Thursday, September 04, 2008

The Pickle Jar.

Post 504 ~ ~ ~ Thursday, 4th September, 2008.

Hi Everyone ~~ Another nice warm sunny Spring day
here, although the nights are still pretty cool. I hope
that your weather is pleasant wherever you are, and
things are going well for you.

The story tonight was sent to me by my dear friend,
Karen .Thank you Karen. "The Pickle Jar."

The pickle jar as far back as I remember sat on the floor
beside the dresser in my parent's bedroom. When he got
ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his
coins into the jar.

As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the
coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed
with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then
the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled.

I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the
copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure
when the sun poured through the bedroom window.

When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kirchen table and
roll the coins before taking them to the bank. Taking the coins
to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a
small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me
on the seat of his old truck.

Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at
me hopefully, "Those coins are are going to keep you out of the
textile mill, son. You're going to do better than me. This old mill
town's not going to hold you back. Also, each and every time, as
he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank
toward the cashier, he would grin proudly, "These are for my
son's college fund. He'll never work at the mill all his life like me."

We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice-
cream cone. I always got chocolate,, Dad always got vanilla.
When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change,
he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. "When
we get home, we'll start filling the jar again." He always let me
drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around
with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. "You'll get
to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters," he said,
"but you'll get there; I'll see to that."

No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to
doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when
Dad got laid off from the mill, and Mama had to serve dried
beans several
times a week, not a single dime was taken from
the jar.

To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring
catsup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became
more determined than ever to make a way out for me. "When
you finish college, Son," he told me, his eyes glistening. "You'll
never have to eat beans again -- unless you want to."

The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another
t own. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their
bedroom and noticed that the pickle jar had gone. It had served
its purpose and had been removed.

A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser
where the jar had always stood.

My Dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the
values of determination, perseverance, and faith. The pickle
jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than
the most flowery of words could have done. When I married,
I told my wife, Susan about the significant part of the lowly
pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind, it defined
more than anything else, how much my Dad had loved me.

The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we
spent the holiday with my parents.

After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa
taking turns cuddling their grandchild. Jessica began to
whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms. "She
probably needs to be changed," she said, carrying the baby
into my parent's bedroom to diaper her. When she came back
into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes.

She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and
leading me into the room.

"Look," she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the
floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had
never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom
already covered with coins. I walked over to the pickle jar,
dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins.
With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins
into the jar.

I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped
quietly into the room.

Our eyes locked and I knew he was feeling the same emotions
I felt. Neither one of us could speak.

This touched my heart. I know it has yours as well. Sometimes
we are so busy adding up our troubles that we forget to count
our blessings.

Never under-estimate the power of your actions. With one
small gesture you can change a person's life, for better or worse.

God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in
some way. Look for the Good in others.

The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or touched --
they must be felt by heart. ~ ~ ~ Helen Keller.
<><>

First joke tonight was sent by my dear friend, Pauline, Jen's
sister. Thank you dear Pauline.

A little girl asked her mother: "How did the human race
appear?" The mother answered, "God made Adam and Eve;
they had children, and so all mankind was made."

Two days later, the girl asked her father the same question.
The father answered, "Many years ago there were monkeys
from which the human race evol ved.

The confused girl returned to her mother and said, "Mum,
how is it possible that you told me the human race was
created by God, and Dad said they were developed from
monkeys ?"

The mother answered, " Well, dear, it is very simple.
I told you about my side of the family, and your father
told you about his."
<><>

Car Repair.
Wayne, a friend of mine owns an auto-repair business.
One day a woman called to inquire when he could work
on her car. "I'm not busy now, bring it right in."

A short time later, the woman pulled into the service bay,
stopping her small car perfectly over the wide, deep grease pit.

"Wow " said Wayne. "That's great driving. Your wheels only
have a couple of inches to spare on each side of the pit."
She looked blankly at him and said, "What pit ?"
<><>

A 54 year old woman had a heart attack and was taken to
hospital; While on the operating table she had a near death
experience.
Seeing God, she asked, "Is my time up?"
God said, "No, you have another 43 years, two months and
8 days to live."

Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital

and have a face-lift, liposuction, breast implantsand a tummy
tuck. She even had someone come in and change her hair color
and brighten her teeth.

Since she had so much more time to live, she figured she
might as well make the most of it.

After her last operation, she was released from the hospital.
While crossing the street on her way home, she was hit and
killed by an ambulance,

Arriving in front of God, she asked, "I thought you said I
had another 42 years? Why didn't you pull me out of the
path of the ambulance?"

God replied, "I didn't recognize you."
<><>

Arnold complained to a colleague that he didn't know what
to get his wife for her birthday. She already has everything
you could think of and anyway, she can buy herself whatever
likes."
"Here's an idea,: said the colleague, :Make up your own gift
certificate that says, "Thirty minutes of great loving, any
way you want it," I guarantee she'll be enchanted."

The next day, Arnold's colleague asked, Well, Did you take
my suggestion?"

"Yes, "said Arnold, "Did she like it?"
"Oh yes. She jumped up, kissed me on the forehead and ran
out the door yelling, 'See you in thirty minutes' "
<><>

Thank you Sherrill for the next one.

There were three men hiking through a forest when they
came upon a large raging, violent river.

Needing to get to the other side, the first man prayed,
"God, please give me the strength to cross the river."

"Paf !. . .God gave him big arms and strong legs and he was
able to swim in about two hours, although he almost
drowned twice.

After witnessing that, the second man prayed, "God, please,
give me strength and the tools to cross the river."

Paf . . . God gave him a rowboat and strong arms and strong
legs and he was able to row across in about an hour, although
he almost capsized twice.

Seeing what happened to the first two men, thhe third man
prayed, "God, please give me strength, the tool and the
intelligence to cross the river.

Paf . . . He was turned into a woman, She checked the map,
hiked one hundred yards up stream and walked across
the bridge. . . . .
<><>

When a mine operator found that his office safe had
jammed, he called the local prison and asked whether any
of the inmates might know how to open it. Soon, a convict
and a prison guard showed up at the office, The inmate
spun the dials, liste
ned intently and ccalmly opened the safe.

"I'm much obliged," said the mine operator, "How much
do I owe you?"
"Well," said the prisoner, "the last time I opened a safe,
I got five years."
<><>

Time to say Bye for now, my friends., almost 1.am here.
Have a great Friday and the weekend. Be kind to each
other and yourselves. Love and best wishes to you all.
Cheerio, Merle,

Post 504 ~ ~ ~ Thursday, 4th September, 2998.
<><><>


11 comments:

Dave said...

*S* Very nice post today Merle!
Loved the story from Karen, and the jokes...

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Bear Naked said...

Thank you for the pickle jar story.
It is wonderful.

Bear((( )))

JunieRose2005 said...

:)

Merle, the story of the woman's 'make-over' made me smile! YIKES!!

Now-I'll never be tempted to do any of those self improvements! haha



Junie

Rosezilla (Tracie Walker) said...

Hi, Merle! The story about the pickle jar was really sweet. For some reason, it also made me think of the pickle jar I washed out and then put peppermints in. My sons swore the peppermints had a hint of pickle taste. They began calling them picklemints! Guess they wouldn't have minded if I'd put money in and it smelled like pickles, eh?

Susie said...

Hi Merle,
Glad you're enjoying lovely weather. It's very hot here and I'd love some nice cool nights for sleeping!
Love the pickle jar story and all the jokes were great too. I really got a chuckle from the 54 yr old who had the makeovers. Too funny!
xo

audrey` said...

Good Morning Merle (((HUGS)))

"The Pickle Jar" is so educational.
Every penny counts =)

Thank you, my dearest friend, for sharing it with us.

mreddie said...

Glad your weather is better, ours is ever so slowly starting to cool off but we sure could use some rain. The hurricanes seem to be lining up to take a shot at our southeast though. ec

Lady Di Tn said...

Merle
I awoke to rain this morning and just loved the sound. The fog is so thick on the hill, only now can I see the white barn. All of Bellevue is still hidden. I think it had to be a blonde woman driving the car. LOL Great jokes and story. Peace

Gigi Ann said...

Hi Merle,

Enjoyed your story about the pickle jar. It's amazing how much change can count up. When my grandchildren were young we called the change I had in my purse "wild money" they loved to count it to see how much we had. And they loved going through my pockets to see how much they could find...but now they are grown with babes of their own...

Have a splendid week-end...until next time keep that pickle jar jingling...

Ann

Deborah Wilson said...

The pickle jar is a good story, Merle. I liked Crossing the River joke the best. lol

Have a good weekend, looks like we will get rain from Hannah, and we need it - although not the winds.

Mountain Mama said...

Hi Merle. The Pickle Jar story is great.
I loved the jokes too, especially the one about crossing the river. LOL
I hope all is well in your world.
Blessings