Prior Date

Archive Index

Next Date

WITandWISDOM(tm) - November 24, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it. - Soren Kierkegaard Source: Quotes of the Day, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: “Come in, come in!" she urged me from the door-way, her face wreathed in a smile. "It's a terrible night to be out," she murmured as I brushed the snow off my coat. "But I'm so glad you came." I followed Betty through a maze of darkened corridors, remembering that many of the old mansions on that many of the old mansions on this street had been divided as apartments for senior ("iri7.pns who had no other place to go. The light grew softly brighter as we rounded one more corner, entering at last the room where she had done most of her living for the past 15 years. "It's not much," she said as her eyes and mine scanned the worn furniture, the handmade afghans, the yellowed lampshades. "I actually have six rooms, but I never go in three of them. This room, my kitchen, and my bedroom are all I can keep up with." I found an overstuffed chair beside the television and mentally reviewed my usual topics for a pastoral visit as Betty brought hot chocolate from the kitchen: children, friends from church, health concerns, things to pray about. I needn't have worried about Betty's conversational skills, though. Her hot chocolate had long since grown cold before she paused to catch her breath. "Here I've gone on for half an hour," she apologized, "and you haven't said a word. But then," she added, eyes narrowing with the memory, "it's been 30 years since a pastor visited my home." I winced, remembering that I had nearly canceled this visit in favor of a mound of paperwork. Only a pledge to visit all of my parishioners had pushed me out the door this blustery January night. By Bill Knott ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: Bailey, a Staffordshire bull terrier, went for a wee against a faulty pylon, reports The Sun. His owner Gary Davies said: "There was an almighty explosion and the whole street lit up. I turned round and the dog was on fire." The power was off in 148 homes in Middlestone Moor, Co Durham for five hours. Bailey is recovering at home after being treated for burns. Source: (10-23-2006) Ananova http://www.ananova.com ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: All eyes were on the radiant bride as her father escorted her down the aisle. They reached the altar and the waiting groom; the bride kissed her father and placed something in his hand. The guests in the front pews, and the minister, responded with ripples of laughter. As her father gave her away in marriage, the bride had given him back his credit card. Source: Chapnotes, mailto:xanmansa@chapnotes.org?Subject=Subscribe ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Autumn-colored leaves. Tangy scent of wood smoke. Happy faces around the dining room table. The linking of hands in prayer. That's Thanksgiving. "It would be nice," we say somewhat wistfully, "if every day could be like this." There was a time, however, when there were those who declared we had "one Thanksgiving too many!" In 1939, during the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made an unpopular decision. Wouldn't it be wise, he reasoned, to inch up the holiday from the last Thursday in November to the next-to-last Thursday? This, he hoped, would boost Christmas sales in a failing economy. Perhaps. But Americans, steeped in tradition, were unhappy. They took up their pens in protest and deluged the White House with letters. The President held firm. So did the public. "We will celebrate two Thanksgivings," they declared. "One Thanksgiving too many" Congress decided. In 1941, a Congressional act decided on the fourth Thursday of November. By June Masters Bacher