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A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door. It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him. Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. "Jack, did you hear me?" "Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said. "Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him. "I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said. "You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said "He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said. As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away. The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly. "What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked. "The box is gone," he said "What box?" Mom asked. "There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said. It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it. "Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom." It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read. Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside. "Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."
"The thing he valued most was...my time"
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked. "I need some time to spend with my son," he said. "Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!" "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away," Think about this. 1. At least 2 people in this world love you so much they would die for you. 2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way. 3. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you. 4. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep. 5. You mean the world to someone. 6. If not for you, someone may not be living. 7. You are special and unique. 8. When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won't get it, but if you trust God to do what's best, and wait on His time, sooner or later, you will get it or something better. 9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good can still come from it. 10. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look: you most likely turned your back on the world. 11. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you. 12. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks. 13 Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know and you'll both be happy 14. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great. Send this letter to all the people you care about, if you do so, you will certainly brighten someones day and might change their perspective on life...for the better. To everyone; Thanks for your time!
Link The link has been revised to show the actual author of this reworked article, Frank Kaiser
I can relate to this. I voted saturday for Ruth Ulrich for BESE because she is cute. Kay said she's not that cute but I tell her "yes she is, I'm over 50".
One of the perks of dufferdom is an increased capacity to appreciate people. Friends. Spouses. And, for me, women. All women.
When I was 20, I had eyes only for girls my age. Any woman over 30 was ancient, over 40 invisible.
Today, at 71, I still appreciate the 20-year-old for her youthful looks, vigor, and (occasional) sweet innocence.
But I equally enjoy women of my own age and beyond, and every age in between. I've learned that each has its own special wonders, attractions, magic and beauty.
As I grow in age, I value mature ladies most of all. Here are just a few of the reasons senior men sing the praises of older women:
* An older woman knows how to smile with such brightness and truth, old men stagger.
* An older woman will never ask out of the blue, "What are you thinking?" An older woman doesn't care what you think.
* An older woman's been around long enough to know who she is, what she wants, and from whom. By the age of 50, few women are wishy-washy. About anything. Thank God!
* And yes, once you get past a wrinkle or two, an older woman is far sexier than her younger counterpart!
Her libido's stronger.
Her fear of pregnancy's gone.
Her appreciation of experienced lovemaking is honed and reciprocal.
And she's lived long enough to know how to please a man in ways her daughter could never dream of. (Young men, you have something to look forward to!) * Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off that you are a jerk if you're acting like one. A young woman will say nothing, fearing that you might think worse of her. An older woman doesn't give a damn.
"If the Lord made anything better than a woman, He kept it for Himself." -Jerry Lee Lewis
* An older, single woman usually has had her fill of "meaningful relationships" and "long-term commitments." Can't relate? Can't commit? She could care less. The last thing she needs in her life is another whiny, dependent lover!
* Older women are sublime. They seldom contemplate having a shouting match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive dinner. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.
* Most older women cook well. They care about cleanliness. They're generous with praise, often undeserved.
* An older woman has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A young woman often snarls with distrust when "her guy" is with other women. Older women couldn't care less.
* Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to an older woman. Like your mother, they always know.
Yes, we geezers praise older women for a multitude of reasons. These are but a few.
Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal.
For every stunning, smart, well-coifed babe of 75 there's a bald, paunchy relic with his yellow pants belted at his armpits making a fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress.
Ladies, I apologize for my fellow geezers. That men are genetically inferior is no secret. Count your blessings that we die off at a far younger age, leaving you the best part of your lives to enjoy and appreciate the exquisite woman you've become. Without the distraction of some demanding old fart clinging and whining his way into your serenity.
If you have friends & family that communicate via e-mail, inevitably, you are going to end up on the forward; forward; forward list. Every once in a while, if you bother reading them at all, one comes along worth sharing. So, here is my entry that I thought I would pass along. If, like me, you found one you would share but don't want on the forward; forward; forward list, feel free to post it here. it's not going anywhere....maybe.
The Red Cross is delivering assistance checks again today. Took these
pictures on the forth day, thought by now it would have ended but the
line seems to swell every day, down canal to state st, and wrapping
down wall street. There are buses bringing people in also. The Guard
and Police keep order. Democrat
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I have spent long
hours at work, working my days off, due to the influx of guests which arrived
ahead of the storm. The hotel’s services have really been taxed. Food, ice,
drinks, the elevators, emergency generator power, and the plumbing have all
been tested, as well as our patience. So far, with only a few glitches, we have
done exceptionally well.
The number of people with pets, mostly dogs, but one snake
that we know of, has caused management to re-think our pet policy, i.e., no
more accepted. This is in large part due to the constant peeing of all the dogs
in close proximity, and the inconsiderate guests who just let them go where
ever they want, the G.M. with a low tolerance for stress and a short fuse, and
one manager who seems hell bent on overdosing him with exaggerated and constant
complaints.
I have seen a good share of good and decent folks in bad
situations, and we are doing our best to accommodate them. The displaced and
homeless, with nowhere to go, the guests who wait in the lobby for a chance of
a room, the lady who hasn’t stopped crying for days, the girl who hasn’t heard
from her father, or a brother who’s conversation ended with his cell phone battery
was running low, the hillbilly lady, who looks like she’s straight from the backwoods, but has
money to burn. Oh, and the rude guests as well.
We locally breathed a sigh of relief as Katrina turned
eastward and narrowly avoided New Orleans, we were anticipating winds of 100
MPH as far as 200 miles inland, that would be us. The refugees are continuing
to trickle in, some from the west side of New Orleans that was not devastated
by floodwaters but are now feeling threatened in their own homes by the lack of
civility and the necessity to arm and barricade themselves in their homes. They’ve
decided it’s not worth it. We have experienced a run on our gasoline, there are
shortages and long lines everywhere, with prices now at an all time high of
$2.99 for regular, and rising. There is no such thing as ice. Eggs, and
beverages of all kinds are spotty with lots of empty shelves.
We are beginning to feel the effects of 1 ½ million
displaced people, the first wave being the people who heeded the call for
evacuating, and those who had the transportation and money to run, our roads
were jammed with travelers. We now are getting some of the less desirables,
those who would take advantage of anyone with a greater venerability than their
own. There are stories of weapons displayed at the gas pumps, peoples shopping
carts snatched from them in the parking lots. The super Walmart closed for
several hours due to one incident. The delivery trucks have armed guards while
they unload their goods and I have seen the local police keeping order at the
BP station and others on the main highway. There are thugs breaking in homes in
Natchez, and police friends say gang members are up looking for new territory.
I have tried unsuccessfully to acquire a diesel tank and
fuel for the hotel’s generator so we would not be caught without emergency power
due to a lack of fuel during outages, we had about a four hour period when all
of south-west Mississippi and east-central Louisiana was without power due to
the loss of the last one of the 5 power grids went down. I suspect we will lose
power again on several occasions as they attempt to bring up the downed power
lines. I have learned from an acquaintance that the government has commandeered
all of the tanks, tankers, and fuel in the area. The Natchez mayor must have
spoke prematurely in the paper when he said no one would be allowed more than
one tank of gas at a fill-up. The following day, he retracted his statement and
said people would be allowed to buy up to $100 worth at a time. I suppose this
is to avoid some of the chaos that people are capable of if we think there is a
shortage of something.
I have had little time to watch more than a few glimpses of
the news from the coast, mostly just catching a little news and commentary on
NPR on my way to & from work; people are dying in the streets, looting/crime
is rampant, the government is too slow too respond, they have rehearsed this
scenario for years, the people who are abandoned in New Orleans are
disproportionately black, and poor, and unemployed, etcetera.
I don’t know the answer to any of this, and I don’t care to
think one-sided, but sometimes I wonder if this seemingly disastrous evacuation
plan couldn’t be the plan, gone awry, of course. New Orleans has been crime
ridden for years and getting worse. What could be better than a natural
disaster flooding the overcrowded east side crammed with poor, uneducated,
non-productive, socially problematic citizens? Damn those survivors hanging out
on those overpasses hollering for food and water!
Only God knows why the storm turned to avoid a complete and
swift flooding of tsunamic proportions. Only God knows why there aren’t just
100,000 bodies floating in the ocean, rest their souls. What more can make the
American people wake up and see that we are unprotected and don’t have enough
foot soldiers? What will it take to bring back the draft?
If
this sounds like sci-fi, I have the script all wrote down in my head, waiting
for the movie. Meantime, my family is taking extra precautions. I can’t let my
wife go to the mall alone anymore, I can’t let her go out at night by herself
to pick up the boys from a church function. The home that we have recently
acquired and has taken us years to get only makes us look affluent (we’re not),
and therefore a target for the unlawful. We hear reports of a policeman shot
for a jug of water, a brother shoots his sister over a bag of ice, and for the
first time the dog is out. We are not alone though, our neighbors are wary as well.
There will be years of consequences.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The deadly Asian earthquake may have permanently accelerated the Earth's rotation -- shortening days by a fraction of a second -- and caused the planet to wobble on its axis, U.S. scientists said on Tuesday.
Richard Gross, a geophysicist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, theorized that a shift of mass toward the Earth's center during the quake on Sunday caused the planet to spin 3 microseconds, or one millionth of a second, faster and to tilt about an inch (2.5 cm) on its axis.
When one huge tectonic plate beneath the Indian Ocean was forced below the edge of another "it had the effect of making the Earth more compact and spinning faster," Gross said.
Gross said changes predicted by his model probably are too minuscule to be detected by a global positioning satellite network that routinely measures changes in Earth's spin, but said the data may reveal a slight wobble.
The Earth's poles travel a circular path that normally varies by about 33 feet, so an added wobble of an inch (2.5 cm) is unlikely to cause long-term effects, he said.
"That continual motion is just used to changing," Gross said. "The rotation is not actually that precise. The Earth does slow down and change its rate of rotation."
When those tiny variations accumulate, planetary scientists must add a "leap second" to the end of a year, something that has not been done in many years, Gross said.
Scientists have long theorized that changes on the Earth's surface such as tide and groundwater shifts and weather could affect its spin but they have not had precise measurements to prove it, Caltech seismologist Hiroo Kanamori said.
"Even for a very large event, the effect is very small," Kanamori said. "It's very difficult to change the rotation rate substantially."
COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan wildlife officials are stunned -- the worst tsunami in memory has killed around 22,000 people along the Indian Ocean island's coast, but they can't find any dead animals.
Giant waves washed floodwaters up to 2 miles inland at Yala National Park in the ravaged southeast, Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife reserve and home to hundreds of wild elephants and several leopards.
"The strange thing is we haven't recorded any dead animals," H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of the national Wildlife Department, told Reuters on Wednesday.
"No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit," he added. "I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening."
At least 40 tourists, including nine Japanese, were drowned.
The tsunami was triggered by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, which sent waves up to 15 feet high crashing onto Sri Lanka's southern, eastern and northern seaboard, flooding whole towns and villages, destroying hotels and causing widespread destruction.
DID YOU KNOW? As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view .... it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments! DID YOU KNOW? As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door. DID YOU KNOW? As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments! DID YOU KNOW? There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C. DID YOU KNOW? James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement: "We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God." DID YOU KNOW? Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ". DID YOU KNOW? Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies. DID YOU KNOW? Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law an oligarchy ... the rule of few over many. How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional? DID YOU KNOW? The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said: "Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers." DID YOU KNOW? Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777. It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore, it is very hard to understand why there is such a mess about having the Ten Commandments on display or "In God We Trust" on our money and having God in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The bacterium lived millions of years before the dinosaurs Ancient bacteria trapped in a state of suspended animation for 250 million years are the world's oldest living things, claim US scientists.
The microbes are ten times older than any previously discovered living organism and may reopen the debate about the origins of life on Earth.
The bacteria were found in salt crystals buried almost 609 metres (2,000 feet) below ground at a cavern in south-east New Mexico, US.
Until now, the world's oldest living survivors were thought to be 25-40-million-year-old bacterial spores discovered in a bee preserved in amber.
We're 250-million-years and counting as far as the survival of an organism goes in a crystal.
Dr Russell Vreeland Bacteria are known to adapt to harsh conditions by forming resistant structures called spores.
They can exist in a state of suspended animation for long periods.
Dr Russell Vreeland, from West Chester University, Pennsylvania, and colleagues, made the latest discovery.
"There are a lot of people who believe that organisms can survive long-term, particularly the spores themselves," Dr Vreeland told BBC News Online. "We have provided the strongest evidence that in fact these things could survive for extremely long periods of time.
"We're 250 million years and counting as far as the survival of an organism goes in a crystal."
Origins of Life
The crystals were in a drill sample taken from an air intake shaft at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the world's first underground dump for radioactive waste left over from making nuclear weapons.
When they were extracted from the crystals in a laboratory and placed in a nutrient solution, the micro-organisms revived and began to grow.
The crystal that contained the organisms The bacterium, known as Bacillus strain 2-9-3, resembles modern-day Bacillus organisms found in the Dead Sea.
The bacterium also raises questions about how life began on Earth.
It has re-opened an old debate: whether it is possible for life in the form of DNA or dormant microbes can be carried by asteroids or comets, or drift in interstellar clouds, to fall and colonise suitable planets such as the Earth.
Travelling at the speed of light, the nearest star to the Earth would take 4.2 years to reach and the nearest galaxy 2.2 million years.
But even huge distances like these might be within reach for bacteria that live for 250 million years.
"Once you're out to that distance then you are easily within the time period necessary for a rock to be blown off Mars, for instance, or even from a planet on a nearby star, and for that rock to travel to the Earth," said Dr Vreeland.
He said his personal belief was that life did start on Earth, but the discovery meant it was theoretically possible for life to travel between planets.
Martian meteorites The most intriguing question, he said, was whether other planets, such as Mars, might harbour life.
Salt deposits in the form of halite - the crystals in which the long-lived bacteria were found - have been discovered in Martian meteorites.
"When we go to explore Mars, salt crystals would be a spot to look at," Dr Vreeland added.
In this study, reported in the journal Nature, the authors took steps to minimise the risk of contamination from ubiquitous modern-day bacteria by sterilising the surface of the crystal. They said the chance that the Bacillus strain 2-9-3 came from some external source was about one in a billion.
But independent experts said the team's findings would have to be replicated by other researchers before it could be fully accepted.
Reports of ancient bacteria recovered from the likes of rock, coal, and 2,400-year-old Egyptian temples have not stood up to scientific scrutiny in the past.
'Oldest flower' found in China An impression of what the flower may have looked like Scientists say they have found the fossilized remains of the earliest known flower.
It was discovered in a slab of stone in north-east China and the plant is thought to have lived at least 125 million years ago.
It is like the mother of all flowering plants
David Dilcher, University of Florida Researchers at the University of Florida, US, say the species could be the predecessor of all flowering plants.
They say it probably grew in shallow lakes shared by dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures.
The plant, called Archaefructus sinensis or "ancient fruit from China", is of a species never before seen, says David Dilcher, of the Florida Museum of Natural History and the University of Florida.
"It is like the mother of all flowering plants," he adds.
Modern relative
Professor Dilcher is the co-author of a study published on Friday in the journal Science. He worked with Ge Sun, a geologist at Jilin University in Changchun, China, and other researchers.
Botanists had long considered a woody plant from New Caledonia as the most ancient of flowering plants. But Professor Dilcher said the new discovery was even older.
"It changes our whole impression of what is the oldest of all flowering plants," he said.
The flower's closest "modern relative" was probably the water lily, said Professor Dilcher, because it apparently lived in clear, shallow waters, with its flowers and seeds extending above the surface.
Some scepticism
The discovery suggested that flowering plants started out as herbs that were able to reproduce quickly, he said.
It "was not a flashy flower," he said. The plant's flowering part had no real petals, but acted only as a reproductive unit - essential for its survival.
"The reason we can say it is a flowering plant is that the seed is enclosed inside of carpels [female part] of the fruit," said Professor Dilcher.
Other experts in Science said more research was needed before the new flower was generally accepted as the most ancient of flowering plants.
But Peter Raven, of the Missouri Botanical Garden in St Louis, said it "may be the most significant flowering plant ever found".
Budapest - Blonde jokes are set to be banned in Hungary after a group of women staged an angry demonstration outside parliament.
The protesters handed in a petition claiming they were being discriminated against in every walk of life by bad taste blonde jokes.
Their spokesperson Zsuzsa Kovacs said: "Blondes face discrimination in the job market, in the workplace and even on the streets."
"People are banned from discriminating against Jews, or blacks, so why not grant blondes the same protection?"
The petition, handed to the Equal Opportunities minister Kinga Goncz, was just short of the 100 000 needed to force parliament to debate the matter. But Goncz's deputy pledged that the government would act to stop any discrimination.
Blondes - real and bleached - waved banners outside the ministry with slogans like "We're blonde, not stupid" and "Love us for our minds".
2004 was a practice run. GOP is getting ready for a change in policy and has tested the waters. Already they have softened us up with Kerryism, and hillary's name is in the hat. Guaranteed win for democrats and a first; Condoleeza Rice for President running against Hillary Clinton. It is inevitable and also preplanned, by both parties, and the people that really run things. Democratic and a woman. We almost never would vote in a woman president unless there is no strong opposition or someone even more unpleasant. Remember Thatcher & Golda? have fun with it ;o)
Lee, don't know how you manage to keep all those bits of information in your head for our enjoyment, but most, if not all, has some accuracy.
Lydia says: "..it also told me sherwin, then it said its not sherwin at all. my mind thinks hes the guy that fought grant."
I take an interest in this because we have this large portrait in the lobby alongside 1 of Grants flags that draped his coffin and I'm the one whos called upon to tell the story behind the people in the portrait and the historical event it is portraying.
Henry S. Sherwin did indeed fight in the Civil War. He was 1 of the original California 100 who volunteered to go fight back east (I think they had too much sunburn). 2nd Regiment of Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers (The California 100 and the California Cavalry Battalion) they were assigned to Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah, and participated in the sweep of the Confederates from the Shenandoah Valley during the fall and winter of 1864. They fought with distinction in the battles of Winchester, Luray, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. They were part of the long march from the Shenandoah to Petersburg in February and March of 1865 and later participated in the battles of Dinwiddie Court House, Five Forks and Sailors Creek. At wars end they were present at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox Court House. They took part in the Grand Review at Washington, D.C. on May 23, 1865.http://www.militarymuseum.org/2ndMassCav.html
So thanks for filling me in on a little more of history.
I have just passed another milestone, my ninth year anniversary on my
present job. There was no fanfare, no bells, whistles, or confetti, not
even an acknowledgment of a goal seldom reached in the notoriously
revolving door of the hospitality business.
In my young and restless days, I would have strongly considered moving on
after five, so, how did this happen? Maturity, you say? Complacency?
Losing sight of a vision of always moving up and onward? I can tell you
now, those restless feelings are still there, but somehow, somewhere,
they are reshuffled to the back of the deck, to make room for the
different hand that has, more recently, been dealt. Impulse gives way
to reason, and desire yields to necessity.
If there is one bit of advice I have for the new generation, it is to make the most of the
spontaneity and vigor with which you envision life's challenges and
crossroads, for these are the moments that will define you as you
approach that "oh, so far off middle age".
Seldom is life so generous as to give you that second chance, which is in us all, to
start anew, and if by circumstance we do, we are not the same. There is
no fearless desire to run naked through the woods (although I've done
it a time or two at far, far, too old), there is no expediency to being
number one in the crowd. There is no longer "Me" and "Now". There is
however a different kind of boldness. I am not afraid of things that go
bump in the night. No longer do I fear hunger, or illness, or
unemployment, nor despair, because I have been visited by all these
things, and I have endured, and I know there will be tomorrow.
With our increasing age comes our greatest strength, and this is experience,
and the wisdom to pass it along to our children, and to theirs. In this
day and age there are many who may contemplate that there is no God,
or, there must be many Gods, but now, more than ever, I can fervently
say, and without a doubt, God bless my children, and keep them from
harms way, for where I lead them, they will follow.
-----byron c.
The
direst foe of courage is the fear itself, not the object of it, and the
man who can overcome his own terror is a hero and more.
- -- George MacDonald
"Go placidly amid the noise & haste & remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly & clearly; and listen to others, even the dull & ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud & aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain & bitter; for always there will be greater & lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially do not fein affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity & disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue & loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a Child of the Universe, no less than the trees & the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors & aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery & broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy." -Max Ehrmann ["Desiderata"]
