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WITandWISDOM(tm) - November 30, 2006 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: It is better to train ten people than to do the work of ten people. But it is harder. – Dwight Moody ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Marion Preminger wrote about where lasting happiness is to be found in her autobiography ALL I WANT IS EVERYTHING. Born in Hungary in 1913, Marion was raised in a castle, surrounded by wealth, servants and the notoriety of an aristocratic upbringing. At a Viennese ball, she met a handsome young man, the son of an Italian doctor. They rushed into a marriage that lasted only a year. She returned to Vienna to embark on a career of acting. There she fell in love with the German director Otto Preminger. They married and she followed him to America where he began a promising career as a Hollywood movie director. But her new Hollywood lifestyle could not sustain her marriage and Preminger eventually divorced her. Marion returned to Europe to live the life of a Parisian socialite until 1948. Then everything changed when she read that Dr. Albert Schweitzer was visiting Europe from his home in Africa. She determined to meet with the notable missionary doctor. She first encountered Schweitzer doing one of the things he loved to do best while visiting Europe -- playing a church organ for his own enjoyment. He invited her to dine with him. After the meal, Marion knew she had finally found what she'd been looking for. She accompanied Schweitzer every day during the remainder of his European visit. He invited Marion to come back to Africa with him and work as an untrained staff member in the Lamberene hospital. She left her life of status and ease and moved to Africa. Once there, the girl who was raised like a princess became a servant. She changed bandages, bathed bodies and fed lepers. She gave her life away to the poor and, because of it, found the happiness she'd craved for so long. It was Albert Schweitzer who asserted, "One thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve." Steve Goodier is the editor of The Life Support System, a motivational e-newsletter delivered daily to 85,000 subscribers in over 100 nations. His inspirational newsletter and books are available through his website at http://www.lifesupportsystem.com Source: Life Support System, mailto:LifeSupport-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: "Our Possessions" My three adult children were home for the holidays and I took the opportunity to ask which of our possessions they'd like after we are gone. "Who'd like this desk?" I asked. Eyes were averted, feet shuffled, but no one said a word. "How about the grandfather clock?" I asked. Again no answer. Patience running out, I turned to my ten-year-old grandson. "Is there anything you'd like, Raymond?" "Yes, please," he replied without hesitation. "The house." Source: Clean Hewmor, mailto:clean-hewmor-subscribe@welovegod.org ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: The banana loaf I was making was in the oven when my 16-year old son came into the kitchen where the family had gathered. "That bread smells about done, don't you think, Mom?" he asked. I told him I had set the timer and it was fine. A little later as he passed through the kitchen again, I heard, "Mom, I really think that loaf is done. I think you should check it." Always quick to my defense, our 13-year old daughter said, "Eddie, Mom's been burning that banana bread for 20 years, now. I think she knows when to take it out." Source: Mark Mail, http://mrhumor.net/ ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Adelaide, Australia (UPI 11-14-06) -- A python that hitched a ride across hundreds of miles of Australian highway on the underside of a truck is getting a free plane ride back to Alice Springs. Ron de Graaf was unable to dislodge the snake when he first spotted it looped around air conditioning equipment while he was gassing up, the Adelaide Advertiser reported. He drove the 20-hour, 900-mile trip to Adelaide and waited for the python to loosen up. Three hours after arriving, de Graaf finally got the snake, a Children's python, and took it to the Environment and Heritage Department. "I knew that it wasn't a native to South Australia and didn't belong down here so I brought it to the people who know what to do with it," he said. Australia Air Express has offered to return the snake to Alice Springs, where it will be returned to the Outback. Source: ArcaMax - Trivia, http://tinyurl.com/9kf44