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WITandWISDOM(tm) - August 21, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: "My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch on fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one cares. Why should you?" - Erma Bombeck Source: Molly's Quotes of the Day, mailto:molly.rhea@gmail.com?subject=Subscribe_Quotes_of_the_Day ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Kids’ Day Hey Dad, Kids' Day is the perfect time to let your kids know how glad you are that they're yours. You ARE glad about that, right? Kids' Day allows you to demonstrate that truth to your children, who need to be reminded of it as often as you do. It doesn't take much preparation. Here's what you do: Call your wife and tell her you'll take care of dinner tonight. Then do something special: grill out, roast hot-dogs over a campfire, go to the Dog-n-Suds drive-in, have a picnic, or go to a favorite family restaurant. Then, on the way home from work, stop by Wal-Mart and pick up a slip-n-slide, squirt guns, fireworks, or other toys your kids have been talking about. After dinner, get out the new toy or go for a long bike ride, to the beach, or a drive-in. Oh, one more thing: Write a small note to each of your children telling them how much they mean to you. That's it! Don't have time today? That's okay. I didn't either. That's why we had our Kids' Day yesterday. We went to a local mountain-bike trail, did the slip-n-slide thing, went to a favorite breadstick place, and then I presented the older kids with a ticket to go see the Disney movie Cars. Okay, that's all the time for instructions I have. The rest is up to you. Make it a good'un. You 'da dad, © 2006 Todd Wilson Source: Men of Integrity, http://tinyurl.com/jsmyw ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: English Language Part 3 of 3 [Aug 1, 11, 21] You lovers of the English language might enjoy this: There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP." It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so... time to shut UP...! Submitted by Sharon Hamel ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Ethan stood at the edge of the magnificent Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland, when his son came up to him. "Daddy," he said, "Mommy says you're to come away from the cliffs or give me the sandwiches for lunch." Submitted by Lorraine ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: MADISON, Wis. (UPI) -- The U.S. tradition of soap box racing is being redefined by a recent influx of girls wanting to compete in the traditionally male event. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that girls, who were not allowed to participate in derbies until 1972, have been entering more races recently and meeting with great success. At Saturday's 11th annual Soap Box Derby in Madison, Wis., more than half of the children participating were girls -- with local 9-year-old Eleanore Shon winning the event. "Girls are better drivers and better racers than boys," the Madison derby director Denis Vogel told the Journal. "We have more girl champions than boys." Those involved in the soap box race theorized that girls have found success in the derby races since they are more flexible, less wind-resistant, and are able to follow directions better than boys. Whatever the races' results may be, such events have risen in popularity and have been found to help children learn about physics and hard work, while also working alongside their parents. Copyright 2006 by United Press International Source: ArcaMax – Weird News, http://tinyurl.com/9kf44