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WITandWISDOM(tm) - January 4, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Have confidence that if you have done a little thing well, you can do a bigger thing well, too. - David Malcolm Storey Source: Inspire, http://www.inspirelist.com/ ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: When I was twelve years old, I ran away from home. I caused my parents a great deal of grief and dismay. When I returned in the wee small hours in the morning, I expected to be punished. Instead, my Mum and Dad embraced me. For the next couple of weeks, my Dad took me into his work and showed me around the engineering factory, where he was manager. At nighttime, we both worked on a project - the building of a small wooden red biplane. The biplane was a replica of a drawing taken from one of my favorite comic books. My Dad was a superb draughtsman and it fascinated me to watch him create a blueprint for the wings, fuselage, wheels, and propeller. He was putting a lot of time and effort into this project, more than he could really afford because he was a very busy manager. By the end of the month, we finished the biplane and I proudly displayed it on my bedroom table. It was the first thing I saw each morning and the last thing I looked at each night. By taking time to make the biplane, my Dad was showing me all that he did. He was also giving me all of his attentive love. Ever since then, I've loved model aircraft and when I take some precious time to build one, it takes me back to those days when a troubled and insecure boy found strength and love in his Father's patience, forgiveness, and care. John Stuart mailto:traqair@aol.com Knoxville, Tennessee, USA Source: Illustrator, http://www.answers2prayer.org ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Common Canine Complaints Building mounted fire hose connections are no substitute for a real hydrant. "Why can't I just make an appointment with the groomer to get my nails done? I can do without the shampoo, blow-dry and stupid pink bows." Nintendo is not easily paw operated. Silk plants may look real but when chewed cause extreme flatulence. "If Barbie wasn't meant as a chew toy, why do little girls set up her Dream House within easy reach?" No breakfast in bed. Really cool sneaker companies don't make doggie booties. The average refrigerator door seam is too narrow to be easily opened by a snout. Source: Clean Laugh, http://www.cybersaltlists.org/ ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: My oldest daughter insisted that her true love speak with me, man to man, about his marriage intentions. She had met him overseas and, while I liked everything I'd heard about him, we'd never been introduced. I'm just old-fashioned enough to believe that parental blessing is still necessary for a truly happy union, so I eagerly anticipated our first face-to-face encounter. The big meeting was scheduled to take place in my office. At the appointed hour, my daughter walked in with a good-looking but anxious fellow in tow. Before I could say a thing, he dropped to one knee, took my right hand in both of his, gazed earnestly up at me and said, "Will you be my father-in-law?" I couldn't bless them fast enough. Contributed to "Life In These United States" by Clint Kelly Source: DailyInBox Presents, http://dailyinbox.com ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: 'Beautifully' Preserved Dodo Bones Discovered A team of Dutch and Mauritian scientists have discovered the bones of around 20 dodos at a site in Mauritius. The "beautifully preserved" bones of the flightless bird, thought to have become extinct in the 17th century, are being hailed as a major find. No complete skeleton has been found on Mauritius before and the last full set of bones was destroyed in a fire at a museum in Oxford, England, in 1755. Researchers believe the bones are at least 2,000 years old, and hope to learn more about how dodos lived. (GES/WNWCCB) (c) 2004 World Entertainment News Network Source: ArcaMax – Science and Technology, http://tinyurl.com/9kf44