. Becky is Joe’s 5-going-on-15-year-old daughter. She has been in kindergarten for two whole months, which means she’s pretty much got life figured out now. For example, it didn’t take her long to notice that she was the only one in her entire kindergarten class whose Daddy still went to school. All of the other daddies had jobs, including daddies who work on computers, daddies who build things, daddies who sell things and even one daddy who is a police officer. When you’re in kindergarten, a daddy who is a police officer is prestigious. A daddy who is still going to school like you is . . . well . . . not. “She hasn’t said anything, but I can tell by the way she looks at me that she feels kind of sorry for me,” Joe told me recently. “Most people think I’m in this law school because I’m smart. My daughter thinks I’m in this law school because I’m an idiot.” Which shouldn’t come as a great surprise to Joe – pretty much all children see their fathers as idiots at some point in their lives. And they love us anyway. Most of the time. The thing that really seals the deal for Becky is the stars. Every day in kindergarten the children earn gold stars for their behavior. The more gold stars on their paper at the end of the day, the better behaved they were. Usually Becky comes home with four or five stars on her paper. So when Joe brought one of his papers home from law school, she wanted to see it. It may surprise you to learn that one of America’s leading law schools doesn’t normally put gold stars on student papers. So there were no stars on Joe’s paper for Becky to see. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Joe could see the realization dawning in Becky’s eyes. Not only was her father an idiot, but he was an idiot who behaved poorly. Becky looked at her father compassionately and benevolently, as one might look at someone to whom life has done a great disservice. “It’s OK, Daddy,” she said, patting his hand sympathetically. “I’ll get a good job.” And as far as Becky is concerned, that’s OK. The way she sees it, she’s got kindergarten under control. Law school and the rest of life can’t be any more difficult than that, can it? Of course, those of us who have lived more than five years on this planet understand that there’s a little more to it than that. While it may be true, as Robert Fulghum’s wonderful book indicates, that “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” there is much to be said for the things we learn – sometimes painfully – through years of living and experience. We may learn in kindergarten, as Fulghum writes, that you should “say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.” But it is only through years of experiencing the pain of hurting and being hurt that we learn why that’s such a good, healthy, healing idea. Or we may learn in kindergarten that we should “play fair.” But we have to see and experience the consequences of unfairness to truly understand why playing fair is so important. “Not all learning comes from books,” said country music superstar Loretta Lynn. “You have to live a lot.” It’s called wisdom, and you don’t learn it at school – not even the most prestigious of law schools. You don’t even learn it at kindergarten, although some of it probably starts there. It rarely comes quickly or easily. But it comes in powerful ways that you never forget. With or without the gold stars. ValueSpeak A Weekly Column Wisdom With A Gold Star By Joseph Walker © mailto:valuespeak@msn.com For more ValueSpeak, please visit http://www.sfpnn.com/joseph_walker1.htm Joseph Walker is author of "How Can You Mend a Broken Spleen? Home Remedies for an Ailing World." http://isbn.nu/1573453005 Source: Sir Froggie's Positive News Network - Daily Good News Letter, http://www.sfpnn.com/subscribe_to_pnn1.htm ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Top Ten Gifts Your Wife Does Not Want For Christmas 10. A car wash kit 9. A table saw 8. Two all-day passes to Circuit City's Home Theatre Installation Seminar 7. A case of oil 6. Five-year subscription to Sports Illustrated 5. Custom engraved bowling ball 4. New outboard motor for fishing boat 3. Rambo Trilogy on DVD 2. New satellite dish with sports package 1. Three-year membership to Weight-Watchers Clinic Top Ten Gifts Your Husband Does Not Want For Christmas 10. Anne of Avonlea/Anne of Green Gables Collectors Edition with 74 minutes of extra footage 9. Any knick-knack 8. Tickets to the ballet 7. Another new tie 6. A Bath and Body Works Soap Basket 5. New teddy bear pajamas 4. Vacuum cleaner 3. A weekend seminar on "Getting in Touch With Your Feelings" 2. Pair of fuzzy bunny slippers 1. A nose and ear hair trimmer (OK, well maybe.) Source: The Timothy Report, Copyright (c) 2004 Swan Lake Communications, http://www.timothyreport.com ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: I couldn't decide whether to go to Salt Lake City or Denver for my vacation. I wanted to visit Denver, but money was tight so I called the airlines and decided to let the fare amount settle my indecision. "Airfare to Denver is $300 per person," said the cheery reservation agent. "Oh dear," I replied. "What about Salt Lake City?" "Oh, we have a really great rate right now to Salt Lake City ... only $99, but there is a stopover." "Where?" "In Denver." Source: Mark Mail, http://mrhumor.net/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Identity Maintenance Though nothing can absolutely prevent identity theft, these tips can reduce your exposure – or help you recover should you become a victim. Inventory Your Wallet’s Contents: That way, you’ll have a list of whom to call in case it gets stolen. Remove any thing with a Social Security number. Consider a Credit-Monitoring Service: If you get one, make sure it covers all three credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Order A Free Credit Report Every Four Months: The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees you one free report per year per credit reporting agency. Order them only at http://AnnualCreditReport.com Minors Are At Risk: Most don’t have a credit report, and a credit agency won’t freeze a minor’s credit until one exists. If an ID thief requests credit in the kid’s name, the agency will create a report (but you may never hear about it). If you suspect that your child’s data has been used, you can e-mail TransUnion at mailto:childidtheft@transunion.com Are You A Victim? Renew the 90-day fraud alerts placed on your credit reports. Smart thieves have been known to wait until after the 90-day alert expires to start causing trouble. Source PC World, Copyright (c) November 2005, http://www.pcworld.com