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WITandWISDOM(tm) - October 5, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. - Sidney J. Harris ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: For years I preached against dogs. When our little daughter, Juanita, was a child, it seemed she would pick up anything that was called "dog." I did not want her collecting old stray dogs. So I said, "Juanita, if you will leave all these stray dogs alone, someday I will get a good dog for you—if there is such a thing." I promised her that, not because I liked dogs. Oh, no! It was merely the easiest way out of what to me was a real problem. Then one day I went to sympathize with a man who had lost his wife. As I walked into his home I saw there a little toy Pomeranian. And what do you suppose that little creature did? She stood up on her hind legs, put her front paws right up to me, and told me in her doggy language that she thought a lot of me. And do you know, she allured me! And I fell in love with her right there. Her master said, "Would you like to give her a home?" "I certainly would," was my reply. And I took that little dog home with me. My wife was out shopping. The children were in school. And, believe it or not, busy as I was, I sat down on the sofa and petted that little dog and talked lovingly to her for two hours! When my wife and children came home, she barked at everybody but me! And of course that flattered me even more! Do you know what that little pet dog did for me? She changed my whole conception of dogs. More than once I have stopped my car to say Hello to a little Pomeranian as I was traveling along the highway. Source: Path to the Heart, Glenn A Coon, © 1958 by Review and Herald Publishing Association ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Dear Mattel and Company, Our Momma is going to give away all our toys. She means it. We don't care a whit about all the cars, blocks, stuffed animals and battery operated noisemakers that we have. So Momma is giving them all away to charity and leaving only our favorite playthings around the house. Things like: Clean laundry. We love to strew it all over the floor and roll in it before Momma can fold it. The television remote. This is so much more fun than any noisemaker because it changes the channel and makes Daddy make noise! Mamma's glass of orange juice. Whee! The itsy bitsy spider went up the garden wall. Down came the OJ and washed the spider down. The com*put)r k5yb0ar/d. lt+s su/ch gr3at fu/n tO h31p mOmma typ3! Dog food. Not only does dog food kibble instantly cover the maximum square footage of floor space, it's fun to watch Momma fall on her behind as she comes running. Sofa cushions. How inconvenient to have them tucked in properly. They are much more fun on the floor where we can hop from one to the other like frogs. Throw rugs. There's nothing like dragging each other through the house on Momma's carefully placed throw rugs. Pencils and crayons. The doors in our house used to be such a boring plain old white. Now they are much more colorful! The mouse pad. Who's ingenious idea was it to make such a fun and floppy Frisbee? Toilet paper. Oh, the uses are endless! We are so good at grabbing the end and running through the house weaving a delicate pattern around the furniture. It's MUCH more fun to dump laundry detergent up and down the hall than it is to ride a tricycle. It's much more fun to flush items down the toilet than it is to put blocks in a talking container. It's so much more fun to mash banana on the laminate floor and slip around than to roller skate. Thanks for all the time you have taken to research our age group and scientifically define our developmental stages and TRY to invent toys that - will please and delight and even educate. But we have learned so much about gravity simply by dropping our food all over the floor. We have learned to count by watching Momma's red face as she counts to ten. We already know how to do buttons, zippers and ties as we undress ourselves at least three times a day. Now we need to close this letter and get busy taking all the folded sheets and towels out of the linen closet. SOMEBODY keeps folding them and putting them back. Our work is never done! Best regards, Becca (age 3) and Aiden (age 2) By Lisa Barker is a syndicated humor columnist and mom of five. Her latest book is 'Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane ... Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent!' http://www.JellyMom.com Please forward this to friends and family. Keep it intact from top to bottom and tell them where they can get more Jelly Mom: http://www.jellymom.com Won't you stop by and sign up for your very own subscription? It's on me! And you will get a new column in your email box every Thursday--something fresh and new before anyone else on the Internet: http://www.jellymom.com ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Time is the quality of nature that keeps events from happening all at once. Lately, it doesn't seem to be working. – Anonymous Source: Inspire, http://www.inspirelist.com/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: A student who could only read and write upside down has been cured - by the colour orange. Gemma Williams, 17, could read a book only if it was upside down, reports the Mirror. Her computer monitor had to stand on its head and she wrote the wrong way up, too. But now she can read and write normally - thanks to orange paper and filters. Tutors at Hopwood Hall College in Middleton, Greater Manchester, solved the sports student's problem. Gemma, from Rochdale, said: "Before, when I turned a book upside down, it made sense. "Now I can read and write the right way up. It's done using an orange filter which I put over the words I want to read. I use orange paper to write the right way up." Sue Fowler of the Dyslexia Research Trust said: "We know amber makes things clearer by increasing the contrast." Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com