Story

I asked a friend who had just returned from a long walk in the woods what she had observed. "Nothing in particular,"she replied. How was that possible, I asked myself. I,who cannot hear or see, find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch. I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf. I pass my hands lovingly about the rough shaggy bark of a pine. Occasionally, if I am very fortunate,I place my hand gently on a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song.

From the day we entered the ninth grade health class, one blackboard was covered with the names and locations of the major bones and muscles of the human body. The diagram stayed on the board throughout the term, although the teacher never referred to it. The day of the final exam, we came to class to find the board wiped clean. The sole test question was "Name and locate every major bone and muscle in the human body."

The class protested in unison: "We never studied that!" "That's no excuse," said the teacher. "The information was there for months." After we struggled with the test for a while, he collected the papers and tore them up. "Always remember, he told us, "that education is more than just learning what you are told."

A parent once approached a college president and asked, "How long will it take you to educate my son?" "That all depends on what you want your son to become," replied the president. "It takes nature two weeks to grow a squash and 100 years to grow an oak."

Education is the vaccine for violence.

A father was driving along in a taxi in New York with his young son; they were visiting the big city. As they drove along the Hudson River, the boy pointed to a ship and said, "Dad, what kind of a ship is that?" The dad said, "I don't know, son." A little later the taxi passed a great monument. "Whose monument is that, Dad?" asked the boy. The father replied, "Search me, son; I really don't know." Looming ahead of them was a great steel bridge. "What's the name of that bridge, Dad?" asked the son. "You got me, son; I don't know." There was a long silence, and finally the boy said, "Dad, I hope you don't mind my asking questions; I hope I'm not bothering you." The father replied with enthusiasm, "Certainly not, son. How else are you going to know anything if you don't ask questions?"

EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE

A step which seems obvious after it has been taken is frequently obscure before the way has been pointed out, no matter how close to it we may have been led by the slow and painful processes of learning and experimentation. Just such a step was taken by Thomas A Edison in one of the processes of subdividing an electric current. Subsequently a patent suit arose over the matter in which the famous English physicist, Tyndall was called upon to testify. He mentioned that he had followed the same course taken by Edison and had hesitated before the final step which now seemed so childishly clear. One of the attorneys demanded of him, "When the next step was so obvious, why did you not take it?"
"Because," said Tyndall, "I was not Thomas A Edison."

Awesome Life Lessons

   People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.  When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do. When someone is in your life for a reason, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.  They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.  They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.  Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.  Sometimes they die.  Sometimes they walk away.  Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.  What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.  The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

 Next!  When people come into your life for a season, it is because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.  They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done.  They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.  Believe it!   It is real!  But, only for a season.

 Lifetime relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.  Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

 IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER - by Erma Bombeck

Note: Erma Bombeck needed an organ transplant, and even
 though she could have been moved to the head of the
 waiting list, due to her prominence and wealth (like
 Mickey Mantle), she refused to do such, and
 subsequently, died from organ failure.

Noah's Ark

All I really need to know about Life, I learned from Noah's Ark:

    (1) Don't miss the boat.

    (2) Don't forget we're all in the same boat.

    (3) Plan ahead-it wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

    (4) Stay fit-when you're 600 years old.   Someone might ask you to do something really big.

    (5) Don't listen to critics, just get on with what has to be done.

    (6) For safety's sake travel in pairs.

    (12) Two heads are better than one.

    8) Build your future on high ground.

    (9) Speed isn't always an advantage, after all, the snails were on the same ark with the cheetahs.

    (12) When you're stressed, float awhile.

    (12) Remember the ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic was built by professionals.

    (12) Remember that the woodpeckers inside are a larger threat than the storm outside.

    (13) No matter what the storm, when God is with you, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Author Unknown

9/22/00

07/02/01

Elihu Yale's contribution to the founding of Yale College was quite tiny.

He only donated a handful of books and a few items to be auctioned off for the school's benefit.

So why should he get the lofty honor of having a school named after him?

There was another man who contributed quite a bit more to the founding of Yale.

He donated over a thousand books to the college, and it was this generous gesture which convinced city officials to begin building the school's campus.

So why wasn't the school named after this other benefactor? Possibly because of his name.

The biggest contributor to the founding of Yale College was a man named Jeremiah Dummer.

10/30/01

 8th Grade Examination

 Examinations at Salina, New Cambria, Gypsum City, Assaria, Falun, Bavaria, and District No. 74 (in Glendale

- The Examination will be oral, and the Penmanship of Applicants will be graded

************************

(Time, one hour)

GRAMMAR

1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.

2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.

4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, lie, lay and run.

5. Define Case. Illustrate each case.

6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.

7-10 Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the

rules of grammar.

************************

(Time, 1 1Ú 4 hour)

ARITHMETIC

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weights 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cts. Per bu., deducting 1050 lbs for tare?

4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at

$50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

Page 1 of 4 http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/ottawa/exam.html

5. Find cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 per cent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per m?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 per cent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

*************************************

(Time, 45 minutes)

U.S. HISTORY

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whtney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865.

*******************************************

(Time, one hour)

ORTHOGRAPHY

1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic orthogaphy, etymology, syllabication?

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals?

4. Give four substitutes for caret “u”.

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final “e”. Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: Bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter,

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: Card,

ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: Cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by

syllabication.

*****************************************

(Time, one hour)

GEOGRAPHY

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of N.A.

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan

Fernandez, Aspinwall, and Orinoco.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

KSGENWEB INTERNET GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY COPYRIGHT NOTICE: In keeping with the

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give capital of each.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give inclination of the earth.

1. Where are the saliva, gastric juice, and bile secreted? What is the use of each in digestion?

2. How does nutrition reach the circulation?

3. What is the function of the liver? Of the kidneys?

4. How would you stop the flow of blood from an artery in the case of laceration?

5. Give some general directions that you think would be beneficial to preserve the human body in a state of

health.

*********************************************

RULES FOR TEACHERS

1872

1. Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys.

2. Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day’s session.

3. Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.

4. Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to

church regularly.

5. After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books.

6. Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.

7. Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining

years so that he will not become a burden on society.

8. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber

shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.

9. The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of

twenty-five cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves

*********************************************

SOURCE:

The following document was transcribed from the original document in the collection of the Smoky

Valley Genealogy Society, Salina, Kansas. This test is the original eighth-grade final exam for 1895

from Salina, KS. An interesting note is the fact that the county students taking this test were allowed to

take the test in the 7th grade, and if they did not pass the test at that time, they were allowed to re-take

it again in the 8th grade.

LEADERSHIP, TEAMS

"If I tried to read, much less answer, all the criticism made of me, and all the attacks leveled against me, this office would have to be closed for all other business. I do the best I know how, the very best I can. And I mean to keep on doing this, down to the very end. If the end brings me out all wrong, ten angels swearing I had been right would make no difference. If the end brings me out all right, then what is said against me now will not amount to anything." ~ Abraham Lincoln

As a beginning driver for an interstate trucking company I made several unusually tiring trips with an older driver. Although this man was more than twice my age, he seemed to thrive on long hours. After one such trip, we had a cup of coffee together, and I mentioned that he looked as if he had spent the day sitting on his front porch. I asked if he would share his secret. "It's all in your attitude, son," he replied. "Whereas you 'went to work' this morning, I went for a ride in the country'"

Norman Vincent Peale tells story about walking by a tattoo parlor along one of Hong Kong's narrow streets. In the shop window there was a display of decorations that could be imprinted--flags, patriotic slogans, anchors, daggers, skulls, cross-bones and mermaids. There was one, though which caught Peale's eye. "Born to Lose." He was curious and went into the shop to ask the proprietor if people really did have that message printed on them. Yes was the answer. The last customer who wanted it had it emblazoned across his chest. "Why on earth would anyone want to be branded with a gloomy slogan like that?" asked Peale. The old Chinese man replied, "Before tattoo on chest, tattoo already on mind."

Get the right perspective. When Goliath came against the Israelites, the soldiers all thought, "He's so big we can never kill him." David looked at the same giant and thought "He's so big I can't miss." Get the right perspective. When Goliath came against the Israelites, the soldiers all thought "He's so big we can never kill him." David looked at the same giant and thought, "Why he's so big I can't miss him."

There are many serious definitions of what an adult is. But a humorous definition says that an "adult" is one who stops growing at both ends, while he expands in the middle.

Columnist Sydney J. Harris and a friend stopped at a newsstand to purchase a paper. The friend thanked the vendor politely, but the vendor remained coldly silent. "A sullen fellow, isn't he?" remarked Harris as they moved along. "Oh, he's that way every night," said the friend. "Then why do you continue to be so polite to him?" asked Harris. Replied the friend, "Why should I let him decide how I'm going to act?"

"The difference between a man and a fool is simply the ability profit from losses." William Bolitho, noted biographer.

Whenever Michael Angelo was meditating on some great design,. he closed himself up from the world. "Why do you lead such a solitary life?" asked a friend. "Art," he replied, "is a jealous god; it requires the whole and entire man." During his night labor in the Sistine Chapel he refused to have any communication with any person, even at his own house.

Soon after the death of Rabbi Mokshe, Rabbi Mendel of Kotyk asked one of his disciples, “What did your teacher give the greatest importance to?” The disciple gave it a moment’s reflection, then said, “To whatever he happened to be doing at the moment.” That’s great ... as long as what you are doing is worthy of the attention.

MIND AND ATTITUDE

"At the time when the slaves in America were without any excuse for hope and they could see nothing before them but the long interminable cotton rows and the fierce sun and the lash of the overseer, what did they do? They declared that God was not through. They said, "We cannot be prisoners of this event. We must not scale down the horizon of our hopes and our dreams and our yearnings to the level of the event of our lives ..."
So long as you recognize that no event of your life, whatever its character, can imprison you, you will not scale down your aspirations to the level of the facts in your present situation. You will let what rides on the horizon constantly inform the event with which you are wrestling, until at last the event itself begins to open up, to yield, to break down, to disintegrate, under the relentless pressure of some force which transcends the event and tutors and informs."

MIND AND ATTITUDE

The famous orchestra leader Arturo Toscanini was one time conducting a rendition of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in London. He directed with much virtuosity, and all the members responded to his baton in such accord, that at the climactic conclusion of the symphony the London audience's applause sounded like successive rows of thunder.

The first violinist in the orchestra leaned over and whispered to the second violinist, "If Toscanini criticizes us this time for our rendition of this symphony, I'm going to get up and push him backwards into the pit." He said this because Toscanini was a perfectionist and a disciplinarian as a leader. Instead, to their surprise, Toscanini stood there within the inspiration of the great music--uplifted, exalted, and yet humble. Finally he turned and said to the orchestra, "Toscanini is nobody. I am nothing. You are nobody. The orchestra is nothing," and then he paused. Then, lifting his hands high above his head and pointing toward heaven, he exclaimed, "Beethoven! He is everything!"

As a baby, Albert Einstein worried his parents. His head was overly large for his body, and he did not begin to talk until he was three years old. As a young man he was turned down on his application for a teaching position in physics. Once Mrs. Einstein, his wife, was visiting the world's largest telescope here in Palomar. The director took special pains to explain to her in great detail all the intricate, mathematical procedures of the great telescope and what it revealed of the stars. She listened a bit impatiently and then remarked, "Oh, my husband worked all that out on the back of an old envelope."

MIND AND ATTITUDE

Doc, you’ve got to help me! Came the frantic call to the psychiatrist. “The guy next door thinks he’s in an opera. He sings day and night at the top of his lungs. It’s driving me crazy!” “Send him to me,” said the shrink.  A week later, the caller honed again, sounding much calmer. “Doc, I don’t know how you did it, but he’s not singing anymore. Did you cure his delusion?” “Not exactly,” the psychiatrist replied. “I just gave him a much small part. ”

During a very desperate situation in the Civil War, Lincoln called a meeting of some Generals. One of these was exceedingly talkative and would not be quiet. He had coal black hair and a gray beard. One of the General's sitting beside Lincoln asked why this man had a gray beard and black hair. Lincoln replied, "Because he works his jaw more than his head."

MIND AND ATTITUDE

The lady driver was indignant when a man hit her at the intersection. She cried out at him that she had indeed made a left-turn signal. The man who hit her said, "Lady, I'll admit your arm was out the window. But first it was up, then it was down, then it made a couple of circles and then it went straight out. You mean to tell me that that was what you consider a left turn signal?" She replied, "Silly, the first two signals might have been wrong, but didn't you see me erase them and then finally give you the right one?" Wouldn't it be nice to be able to erase all our mistakes that easily.

When our daughter celebrated her 16th birthday, her uncle - a clergyman - gave her a beautifully wrapped gift. He watched with a twinkle in his eye as she unwrapped a small bottle of expensive perfume and a flashlight. On the enclosed card was this message: "Let your light shine before men. If that doesn't work, try the fragrance."

A sign on the Extrasensory Perception Laboratory door at UCLA reads: "ESP Lab. No need to knock. We know you're there."

My teenage daughter doesn't tell me anything. I am a nervous wreck. The other mother says: My teenage daughter tells me everything. I'm a nervous wreck.

Bob Hope once received an award and graciously gave full credit to his four writers for making it possible. The next to receive the aware was Bishop Fulton Sheen. He stepped to the mike and with a grin, announced, "I also want to thank my four writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

MIND AND ATTITUDE

At a summer church camp for children, one of the counselors was leading a discussion on the purpose God had for everything he created. They began to find good reasons for clouds and trees and rocks and rivers and animals and just about everything else in nature. Finally, one of the children said, "If God had a good purpose for everything, then why did he create poison ivy?" The discussion leader gulped and, as he struggled with the question, one of the other children came to his rescue saying, "The reason God made poison ivy is because he wanted us to know there are certain things we should keep our cotton-pickin-hands off!"

MIND AND ATTITUDE

Sarah Jane, who was five years old, went to her mother and said, "I have a pain right here in my tummy.? Her mother told her not to worry because the pain was due to the fact that her tummy was empty. After she filled it with lunch she would feel better.
That afternoon the minister stopped by to visit. Sarah Jane and her mother greeted him and asked him how he felt. "Not too well," he replied. "I have a slight pain in my head." Sarah Jane immediately spoke up. "That's because it is empty," she said. "When you have something in it, you will feel better."

MIND AND ATTITUDE

A man went o Zumbach the Tailor to be fitted for a new suit. When the suit was ready, he stood before the mirror with the tailor, for final alterations. The man noticed that the right sleeve was just a bit short. "I think the sleeve is a little too short for my arm," he told Zumbach; "You may have to lengthen it."
"The sleeve is not too short," answered the tailor. "Your arm is too long. Just draw your arm up into the sleeve a bit, and it will look fine."
Reluctantly, the man did so, but this threw the collar of the jacket into disarray. "Now the sleeve looks alright, but look at the big gap between my neck and the jacket."
"There is nothing wrong with the jacket," Zumbach defended. "What you need to do is raise your left shoulder a few inches.

The man again complied, but now the rear of the jacket was lifted far above his posterior. When he showed the tailor this misalignment, he was instructed to "lower your head and lean forward, and there will be no problem."

Finally, the man walked out of the shop, convinced of its proper fit. Unfortunately, he had to walk in a most contorted and uncomfortable position.

He stepped onto a bus, and the man next to him laughed, "I'll bet you got that suit from Zumbach the Tailor!"
"How did you know that?" asked our friend with the suit. "Because only Zumbach the Tailor could fit a man as crippled as you!"

MIND AND ATTITUDE

The next time you're tempted to take the advice of the so-called expert, put that advice in perspective. Remember what some experts have said in the past:
"I think there's a world market for about five computers." Thomas . Watson, IBM Chairman in 1943.
"With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the US market for itself."--Business Week in 1958.
"TV won't be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night." --Daryl F. Zanuck, head of 20th Century Fox in 1946.
"1930 will be a splendid employment year."--US Department of Labor, 1929.
"I don't need bodyguards." Jimmy Hoffa, president of the Teamsters Union, in 1975.
"Air planes are interesting toys, but of no military value." --France's Marshal Foch, in 1911.

What, sir, you would make a ship sail against the wind and currents by lighting a bonfire under her decks?I pray you to excuse me. I have no time to listen to such nonsense.(Napoleon to Robert Fulton)

Disneyland and Disneyworld provide fantastic entertainment as business enterprises operated for profit. Disneyland confronted a problem when every visitor went home as soon as it got dark. Here was a big loss of revenue. How could they make people stay over and spend their money at night? Their "think tank" came up with the idea of an electric parade--a spectacular pyrotechnical display. Now everyone who goes to Disneyland advises others, "Whatever you do, don't miss the electric parade." It is held at 10:00 pm, so people stay, buy dinners, shop, and spend their money for several hours longer. The problem solved became a great money-maker for Disneyland. Disneyworld in Florida, after the expenditure of millions in building a vast and excitingly new entertainment center, stumbled into a problem also. It was of a different sort from that here in California. In Florida a rainy day cut attendance way down, and profits took a big loss.
Once more leaders were called to bat ideas around until a solution was found. The answer to the problem was "the Rain Paradise." For every rainy day, a marvelous, exciting, colorful, fantastic "Rain Parade" drew the crowd, and profits shot upwards. Now everyone says, "Don't stay home when it rains, or you will miss the most wonderful parade you ever saw." The rain problem was turned into a big profit.
We are "more than conquerors" if we only knew it and turned our problems into challenges for benefits.

Before Woody Hayes came to coach football at Ohio State, 24 years ago, he had been coaching at a much smaller university. He said that the first time he stood in the middle of the OSU Stadium with its 86,000 seats staring down on him, he was shook up. His young son was with him at the time and had hold of his hand. he felt that his son had felt his reaction. His son said, “Daddy, the football field is the same size.”

A 16 year old loses his contact lens. He tells his mother he has looked and looked all over his room for it and it is no where to be found. She goes into his room and looks … Within 20 minutes she finds it.  “How’d you do that, Mom?” “Simple. E weren’t looking for the same thing. You were looking for a small, plastic circle. I was looking for a $150 investment.”

MIND AND ATTITUDE

A man went to see a psychiatrist and said that every night he was visited by a twelve-foot dragon with three heads. He was a nervous wreck, could not sleep at all, and was on the verge of total collapse. He had even thought of suicide. “I think I can help,” said the psychiatrist, “but I must warn you that it will take a year or two and cost three thousand dollars.” “Three thousand dollars!” the man exclaimed. “Forget it! I’ll just go home and make friends with it.”

MIND AND ATTITUDE

One day two little boys were playing, and one asked the other, “wouldn’t you hate to wear glasses all the time?” The other little boy said, “No. Not if I had the kind Grandma wears. She sees how to fix a lot of things, and she sees lots of nice things to do on rainy days, and she sees when folks are tired and sorry, and what will make them feel better, and she always sees what you meant to do even if you haven’t gotten things just right. I asked her one day how she could see that way all the time, and she said it was the way she had learned to look at things as she grew older. So it must be her glasses.”

MIND AND ATTITUDE

If you have ever gone through a toll booth, you know that your relationship to the person in the booth is not the most intimate you'll ever have. It is one of life's frequent non encounters: You and over some money; you might get change; you drive off.
Late one morning in 1984, headed for lunch in San Francisco, I drove toward a booth. I heard loud music. It sounded like a party. I looked around. No other cars with their windows open. No sound trucks. I looked at the toll booth. Inside it, the man was dancing.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm having a party," he said.
"What about the rest of the people?" I looked at the other toll booths.
He said, "What do those look like to you?" He pointed down the row of toll booths.
"They look like...toll booths. What do they look like to you?"
He said, "Vertical coffins. At 8:30 every morning, live people get in. Then they die for eight hours. At 4:30, like Lazarus from the dead, they reemerge and go home. For eight hours, brain is on hold, dead on the job. Going through the motions."
I was amazed. This guy had developed a philosophy, a mythology about his job. Sixteen people dead on the job, and the seventeenth, in precisely the same situation, figures out a way to live. I could not help asking the next question: "Why is it different for you? You're having a good time."
He looked at me. "I knew you were going to ask that. I don't understand why anybody would think my job is boring. I have a corner office, glass on all sides. I can see the Golden Gate, San Francisco, and the Berkeley hills. Half the Western world vacations here...and I just stroll in every day and practice dancing."

MIND AND ATTITUDE

The Maine farmer is known to be pessimistic, and with good reason, since his soil is thin and his weather atrocious. On a bright, sunny morning a tourist said to a Yankee farmer, "What a magnificently beautiful day!" The farmer shook his head and said, "It's a weather breeze. Likely brings a bad day tomorrow." The tourist turned his head and saw the farmer's flourishing cornfield, the golden tassels gently tossing in the soft summer's breeze. "My goodness," observed the tourist, "you certainly are going to have a bumper crop of corn." "Yes, maybe," the farmer agreed reluctantly, "but that kind of crop is pesky hard on the soil."

Two guys, Jimmy and Johnny, were standing at heaven’s gate, waiting to be interviewed by St. Peter.
Jimmy: “How did you get here?”
Johnny: “Hypothermia. You?”
Jimmy: “You won’t believe it. I was sure my wife was cheating on me, so I came home early one day hoping to find the guy. I accused my wife of unfaithfulness and searched the whole house without any luck. Then I felt so badly about the whole thing I had a massive heart attack.”
Johnny: “Oh, man, if you had checked the walk-in freezer, we’d both be alive.”

MIND AND ATTITUDE

For example, I heard of a bank vice president who "dropped out" and went on a spiritual quest. He threw away his three piece suits, became a vegetarian, made a pilgrimage to India, studied with learned pundits and sages, and went through many experiences and lessons.

One day about ten years later, he was walking down a street in his old home town when one of his former colleagues saw him and offered him his old job, which just happened to be open at the time. The man pondered for a moment and thought, "Why not?" and so he returned to his job.

He had learned that no job is better than another; the important element is the awareness we keep while doing the job. In fact, practicing God's presence is our only real job, no matter what the company's job description says. Besides, our only real company is Truth and God incorporated.

A man gets to his plane seat, and is surprised to find a parrot strapped
into the seat next to him. Once in the air, the stewardess comes around, and
the man asks her for a coffee, where upon the parrot squawks: "and get me a
whisky you fool".
The stewardess, somewhat flustered brings a whisky for the parrot, but
forgets the coffee. When the man points this out to her, the parrot
immediately drains its glass and yells "and get me another whisky you
idiot!" Quite upset, the stewardess, shaking returns shortly with a whisky for
the parrot, but still no coffee.
Unaccustomed to such slackness, the man decides to try the parrot's
approach: " I've asked you twice for a coffee, you idiot, now go and get it or I'll
give you a slap!" In a couple of seconds, two burly stewards grab both him and the
parrot, take them to the emergency exits and throw them out. As they are
ejected from the plane, the parrot turns to the man and says "You know,
for someone who can't fly, you've sure got an attitude! From John Consadine.

The little country schoolhouse was heated by an old-fashioned,pot-bellied
stove. A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start
the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived.
One morning they arrived to find the schoolhouse engulfed in flames. They
dragged the unconscious little boy out of the flaming building more dead
than alive. He had major burns over the lower half of his body and was taken
to the nearby county hospital.
From his bed the dreadfully burned, semi-conscious little boy faintly
heart the doctor talking to his mother. The doctor told his mother that her
son would surely die - which was for the best, really - for the terrible
fire had devastated the lower half of his body.
But the brave boy didn't want to die. He made up his mind that he would
survive. Somehow, to the amazement of the physician, he did survive. When
the mortal danger was past, he again heard the doctor and his mother speaking
quietly. The mother was told that since the fire had destroyed so much
flesh in the lower part of his body, it would almost be better if he had
died, since he was doomed to be a lifetime cripple with no use at all of his
lower limbs.
Once more the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a cripple. He
would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down, he had no motor ability.
His thin legs just dangled there, all but lifeless.
Ultimately he was released from the hospital. Every day his mother would
massage his little legs, but there was no feeling, no control, nothing. Yet
his determination that he would walk was as strong as ever.
When he wasn't in bed, he was confined to a wheelchair. One sunny day his
mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air. This day, instead
of sitting there, he threw himself from the chair. He pulled himself across
the grass, dragging his legs behind him.
He worked his way to the white picket fence bordering their lot. With
great effort, he raised himself up on the fence. Then, stake by stake, he
began dragging himself along the fence, resolved that he would walk. He
started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard
beside the fence. There was nothing he wanted more than to develop life in
those legs.
Ultimately through his daily massages, his iron persistence and his
resolute determination, he did develop the ability to stand up, then to walk
haltingly, then to walk by himself - and then - to run.
He began to walk to school, then to run to school, to run for the sheer joy
of running. Later in college he made the track team.
Still later in Madison Square Garden this young man who was not expected
to survive, who would surely never walk, who could never hope to run - this
determined young man, Dr. Glenn Cunningham, ran the world's fastest mile!
By Burt Dubin from Chicken Soup for the Soul
From John Consadine

I hired a carpenter to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he
had just finished a rough first day on the job.  A flat tire made him lose
an hour of  work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused
to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.  On arriving, he
invited me  in to meet his family.  As we walked toward the front door, he paused
briefly at a small tree, touching tips of the branches with both hands.  When
opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation.  His tanned face was
wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a
kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity
got the better of me.  I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.  Oh, that's
my  trouble tree," he replied.  "I know I can't help having troubles on the
job, but one thing's for  sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and
the  children.  So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come
home.
 Then in the morning I pick them up again."  Funny thing is," he smiled,
 "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there ain't nearly as
many as I
 remember hanging up the night before."

While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland,  Oregon, I had one of those life-changing experiences that you hear other people  talk about -- the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly. This one occurred a  mere two feet away from me.

Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through the jetway, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.

First he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. As they separated enough to look in each other's face, I heard the father say, "It's so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!" His son smiled somewhat shyly, averted his eyes and replied softly, "Me, too, Dad!"

      Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe nine or ten) and while cupping his son's face in his hands said, "You're already quite the young man. I love you very much, Zach!" They too hugged a most loving, tender hug.

While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one-and-a-half)
was squirming excitedly in her mother's arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight of her returning father. The man said, "Hi, baby girl!" as he gently took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder, motionless in pure contentment.

After several moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, "I've saved the best for last!" and proceeded to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed. "I love you so much!" They stared at each other's eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both hands.

For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds, but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn't possibly be. I puzzled about it for a moment then realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm's length away from me.

I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I was invading something sacred
but was amazed to hear my own voice nervously ask, "Wow! How long have you two been married?

"Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those," he
replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife's face.

"Well, then, how long have you been away?" I asked.

The man finally turned and looked at me, still beaming his joyous
smile ."Two whole days!"

Two days? I was stunned.  By the intensity of the greeting, I had
assumed he'd been gone for at least several weeks - if not months.  I know my expression betrayed me.

I said almost offhandedly, hoping to end my intrusion with some
semblance of grace (and to get back to searching for my friend), "I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!"

The man suddenly stopped smiling.

He looked me straight in the eye, and with forcefulness that burned
right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different person. He told me, "Don't hope, friend... decide!"  Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, "God bless!"

With that, he and his family turned and strode away together. I was
still  watching that exceptional man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked, "What'cha looking at?" Without hesitating, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, "My future!

 From Barbara Clevenger

"Some people chose self-interest (win/lose) while others chose
self-sacrifice (lose/win). Both paths, however, are incoherent.  We
cannot separate doing good for the world from profit for ourselves
without creating a fragmented world and hell."

From Barbara

Smile
Sit up straight. Lift your head up. Lift your eyes. Take a long, deep breath, and smile. Though things may be far from perfect for you, act like it's a great day to be alive. Because it is. Keep a smile on your face and in your voice. Put a spring in your step. Act like you would act if you were the most confident, successful, joyful person in your town. Speak to others in kind and positive terms. Think and speak to yourself the same way. Embrace the challenges and see their positive possibilities. There is no need to delay, even for another
moment, the fulfillment that life can bring. See the world around you for what it is, and know that it cannot bring you down. Live today as if it is the best day you could possibly imagine. And in doing that you make it so. -- Ralph Marston

Great opportunity
Are you looking for a great opportunity? Well, you can stop searching because it is here. The greatest opportunity that anyone could possibly hope for can be yours. And you don't have to make a cash investment. You don't even have to fill out an application form. This incredible opportunity can work for you no matter what your educational or professional background, no matter what your level of physical ability might be, no matter what skills you possess. The opportunity in front of you is commonly called "TODAY." This opportunity is full of power and has the potential to deliver whatever you desire strongly enough. Your grand opportunity is here and now. It is in the precious, irreplaceable hours and moments which make up this day. Whatever the clock may read, today is just beginning. In front of you are 24 fresh and available hours until this time tomorrow, and there is so very much you can do with them. Today is an opportunity of the grandest proportions. No one, no matter how rich or famous or powerful or successful, has any opportunity available to them that is filled with more potential than you have today. In fact, you have the very same day available to you as the most successful person alive-the very same day. Seize it. Live it. And make it into something great. -- Ralph Marston

Inside out
Much of what's on the outside comes from what's on the inside. External situations ultimately are the result of internal values and thoughts. Unfortunately, we too often allow the negative external circumstances to control our internal thoughts, which in turn affect the external circumstances. The result is that we get stuck in a rut of negative thinking and negative reality. Your internal thoughts are separate from the external world. Sure, you can internalize, comprehend and consider the external world in elaborate detail. Yet on the inside, you have the ability to be completely independent. You have control. Even people who are in physical bondage can control their own internal thoughts. There's no reason for your thoughts to reinforce any negativity in the world outside. Perceive it for what it is, to be sure, but don't give your own power to it. Break the downward spiral. Take a positive initiative with your own thinking and experience what a difference it truly can make.
-- Ralph Marston