Prior Date

Archive Index

Next Date

WITandWISDOM(tm) - June 27, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about? - Henry David Thoreau, American author (1817-1862) Source: Molly's Quotes of the Day, mailto:molly.rhea@gmail.com?subject=Subscribe_Quotes_of_the_Day ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: It was June 15, and in two days I would be turning thirty. I was insecure about entering a new decade of my life and feared that my best years were now behind me. My daily routine included going to the gym for a workout before going to work. Every morning I would see my friend Nicholas at the gym. He was seventy-nine years old and in terrific shape. As I greeted Nicholas on this particular day, he noticed I wasn't full of my usual vitality and asked if there was anything wrong. I told him I was feeling anxious about turning thirty. I wondered how I would look back on my life once I reached Nicholas's age, so I asked him, "What was the best time of your life?" Without hesitation, Nicholas replied, "Well, Joe, this is my philosophical answer to your philosophical question: "When I was a child in Austria and everything was taken care of for me and I was nurtured by my parents, that was the best time of my life. "When I was going to school and learning the things I know today, that was the best time of my life. "When I got my first job and had responsibilities and got paid for my efforts, that was the best time of my life. "When I met my wife and fell in love, that was the best time of my life. "The Second World War came, and my wife and I had to flee Austria to save our lives. When we were together and safe on a ship bound for North America, that was the best time of my life. "When we came to Canada and started a family, that was the best time of my life. "When I was a young father, watching my children grow up, that was the best time of my life. "And now, Joe, I am seventy-nine years old. I have my health, I feel good and I am in love with my wife just as I was when we first met. This is the best time of my life." By Joe Kemp, Chicken Soup for the Soul Source: The Inspired Buffalo, mailto:the-inspired-buffalo-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Heard it on the radio... I'll always remember a certain radio exchange that occurred one day as Walt (my backseater) and I were screaming across Southern California 13 miles high in a SR-71. We were monitoring various radio transmissions from other aircraft as we entered Los Angeles airspace. Though they didn't really control us, they did monitor our movement across their scope. I heard a Cessna ask for a readout of its groundspeed. "90 knots" Center replied. Moments later, a Twin Beech requested the same. "120 knots," Center answered. We weren't the only ones proud of our groundspeed that day as almost instantly an F-18 smugly transmitted, "Ah, Center, Dusty 52 requests groundspeed readout." There was a slight pause, then the response, "525 knots on the ground, Dusty." Another silent pause. As I was thinking to myself how ripe a situation this was, I heard a familiar click of a radio transmission coming from my backseater. It was at that precise moment I realized Walt and I had become a real crew, for we were both thinking in unison. "Center, Aspen 20, you got a groundspeed readout for us?" There was a longer than normal pause.... "Aspen, I show 1,742 knots." No further inquiries were heard on that frequency. Source: Daily Funnies, http://zinester.com/mpb/ml_fs.cgi?topic=25438 ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: We had just finished eating a beautiful dinner that my mother had prepared for our 28-member family. As I glanced up at the chandelier over the table, I was mesmerized by the creative handiwork a spider had woven around the prisms and light bulbs. "Don't look up there!" my mother screamed. "It's the one thing I was too tired to clean!" "Don't look where?" my brother asked. "There!" my mother pointed. "It's my own personal web sight!" Submitted by Lorraine ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: A hiker in the northeast recently had a very strange experience. A cottontail burst from behind a thicket of trees and lay right next to him – apparently having none of the instinctual fear of man most rabbits do. But the outdoorsman soon found out why. A weasel came racing around the corner in hot pursuit of the rabbit. As soon as the weasel saw the cottontail crouching next to the hiker, he slinked off. Source: Laughter for a Saturday mailto:ed548@yahoo.com?subject=Subscribe_to_Laughter_for_a_Saturday