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WITandWISDOM(tm) - March 20, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Roman philosopher and writer Source: The Funnies, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/andychaps_the-funnies ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 7 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories. He often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands. He knew I loved yellow roses. With a heart filled with grief, I only wanted to buy my few items and leave, but even grocery shopping was different since he had passed on. Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two. Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak and remembered how he had loved his steak. Suddenly a woman came beside me. She was blonde, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit. I watched as she picked up a large package of T-bones, dropped them in her basket.. Hesitated, and then put them back. She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks. She saw me watching her and she smiled. "My husband loves T-bones, but honestly, at these prices, I don't know." I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes. "My husband passed away eight days ago," I told her. Glancing at the package in her hands, I fought to control the tremble in my voice. "Buy him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together." She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away. I turned and pushed my cart across the length of the store to the dairy products. There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I should buy. A Quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream. If nothing else, I could always fix myself an ice cream cone. I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the front. I saw first the green suit, then recognized the pretty lady coming towards me. In her arms she carried a package. On her face was the brightest smile I had ever seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled her blonde hair as she kept walking toward me, her eyes holding mine. As she came closer, I saw what she held and tears began misting in my eyes. "These are for you," she said and placed three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in my arms. "When you go through the line, they will know these are paid for." She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again. I wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the roses meant, but still unable to speak, I watched as she walked away as tears clouded my vision. I looked down at the beautiful roses nestled in the green tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal. How did she know? Submitted by Barbara E-W ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: My father, a Marine, was stationed in Guantanamo Bay. His Navy co-workers noticed during one particularly rainy week that the rain seemed to stop whenever Dad, in full uniform, stepped out of his car to enter a building. My father explained the phenomenon to the perplexed Naval officers by saying, "God wouldn't let it rain on a Marine." A few days later Dad exited his car clad in civilian clothes, and he got soaked to the bone. His Navy buddies, ready to tease him, were squelched by his explanation: "God didn't recognize me out of uniform." Contributed to "Humor In Uniform" by Diane T. Willis Source: America In Uniform, http://www.beliefnet.com/user/newsletter_choose.as ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: We had our ten-year old daughter late in life, long after our two boys were born. She is the joy of my husband's life, but he is self-conscious about his age and being an older father. He jokingly tells people that by the time she graduates High School, he'll be ready for the Nursing Home. One day she asked me, "Mom, you know how Dad always says he'll be in a home when I graduate?" I nodded, expecting some sad question about death and mortality. She continued, "Can I have the car when that happens?" Source: Mark Mail, http://mrhumor.net/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: NEW YORK (UPI) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg makes only a dollar a year in his city job -- but thanks to the IRS he doesn't even get that. The feds tax him on it, the New York Daily News says, withholding seven cents for Medicare and Social Security. So, the mayor winds up with only 93 cents. Bloomberg's personal fortune, by the way, is estimated at more than $5 billion. He set his own mayoral salary in 2001. Source: ArcaMax – Weird News, http://tinyurl.com/9kf44