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WITandWISDOM(tm) – November 9, 2007 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: A person who trusts no one can't be trusted. - Jerome Blattner Source: Quotes of the Day, http://www.quotationspage.com/qotd.html ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: From Lutheran Observer, 1898 A lady was walking homeward from a shopping excursion, carrying two or three packages in her hand, while by her side walked her little boy. The child was weary; the little feet began to lag, and soon the wailing cry arose: “I’m too tired. I want somebody to let me ride home.” The mother looked about her, but there was no street-car going in her direction. She took one of her parcels and gave it to the child. “Mama is tired, too, and Willie must help her to get home. She is glad she has such a brave little man to take care of her, and help her to carry the bundles.” Instantly the little fellow straightened, his step quickened, and he reached for the offered parcel, saying stoutly: “I’ll tarry ‘em all, mama.” It was only the old, old lesson that our Father is always teaching us,--“Is the homeward way weary? Try to lighten another’s burden, and the loving service shall smooth thine own path.” Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright (c) July 28, 1898, Pacific Press, http://www.signstimes.com ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: There is an old story about a mother who walks in on her six-year-old son and finds him sobbing. "What's the matter?" she asks. "I've just figured out how to tie my shoes." "Well, honey, that's wonderful." Being a wise mother, she recognizes his victory in the Eriksonian struggle of autonomy versus doubt: "You're growing up, but why are you crying?" "Because," he says, "now I'll have to do it every day for the rest of my life." Source: Monday Fodder by Dave Aufrance, Missionary in Hongkong, http://www.fishermansnet.com/monday-fodder/ NOTE: You, as I did, might have wondered what the “Eriksonian struggle of autonomy meant.” I found the following in Wikipedia®. Psychosocial development as articulated by Erik Erikson describes eight developmental stages through which a healthily developing human should pass from infancy to late adulthood. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosocial_development ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: My husband works in a former supermarket that was remodeled to accommodate professional offices. One day he overheard his receptionist giving directions over the phone. "Remember the old grocery store?" she asked the caller. "Well, you'll find us in the meat department." Source: Laughter for a Saturday mailto:ed548@yahoo.com?subject=Subscribe_to_Laughter_for_a_Saturday ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: A clam dredged up off the coast of Iceland is thought to be more than 400 years old. The clam, nicknamed Ming, is thought to be the longest-lived animal ever discovered, reports the BBC. It is named after the Chinese dynasty in power when it was born. Scientists said the mollusc, an ocean quahog clam, was aged between 405 and 410 years. Researchers from Bangor University in north Wales said they calculated its age by counting rings on its shell. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the longest-lived animal was a clam found in 1982 aged 220. Unofficially, another clam - found in an Icelandic museum - was discovered to be 374-years-old, Bangor University said, making their clam at least 31 years older. The clam was in its infancy when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne and Shakespeare was writing his plays. Professor Chris Richardson, from Bangor University's School of Ocean Sciences, said the clam's discovery could help shed light on how some animals can live to extraordinary ages. "One of the reasons we think is that the animals have got some difference in cell turnover rates that we would associate with much shorter-lived animals," he said. Source: Ananova http://www.ananova.com