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WITandWISDOM(tm) - September 19, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. Submitted by Ken ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: There's a story about two Filipino brothers, identical twins, who lived in Manila and made their living by driving jeepneys, Filipino taxis. Though they were twins and had similar jobs, they lived very different lives. One was married and had children; the other was single. Then one day, the married brother accidentally struck and killed a tourist with his taxi. Accused of reckless driving, the twin was sentenced to twenty years in the notorious Manila prison — a devastating fate that would leave his wife and children without an income. One day, his twin came to visit him in prison. He said, "Brother, your family desperately needs you. Put on my clothes and take my visitor's pass, and I will put on your prison uniform and serve the rest of your sentence. Go to your family." So, while the guards were not looking, the twins exchanged clothes, and the married brother walked out of the prison unchallenged. Do you think the twin who was freed could ever stop thinking about the sacrifice that his brother made in trading places with him? By Doug Batchelor in Broken Chains (Pacific Press 2004) ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Quotes of the Day Inanimate objects are classified scientifically into three major categories - those that don't work, those that break down and those that get lost. - Russell Baker The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't. - Douglas Adams The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well. - Joe Ancis I think the world is run by 'C' students. - Al McGuire Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that's how dogs spend their lives. - Sue Murphy I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me. - Dave Barry Source: Quotes of the Day, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Last week my wife and I purchased a new computer. We ran into some difficulties while setting it up so we called the customer support phone number we found in the manual. I picked up the phone and called the number. A man answered the phone and I explained the problem to him. He began rattling off computer jargon. This confused us even more. "Sir," I said politely, "Can you explain what I should do as if I were a small child?" "Okay," the computer support guy said, "Son, could you please put your mommy on the phone?" Source: Weekend Encounter, by Dick Innes, Copyright (c) ACTS International, 2004, http://www.actsweb.org/subscribe.php ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Geordie Gets Jamaican Accent A Geordie woman woke up in hospital after suffering from a stroke - with a West Indies accent. Linda Walker of Westerhope, Newcastle, suffered from the minor stroke at her home and was transferred to the local hospital/ She was shocked when she spoke to family from her hospital bed that she sounded like she was from Jamaica. Doctors diagnosed foreign accent syndrome, where a stroke or knock on the head affects the brain's voice control centre. After intensive speech therapy doctors think Linda may keep her Jamaican accent for ever. According to The Sun Linda said: "I just don't sound like me. Not only did I have a stroke but I got lumbered with this accent too. I don't feel the same person. "Everybody asks where I'm from and, if I say Newcastle, they just laugh. They think I'm lying. A neighbour asked if I was drunk as my speech is slower and often slurred. I just want my own voice back." Linda is assisting Newcastle University experts who are researching the rare condition. Dr Nick Miller, senior lecturer in speech language sciences, said: "Foreign accent syndrome has a lot to do with control of the lips, tongue, vocal cords and breathing, which are all affected by neurological damage. As a result a person's speech becomes severely distorted." Foreign accent syndrome was first discovered in Norway in 1941 when a young woman spoke with a German accent after an air raid. Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com