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WITandWISDOM(tm) - April 12, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: Life itself cannot give you joy Unless you really will it. Life just gives you time and space Its up to you to fill it. Chinese Proverb ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Gary Smit, a school superintendent in Lombard, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago), is a passionate advocate of CHARACTER COUNTS! He says his school system adopted the program because it makes such a difference in the lives of kids and communities. He illustrates his convictions with powerful stories including the following. An elementary school was engaged in a major fundraising drive to purchase plants and flowers to beautify its grounds. After collecting $400, it scheduled a Saturday for a special planting celebration and sought the help of kids and their parents. One of the students - a girl I'll call Karen - announced she and her parents would not be participating in the planting because her father had lost his job and they had been evicted from their apartment. She said she would have to move to another school. Chris, a fourth-grader, made a motion to donate all the money they had collected for plants to Karen's family so she could stay in the school. "If we're a CHARACTER COUNTS school," he said, "caring is more important than plants." The motion passed unanimously. When the faculty heard about the gesture, they decided to match the $400. And when word reached the local newspaper, the community got involved. More money was contributed, and Karen's father was offered a job. Karen was able to stay at the school and eventually graduated. By the way, Dr. Smit added, the school was beautifully landscaped with plants and flowers also donated by members of the community - all because of the character of one fourth-grade boy. This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts. (479.1) © 2007 Josephson Institute of Ethics; reprinted with permission. Michael Josephson, one of the nation's leading ethicists, is the founder of the Josephson Institute of Ethics and the premier youth character education program, CHARACTER COUNTS! For further information visit http://www.charactercounts.org ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: If My Body Were A Car... If my body were a car, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model. I've got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish and my paint job is getting a little dull ... but that's not the worst of it. My headlights are out of focus and it's especially hard to see things up close. My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and skid and bump into things even in the best of weather. It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed. My fuel rate burns inefficiently. But here's the worst of it -- Almost every time I sneeze, cough or sputter..... either my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires! Submitted by Gramps ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: Wendy was waiting her turn at the bakery, when she heard a prospective bride give the cake decorator a hard time as she previewed her wedding cake. She demanded many extras and was critical of the work he'd done so far. After she left, he muttered, "I'm glad I put my special golden award on this cake. That young woman is sure eligible for it." Curious, Wendy studied the cake closely, but saw nothing. Finally the decorator pointed to the tiny bridegroom atop the cake with his tiny bride and there it was. Barely visible was the "golden award", a tiny wedding ring, inserted in the groom's nose. Source: Pulpit Supply, http://lively.ca/mailman/listinfo/pulpitsupply_lively.ca ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Test Your Geography Knowledge Do you know where Slovakia is? How about Guatemala, or Bhutan or Kyrgyzstan or Lesotho? Could you find Iraq on a map of the Middle East? Could you find Kansas on a US Map? Here is a chance to test your knowledge of geography? It is also a good way to learn your geography because the hint button provides a map of the test area. For fun studying and testing yourself on geography, visit: http://www.lizardpoint.com/fun/geoquiz/index.html Submitted by Kiri