Monday, October 08, 2007

Saturday Marbles.

Post 333 - - - - - Monday, 8th October, 2007.

Hi Everyone ~~ I hope that the week has started well for all.
Things here are OK ~~ Nice day and I had the Ultra- sound
on my wrist. I don't mind Ultra- sounds, they don't hurt !!
I met two lady Taxi drivers today and one of them was a bit
interested in my writing a blog. If you happen to be reading
Eileen - Hi, hope you enjoy! Thanks for the safe ride !!

Happy Thanksgiving to all those in Canada, today.

I have posted this story before called "Saturday Marbles"
Time for a re- run.

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet
solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded
joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday
morning are most enjoyable. A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the
garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in
the other.

What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons
that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:


I turned the dial up into the phone portion of

the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a
Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I
came across an older sounding chap, with a
tremendous signal and a golden voice.

You know the kind; he sounded like he should
be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whom-
ever he was talking with something about
"a thousand marbles." I was intrigued and
stopped to
listen to what he had to say

"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy
with your job. I'm sure they pay you well
but it's a shame you have to be away from
home and your family so much. Hard to
believe a young fellow should have to work
sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends
meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's
"dance recital" he continued. "Let me tell you
something that has helped me keep my own
priorities." And that's when he began to explain
his theory of a "thousand marbles."

"You see, I sat down one day and did a little
arithmetic. The average person lives about
seventy-five years. I know, some live more
and some live less, but on average, folks live
about seventy-five years.

"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I
came up with 3900, which is the number of
Saturdays that the average person has in
their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me,
Tom, I'm getting to the important part.

It took me until I was fifty-five years old
to think about all this in any detail", he went
on, "and by that time I had lived through over
twenty-eight hundred Saturdays." "I got to
thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I
only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy.


So I went to a toy store and bought every
single marble they had. I ended up having to
visit three toy stores to round up 1000
marbles. I took them home and put them inside
a large, clear plastic container right here in
the shack next to my gear."

"Every Saturday since then, I have taken one
marble out and thrown it away. I found that
by watching the marbles diminish, I focused
more on the really important things in life.

There is nothing like watching your time here
on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight."

"Now let me tell you one last thing before I
sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out
for breakfast. This morning, I took the very
last marble out of the container. I figure that
if I make it until next Saturday then I have
been given a little extra time. And the one
thing we can all use is a little more time."


"It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you
spend more time with your family, and I hope
to meet you again here on the band. This is
a 75 Year old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going
QRT, good morning!"

You could have heard a pin drop on the band
when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave
us all a lot to think about. I had planned to
work on the antenna that morning, and then
I was going to meet up with a few hams to
work on the next club newsletter.

Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife
up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you
and the kids to breakfast." "What brought
this on?" she asked with a smile."Oh,nothing
special, it's just been a long time since we
spent a Saturday together with the kids.

And hey, can we stop at a toy store while
we're out? I need to buy some marbles.


"Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only a few will

leave footprints on your heart"

<><><>

Joke time folks - - - -

First one tonight was sent by my friend "Hootin' Anni "
Thank you Anni. I didn't realise my e-mail address was not
in my profile. You did well to work it out !!

A lawyer runs a stop sign and gets pulled over by a sheriff's
deputy. He thinks he is smarter than the deputy, because he
is a lawyer from New York and is certain he has a better
education than any cop from Houston. He decides to prove
this to himself and have some fun at the deputy's expense.

Deputy says, "License and registration, please."
Lawyer says,
" What for ?"
Deputy says, "You didn't come to a complete stop at the stop sign."
Lawyer says , " I slowed down, and no one was coming."
Deputy says, "You still didn't come to a complete stop. License
and registration please."
Lawyer says, "What's the difference >"
Deputy says, "The difference is, you have to come to a complete
stop. That's the law. License and registration please."
Lawyer says, "If you can show me the legal difference between slow
down and stop, I'll give you my license and registration; and you give
me the ticket. If not, you let me go and don't give me the ticket."

Deputy says, "Sounds fair. Exit your vehicle, sir."
At this point, the deputy takes out his night-stick and starts beating
the ever-loving crap out of the lawyer and says, "Do you want me to
stop or just slow down ?"
<><><>

A young blonde gets a job in a Chemist shop (Drug store) at lunch
time. The Chemist says , "I'll be over the road at the food shop, if
you need help."

When he comes back, he asks, "Everything all right ?"
"Yes, she said, "old Mr Brown came in for cough medicine and I
couldn't see any. So I told him to take a packet of laxatives."

"You what ?" said the Chemist, " That won't cure his cough."
"Yes it will," she replied, " Now he is too scared to cough !!"
<><>

After 17 years of marriage, a man dumped his wife for a younger
woman.
The downtown luxury apartment was in his name and he wanted
to remain there with his new love, so he asked his wife to move out
and he would buy her another place. The wife agreed to this, but
asked that she be given 3 days on her own to pack her things.

While he was gone the first day, she lovingly put her personal
belongings into boxes and crates and suitcases.

On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things.

On the third day she sat down for the last time at their candle-lit
dining table, soft music playing in the background and feasted on
a kilo of prawns and a bottle of Chardennay.

When she had finished, she went into each room and deposited a
few of the resulting prawn shells into the hollow of the curtain rods.
She then cleaned the kitchen and left.

The husband came back with his new girl and all was bliss for the
first few days. Then it started, slowly and surely.

Clueless, the man could not explain why the place smelled so bad
They tried everything, cleaned, mopped and aired the place out.
Vents were checked for dead rodents, carpets were steam cleaned,
air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were called in,
the carpets were replaced, and on it went.

Finally, they could stand it no longer and decided to move. The moving
company did a very professional packing job, taking everything to their
new home . . . .including the curtain rods !!!
<><>

An Australian man was having coffee and croissants with butter and
jam in a cafe, when an American tourist, chewing gum, sat down
next to him.

The Australian politely ignored the American, who never-the-less
started up a conversation. The American snapped the gum in his
mouth and said, "Do you Australian folks eat the whole loaf ?"

The Australian frowned, annoyed at being bothered during his
breakfast, and replied, " Yes, of course ."
The American blew a huge bubble. "We don't. In the States we
only eat what's inside. The crusts we collect, recycle them, transform
them into croissants and sell them to Australia."

The American had a smirk on his face, the Aussie listened in silence.
The American persisted, "Do you eat jam with the bread ?"
Sighing, the Australian replied, "Yes." Cracking his gum between
his teeth, the American said, "We don't. In the States, we have fresh
fruit for breakfast, we collect all the peels, seeds and leftovers in
containers, recycle them, transform them into Jam and sell it to
Australia."

The Australian then asked, "Do you have sex in the States ?"
The American smiled and said, "Of course we do."
The Australian leaned closer and asked, "What do you do with the
condoms once you've used them ?"

"We throw them away, of course, replied the American. Now it was
the Australian's turn to smile.

"We don't. In Australia, we put them in containers, recycle them,
melt them down into chewing gum and sell them to the United States.
That's why they are called Wrigleys !!"
<><>

One day the first grade teacher was reading the story of Chicken
Little to her class. She came to the part where Chicken Little tried
to warn the farmer.

She read, ",,, and so Chicken Little went up to the farmer and said,
"The sky is falling, the sky is falling !!"

The reacher paused, the asked the class, "And what do you think
the farmer said ?" One little girl raised her hand and said,
"Holy Crap, a talking chicken !!"
<><><>

Q. What does the word "benign" mean?
A. Benign is what you will be after you be eight.
<><>

A man is driving down the road. A woman is driving down the
same road, in the opposite direction. As they pass each other,
the woman leans out of the window and yells "PIG,"
The man immediately leans out of his window and yells, "BITCH".
They each continue on their way and as the man rounds the
next bend, he crashes into a huge pig in the middle of the road."
<><>
More fun questions - - -

If money doesn't grow on tree, why do banks have branches ?

Do pyromaniacs wear blazers ?

If you were under house arrest and you lived in a mobile home,
wouldn't you be able to go anywhere you want ?

If you don't pay your exorcist, do you get repossessed ?

Is sign language the same in languages other than English ?

Why do they call the small candy bars, "fun size?" Wouldn't
iy be more fun to eat a big one ?

364 days of the year, parents tell their kids not to take candy
from strangers, yet on Halloween, it is encouraged. Why is that?
<><>
If the printing gets too small to read comfortably, press
Ctrl and the + sign. To reverse it and the - sign.

Enough for tonight. Look after yourselves and your loved ones.
Love and best wishes to you all. Cheers, Merle.

Post 333 - - - - - Monday 8th October, 2007.
<><><>




12 comments:

Lee said...

Well, once again I'm catching up on my blog reading and commenting. We've had two nights of storms up this way, not a lot of rain but lots of light and noise shows!

Unknown said...

Do you yet have the results of the ultrasound, Merle?

mreddie said...

Hopefully the ultrasound comes out to your benefit. I did chuckle at the one about Chicken Little. ec

Lady Di Tn said...

Merle
Loved the Marble story and I am glad you did a re run as I had not heard that one.

Hope the ultra sound shows it is nothing to worry about. My MIL has a big one on her right wrist.

Lol at the Aussie and American.

peace be with you
love and prayers

Hootin Anni said...

Oh good....glad you found the one from me....I didn't know how else to send it. LOL

LOVE the one about Pig and Bitch...what a hoot.

Hope all's well with you dear Merle.

Gattina said...

That's a cute story with the marbles ! Since I am not working anymore for me saturday and sundays are nothing important anymore, except that the TV program is awful and on sundays the shops are all closed, lol !

Anonymous said...

Hi Merle,
Wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. Hope your ultrasound gives you the information you need to feel better.

Love your post as usual. Thanks for the smile.

Take good care of yourself.
Hugs,
Connie

linda may said...

G'Day Merle,
I read your blog tonight, great entertainment, heaps better than anything on the tele. That is until All saints comes on later. I love your jokes and following the many links to other peoples blogs around the world. Keep up the good work.

Renie Burghardt said...

Hi Merle,

I'm glad the ultrasound didn't hurt and hope it shows nothing worrysome as well.

It was good to be reminded of the Saturday Marbles story. Been a while since I heard that one.


Hah, funny joke about the American and Australian!

All the jokes are good for a chuckle.

Is Halloween celebrated in Australia? Just curious about that.

My visits here are always so enjoyable. Take care and God bless!

Renie

Gledwood said...

Did you know a cat's purring is a natural ultrasound? Supposedly it promotes natural healing and relaxation and all the associated things inside the cat's body... I'm being serious!!

audrey` said...

Dearest Merle

The Marbles story is a very good reminder.
The Curtain Rods joke is so funny.

Take care, my friend.

Meow (aka Connie) said...

Hi Merle, have you got the results from the ultrasound yet ? Fingers crossed that it is only a pesky ganglion ... I had one of those, years ago, and I bashed it with something (accidentally) and it disappeared on it's own, almost immediately ... strange things !!
Take care, hugs, Connie xx