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WITandWISDOM(tm) - November 27, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: We are so busy doing the urgent that we don't have time to do the important. – Confucius Source: Molly's Quotes of the Day, mailto:molly.rhea@gmail.com?subject=Subscribe_Quotes_of_the_Day ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: An unusual and very special gift was given to me the other day. I was taking the train home from downtown Chicago, and seated on my same car were a young lady with her mother and grandmother. The three of them had apparently been downtown for a day of shopping, and perhaps sightseeing. Now, that's not so unusual, and you may wonder why it was a gift. Grandma was in a wheelchair, and obviously had some diminished faculties. Her hearing was not so good, and the mother (her daughter) often had to explain things to her several times before Grandma seemed to understand. The young lady had Downs Syndrome. During the train ride, her mother made a game with her of finding the temperatures in different cities, as listed in the newspaper, and then figuring out which city was warmer or colder than another city. Throughout it all, Mother never wavered. It had to have been a long day, and she was surely tired. It would have been easy for her to decide that Grandma didn't really need to understand something instead of explaining it to her patiently for the fourth time. It would have been easy for her to give her daughter some mindless diversion to keep her occupied for the hour-long train ride home. But she spoke with them, and laughed with them, and they talked about their day, and they explored useless weather facts from far-away places long after it must have stopped being interesting. As fate would have it, they were getting off at the same stop as I was. They had backpacks and shopping bags, and Grandma in a wheelchair of course, so as we neared the station, I asked if they would like some help. Mother looked up at me and smiled, and said, "No, thank you, we're doing fine." Indeed, you are, ma'am. Indeed, you are. And thank you for the gift. By Jim Newman ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: A Teenager Is... ...someone who can't remember to walk the dog each day but never forgets a phone number he heard once. ...a weight watcher who goes on a diet by giving up candy bars before breakfast. ...someone who receives their allowance on Monday, spends it on Tuesday, and borrows it from her best friend on Wednesday. ...someone who can pick out the voice of a friend from three blocks away, but can't hear his Mother calling from the next room. ...a computer whiz who can operate any new gadget within seconds but can't make the bed. ...a connoisseur of two types of fine music: loud and very loud. ...a person who can bike for miles but is usually too tired to help with the dishes. ...a romantic who never falls in love more than twice a week. ...your own reality show but with fewer commercials. ...painfully funny at many times. At other times a teenager is just painful. ...someone who will pitch in and help clean every room in the house, as long as it's the neighbor's house. Source: Mark Mail, http://mrhumor.net/ ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: While shopping in a supermarket in Washington, D.C., I heard over the PA system: "A wallet containing a large sum of money was found, but it contains no ID. Will those laying claim to it please form a double line at the customer service counter?" Source: The Lame Humor List, http://absoluterobeo.com ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: (08-29-06) Russia is setting up a women-only police unit after a study found female officers are harder to corrupt. The new ladies-only police unit will tackle traffic offences which studies show are routinely forgiven by male officers in exchange for cash payments. Police chief Mikhail Tsukruk from Volgograd in southern Russia said: "The first female platoon of 26 traffic cops will be on the streets this week." Russia's roads are considered some of the most dangerous in the world with up to 35,000 fatalities a year. Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com