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HOW WAS YOUR
DAY?
Lost or
well spent?
If you sit
down at set of sun
And count the acts that you have done,
And, counting, find
One self-denying deed, one word
That fell like sunshine where it went --
Then you may count that day well spent.
But if,
through all the livelong day,
You've cheered no heart, by yea or nay --
If, through it all
You've nothing done that you can trace
That brought the sunshine to one face --
No act most small
That helped some soul and nothing cost --
Then count that day as worse than lost.
Mary Ann Evans, better known
as George Eliot (1819-1880)
Volume 2,
Number 9
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Answer
to the Question of the week
How many have died
for your freedom since the birth of this nation?
11 Wars to preserve our Freedom
42,348,460 (U.S.)
Served in wartime military
1,431,291 (U.S.)
Wounded and survived
894,468 (U.S.)
Source:
www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004615.html
These
colors
Will
never fade
or
Never run
Never have
and
Never will
***
Guaranteed
God Bless America
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Memorial Day
This day is not only for those who died, but also those who lived.
It is for those who served: Fighter, Nurse, Entertainer, Factory worker.
No matter where: Foreign
soil, At home, On the Air, On the ground, or On the water.
Without you Tyranny would have survived and the Tyrant would have won.
Thank You
Don’t
forget
“It is the soldier, not the reporter,Who has given
us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has
given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has
given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
Who salutes
the flag,
Who serves
beneath the flag,
And whose
coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows
the protester to burn the flag.”
--Father
Dennis Edward O’Brien, USMC
Question
of the week
How
many people have died fighting wars for your freedom since the birth of
this nation?
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The Tank Driver and the General
Time: World
War II
Location: Somewhere
in France
The
writer who was a tank driver who was driving the lead tank for an
advancing tank battalion came upon a very small town in France.
In fact it was so short that he could not maneuver the tanks' 32
tons and nearly 24' length around. The drivers' failure to
accomplish his appointed task temporarily brought this fighting unit
and it's part of the War to a halt.
When
walking from the rear came this General (Patton)...
General:
"Soldier, what is your problem?"
Soldier: " I can't turn --building's too close."
General: "See that building that's preventing your
turn?"
Soldier: "Yes Sir."
General: "Blow it up. Knock it down. Or run
it over. Do something! The whole Army is behind
you."
So it is with life. Don't just stand there. Do
something!
Your life is waiting.
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CHOICES
"We are a product of the
choices we make, not the circumstances we face."
-- Roger Crawford
YOU CAN
Be optimistic or pessimistic
-- be happy or sad. Be positive or negative -- be a success or
failure. Have a good day or a bad day. It is simply a
matter of choice. Your choice.
CONSIDER THIS
Three individuals were
laboring at a construction site. All were doing the same work,
but when each was asked what his job was, the answers were very
different. "I'm breaking rocks," explained the first
worker. "I'm earning a living," said the second.
The third man paused for a brief moment, smiled, and proudly stated:
"I'm helping build a Cathedral."
Are you just
breaking rocks or building for the future?
In closing...
"It's what you
do and not what you say. If you're not part of the future, get
out of the way."
--John Mellencamp, Peaceful World
Volume 2,
Number 5
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Who
Am I?
Master
of human destinies am I!
Fame,
love, and fortune on my footsteps wait.
Cities
and fields I walk; I
penetrate
Deserts
and seas remote, and passing by
Hovel
and mart and palace – soon or late
I
knock unbidden once at every gate!
If
sleeping, wake – if feasting, rise before
I
turn away. It is the hour of
fate,
And
they who follow me reach every state
Mortals
desire, and conquer every foe
Save
death; but those who doubt or hesitate,
Condemned
to failure, penury and woe,
Seek
me in vain and uselessly implore.
I
answer not, and I return no more!
William
Shakespeare once wrote of me:
“There
is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken
at
the flood, leads on to fortune.” The
catch is that I
almost
always involve some breasting of the tide – ie.,
hard
work. Many people would
rather simply wait for
their
ship to come in rather than rescue it from the storm
and
saving it’s cargo of good will.
My name is OPPORTUNITY
April Fools Day
Mark Twain once said “April 1st is the
day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other 364.”
Laughing at ourselves, and at our own foolishness,
apparently translates well from one generation to another and from culture
to culture.
April Fools Day is alive and well in countries all
over the world. Some forms of
the tradition can be traced back through history, possibly to Biblical
times.
The Netherlands:
The Dutch often have stories that appear in newspapers and on TV
that have people in search of something only to find out it was a joke.
France: The
French April fool is called “le poisson d’avril” or the fish of
April, perhaps because fish are perceived as foolish in falling for bait.
Favorite pranks include placing rubber mice or other
rodents in the path of unsuspecting victims.
Taping a paper fish to someone’s back.
Tying money onto fishing line, then pulling it out of
grasp of the tempted.
Scotland: In Scotland a
favorite prank is to send someone hunting for a cuckoo.
The goal is to send someone on an impossible mission before he or
she realizes that it is a joke.
Germany & Norway: Some
people in Germany and Norway have been known to celebrate not only on the
first day of the month, but the last.
Mexico: Mexico observes a
similar day in December on which it is foolishness to let anyone borrow.
Tradition says that items borrowed on that day don’t have to be
returned!
United States: April Fools
Day has been observed in the US since Colonial days.
The typical goal of American pranks is to make the intended fool
believe some outrageous story is true.
How much land does a person need?
In 1896 Leo Tolstoy wrote about a peasant named Pahom who worked hard and
honestly for his family. But
he had no land of his own, so he always remained as poor as the next man.
“Busy as we are from childhood tilling mother earth,” he often
thought, “we peasants will always die as we are living, with nothing of
our own. If only we had our
own land it would be different.”
He therefore set about saving from his meager earnings so that he could
buy some land. For he told
his wife that life was impossible without land of their own.
Finally, they were able to acquire a small plot of land.
Unfortunately they were not satisfied and continued to desire and
obtain more land. But somehow
their greed could not let them be happy.
Then one day a passing land dealer told him that in the Land of the
Wandering Bashkirs he could get all the land he needed for just one
thousand rubles. Upon hearing
this his greed took over. He
sold all that he had and traveled to the Land of the Bashkirs.
Upon arriving he approached the Chief Bashkir and asked him if the story
was true. The Chief Bashkir
assured him that it was true that he could have all the land he could walk
around in one day for only 1,000 rubles.
They agreed to meet again the next day at the steep.
Just prior to sunrise he met the Bashkir Committee at the steep.
The Chief pointed to the country side and said all that you can walk
around in one day is yours and gave him a shovel to mark his land.
The Chief put his fox fur cap on the ground marking the starting and
ending place.
At the break of day Pahom put his 1,000 rubles in the hat and headed east
towards the rising sun.
When the sun was half way to zenith he marked the ground and turned north.
Not being satisfied with his first distance he doubled his pace so he
could get more land before midday.
He arrived at midday so hot and sweaty that he took off his shirt and
tossed it aside.
He again marked his spot and turned west.
By this time he was concerned because he had not captured as much land as
he wanted so he began to run.
In fact, he ran so fast that his shoes wore out, so at his next turn he
took them off and threw them away.
Now barefoot, without a shirt, he ran towards the finish spot because the
sun was beginning to set.
He arrived breathless, feet bleeding, almost blind from exhaustion, passed
the finish mark and collapsed and died.
The Wondering Bashkirs dug a hole 2 feet wide,
4 feet deep and 6 feet long and buried him along with the others
who also tried.
You see, 2 x 4 x 6 was all the land he really needed.
Such is the price of greed.
The
following was taken from a recent “Dear Abby” column:
Pet
owners everywhere must heed these words!
Ten
Commandments for a Responsible Pet Owners:
1. My life is likely to last
10 to 15 years. Any
separation from you will be very painful.
2. Give me time to understand
what you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me –
it is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don’t be angry with me
for long and don’t lock me up as punishment.
You have your work, your friends, your entertainment.
I only have you!
5. Talk to me.
Even if I don’t understand your words, I understand your voice
when it’s speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you
treat me, I’ll never forget it.
7. Before you hit me,
remember that I have teeth that could easily crush the bones in your hand,
but I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for
being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself
i something might be bothering me.
Perhaps I’m not getting the right food, I’ve been out in the
sun too long, or my heart may be getting old and weak.
9. Take care of me when I get
old. You, too, will grow old.
10. Go with me on difficult
journeys. Never say “I
can’t bear to watch it,” or “Let it happen in my absence.”
Everything is easier for me if you are there.
Remember, I love you.
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