Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Five Important Lessons.

Post 298 - - - - - Tuesday, 28th August, 2007.

Hi Everyone ~~ I hope all is well with you and life is good. It is pretty
good here, nice weather and my Home Care lady came this morning and
so all is tidy again and fresh bedclothes are always nice. I am happy to
hear through Peter's blog that Margaret will soon be back with us.
If you happen to be reading Margaret, Lovely to hear that all is fixed
and that you will soon be able to blog. Good luck, my friend, you have
been missed.



This is a photo of a large dog ? we had in front of our Shepparton Council
Offices that was burnt by vandals. Since then the artist had made a bigger
and better one made of non-flammable materials. I do not have a picture
of the new one yet. We do have some strange sculpures in Shepparton !!!


My article tonight was sent by e mail from my son John and it is called
"Five Important Lessons. " Hope you enjoy it.

1. First Important Lesson - - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was
a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read
the last one : "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several
times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her
name?
I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class
ended, one student asked if the last question would count towards our quiz
grade.
"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many
people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all
you do is smile and say "hello."
I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. Second Important Lesson -- Pickup i n the Rain.
One night at 11:30 p.m. an older African American woman was
standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a
lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately
needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in
those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her
get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and
thanked him. Seven days later, a knock came at the man's door.
To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.
A special note was attached. It read :

"Thank you very much for assisting me on the highway the other night.
The rain drenched not only my clothes, but my spirits. Then you came
along and because of you I was able to make it to my dying husband's
bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and
unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3. Third Important Lesson -- Always remember those who serve.
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old
boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a
glass of water in front of him.
"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.
"Fifty cents.: replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.
"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream>" he inquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing
impatient. "Thirty-five cents." she brusquely replied.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked
away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.

When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped the table.
There placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five
pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have
enough left to leave her a tip.

4. Fourth Important Lesson -- The obstacle in Our Path.
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on the roadway. Then he
hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.
Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and
simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping
the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of
the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon
approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried
to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and
straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load,
of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder
had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the
King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the
boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us
never understand.
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5. Fifth Important Lesson -- Giving When it Counts.
Many years ago when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to
know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and
serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion from her 5 year old brother, who had miraculously
survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies
needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained to the little boy
and asked if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath
and saying, "Yes I'll do it, if it will save her." As the transfusion
progressed he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did,
seeing the colour returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale
and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice,
"Will I start to die right away ?"

Being young, the litlle boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought
he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to
save her.
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"Everything " was sent by my friend Jeanette and is a good one.

"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and
"lollipop" with the right hand.

No word in the English language rhymes with with month,
orange, silver or purple.

Dreamt is the only word that ends with the letters " mt."

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but the nose and
ears never stop growing. (So I've noticed.)

The sentence : "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog"
uses every letter of the alphabet.

The words 'racecar'. 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they
are read left to right or right to left (palindromes)

There are only four words in the English language which end in
'dous'; tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

There are two words in the English language that have all 5 vowels
in order : abstemious and facetious.

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters
oly on one row of the keyboard. (All you typists are going to test this.)

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A goldfish has a memory span of 3 seconds. (so do some people I know.)

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A snail can sleep for three years.

An ostrich's egg is bigger than its brain.

Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the
child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have
a full moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line
wuld never end, because of the rate of reproduction.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of
diesel that it burns.

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagra Falls froze completely solid.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Now you do know everything !! Thanks Jan.
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A few jokes after that education - - - -

A man entered the bus with both of his front pockets full of
golf balls and sat down next a beautiful (you guessed it) blonde.
The puzzled blonde kept looking at him and his bulging pockets.

Finally after many glances from her, he said, "It's golf balls."
Never the less, the blonde continued to look at him thoughtfully
and finally, not being able to contain her curiosity any longer,
asked, "Does it hurt as much as tennis elbow ?"
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I pulled into a parking space at K-Mart Shopping Centre and rolled
down the windows to make sure my Labrador pop had fresh air.

She was stretched out on the back seat and I wanted to impress
upon her to remain there. I walked to the curb, backwards, pointing
my finger at the car and saying emphatically "Now you stay there!
Do you hear me ? Stay. Stay."

The driver in a car nearby, a pretty blonde young lady, gave me a
strange look and said, " Why don't you just put it in the park ?"
<><>

What is the most common remark made by people over 50 plus years
when they enter antique stores ?
"I remember these."
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"Will the father be present at the birth?" asked the obstetrician.

"Nah." replied the mother-to-be, "he and my husband don't
get along."
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Two confirmed bachelors sat talking. Their conversation drifted
from politics to cooking.

"I got a cookbook once," said the first, "but I could never do any
good with it."
"Too much fancy cooking in it eh?" asked the second.

"You said it. Every one of the recipes began the same way.
Take a clean dish and . . . "
<><>

You have two choices in life. You can stay single and be miserable,
or get married and wish you were dead.
<><>

Just a few quotes tonight - - -

You only live once . . . but if you live it right, once is enough.

I believe in angels, the kind that heaven sends , , ,
I'm surrounded By angels, but I call
them my best friends.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in the rising up
every time we fall. - - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.--Roger Miller.

Friendship with one's self is all important, because without it, one
cannot be friends with anyone else in the world. - Eleanor Roosevelt.

Resistance drains energy
Acceptance saves it . . .
Cheerfulness sustains it. Anonymous.

Bye for now folks, enjoy your lives and take care of each
other. Love and best wishes to you all, Cheers, Merle.

Post 298 - - - - - - Tuesday, 28th August, 2007.
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9 comments:

Tammy said...

"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and
"lollipop" with the right hand
I never knew this!
;)

Gina said...

I love the five lessons. Three years! I bet I could sleep that long just about now.

Jim said...

I liked those five lessons. They are pretty true.
Could you send your lady over to help Mrs. Jim for a while? Thanks.
I'm glad Margaret is coming back, I was hoping Peter could get her fixed again.
..

LZ Blogger said...

Merle ~ You know I even did a post on Niagra Falls almost a year ago and even in my research for the post... I never knew that in the winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagra Falls froze completely solid. Lots of great tid bits in your post here. ~ jb///

Lady Di Tn said...

Merle
That first lesson is so true and it would be nice if all the youngster & some old folks could read it.

Now I sure was happy I had not taken a sip of coffee when I read those first 2 jokes.

Now where are my rubber bands I need to chill them.

I love all the different art in your neck of the woods.

love and prayers

Jeanette said...

Hi Dear Merle, like the 5 lessons and nice to see you are able use "Everything".. Great jokes its a toss up between its golf ball, and Kmart. heheheh. Take good care Merle, Janxxx

Ava said...

Dropping in to say hello! Hope you're doing well!

Great post! Always enjoy stopping by your blog!

audrey` said...

Hi Merle

John's article is so important.
Thank you for sharing it with us =)

Lucy Stern said...

Of course, the five lessons are my favorite.