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WITandWISDOM(tm) - September 6, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Your mind will give you knowledge. Your heart will tell you what to do with it. Submitted by Elaine ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: "A Super Market Owner and a Super Employee" The author wishes to remain anonymous Edited by Shmuel Greenbaum I recently acquired a small supermarket and decided that three weeks after opening, I would hire a developmentally delayed adult to work in my store. Sam is a kind, friendly 23-year old. He is eager to work and comes in on time and leaves with a smile on his face. He thanks me each week. I can not tell you how I pray that business will get busier and allow me to hire more developmentally delayed employees. I can not tell you the look in Sam’s eyes when I treat him for a soda or a lunch from time to time. He is by far one of my kindest, sweetest and hardest workers. I have a six year old son who was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorders and I am a firm believer of "paying it forward". Someday; I hope, that when the time comes, someone out there will offer a job to my son and afford him a sense of accomplishment, pride and happiness in himself. That is what I believe my dear employee, Sam feels. Source: Kind Words, mailto:Kindness-subscribe@PartnersInKindness.org ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Because I’m a Man . . . Because I'm a man, when I lock my keys in the car I will fiddle with a wire clothes hanger and ignore your suggestions that we call a road service until long after hypothermia has set in. Because I'm a man, when the car isn't running very well, I will pop the hood and stare at the engine as if I know what I'm looking at. If another man shows up, one of us will say to the other, "I used to be able to fix these things, but now with all these computers and everything, I wouldn't know where to start." Because I'm a man, when I catch a cold I need someone to bring me soup and take care of me while I lie in bed and moan. You never get as sick as I do, so for you this isn't an issue. Because I'm a man, I can be relied upon to purchase basic groceries at the store, like milk or bread. I cannot be expected to find exotic items like "Cumin" or "Tofu". For all I know these are the same thing. Because I'm a man, when one of our appliances stops working I will insist on taking it apart, despite evidence that this will just cost me twice as much once the repair person gets here and has to put it back together. Because I'm a man, I must hold the television remote control in my hand while I watch TV. If the thing has been misplaced, I may miss a whole show looking for it (though one time I was able to survive by holding a calculator). Because I'm a man, you don't have to ask me if I liked the movie. Chances are, if you're crying at the end of it, I didn't. Because I'm a man, I think what you're wearing is fine. I thought what you were wearing five minutes ago was fine, too. Either pair of shoes is fine. With the belt or without it looks fine. Your hair is fine. You look fine. Can we just go now? Submitted by Lucille Baker ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Because I had missed a few appointments with my chiropractor, his receptionist, Candice, started calling me with a reminder. Once, however, I made it to the office without the customary phone call from her. She ushered me into the doctor's office, and when I came out, I told her how pleased I was that I had remembered. "Actually," she said, "your appointment's not till next week." Submitted by Lorraine ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: I remember well the visit I made to the strangest cemetery on earth while exploring the northern parts of Cairo, Egypt. This cemetery is called the "City of the Dead." The place hardly seems like a cemetery because it is teeming with life and activity. Over a span of centuries, the great Egyptian rulers of ages past built acres and acres of huge and elaborate mausoleums and tombs. As tradition dictated, each of these burial places had its own "party room." Around the fourteenth century, thousands of poor people seeking shelter began squatting in these tombs. Now, this area, classified as a suburb of Cairo, has its own ZIP code, post office, police station, shops, electricity, running water, and sewerage system. Peering into the tombs, I could see how these people conduct their everyday lives—sleeping, cooking, and eating. I was impressed with how they've made use of the smaller gravestones, turning them as needed into washing lines and tables. And all through this area are stone coffins filled with human remains—right in the middle of the current inhabitants' living space. By Doug Batchelor in Broken Chains (Pacific Press 2004)