Five Lessons…

Five lessons about the way we treat people…


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 50’s, 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 toward 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 in 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 rain storm. 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 1960’s. 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 went by and a knock came on 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 so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along..
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 w

ho 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.
“Twenty-five 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..
“Twenty cents,” she brusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins.
“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 down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels Dimes, I meant Dimes… 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 a 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 & 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 the situation to her

little brother, and asked the little boy 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 color returning to her cheek. 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 little 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.


We can ALL learn from these… Nuff said…

You ‘KNOW’ You’re Traveling Too Much…


When you go into a barber shop to get a hair cut and you’re asked, “Do you want your usual”?

And the barber shop is in Japan…

Just sayin…

World Cancer Day…


Friday Feb 4, 2011 is world cancer day


A small request.. Just one line.

Dear God, I pray for a cure for cancer. Amen

mailbox:///C|/Users/Kenzie/AppData/Roaming/Thunderbird/Profiles/36uajdet.default/Mail/pop-server.roadrunner.com/Inbox?number=41711394&part=1.3&filename=image002.jpg

All you are asked to do is keep this circulating, even if it’s only to one more person.
In memory of anyone you know who has been struck down by cancer or is still living with it.

A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle..

Please Keep This Candle Going

A Fun Time was had by ALL!!!

Attendees AD, Matt and his lovely wife, Christina, Evyl , Jenn and their son, JPG and Holly, LawDog, Chris, Farm Girl, Vine and Phlegmmy who was our gracious hostess with the mostest… There were a couple of others who floated through, and I missed their names and blogs (my apologies). Alan phoned it in, since he was tied up with work, the Nerds (in spirits) were there (and the beer was GREAT)…

People rolled in and out as time permitted, the conversation(s) were varied, the story telling hilarious, and the picture below deserves a ‘little’ more comment than Phlegmmy gave it…


It was TRULY a Squirrel moment…

When you have SEVEN dogs underfoot, in laps, running around outside and they ALL start going nuts, there has to be a reason…
Said squirrel, in fear for it’s life, jumped about 10 feet and disappeared into the eave of the house. That not being a kosher move, suitable weapons were procured; Evyl and LawDog were posted up to take the shot (as you see), Vine was dispatched to light the target, and the rest of us were dispatched into the house to ‘scare’ the squirrel back into the target zone…

Now us ‘short’ people had to make do with finding objects to beat on the ceiling with, Matt on the other hand, was able to just reach up and pound on the ceiling with his fists!!!

Unbeknowst to us, Holly was in the powder room as we started pounding on the ceiling in the adjacent room; when she appeared, there was a ‘bit’ of confusion and words to the effect of WHATINTHEHELLISGOINGONINHERE???

After we told her, she went “Oh, well y’all handle it” and went back to her chair by the fire 🙂

Sadly, the mission was a failure, and said critter never returned to the sight of his indignity…
(note- if something starts smelling in the ceiling, it just might be said critter died of a heart attack with all the pounding)

Evyl had a few of his holsters there, and many ohhs and ahhhs occured over them; and I’m sure a few orders were placed too, I know I’m ordering one!

Guns were fondled, and a “funny” thing was noted (and actually provoked some laughter as we watched others); as people were handed guns, they automatically checked them clear, even if they’d just watched someone check it clear, and if they were going to check the trigger, they checked it again! And not just one or two people, EVERY body, male, female young and old!

THIS is a safe group, because we’re all paranoid; and I’m proud to say I agree with it!

I know others are posting too, but I just want to say I really appreciated the hosting, food, beer, conversation, coffee, and the chance to meet with old and new friends! Happy Birthday LawDog!

Now back to reality… sigh…

More Later…


S**tty internet connection…

Blogmeet…

Having fun…


Posts to follow, going to the range for shooty fun…

Requiem in Pacem…


25 years ago today…
The Challenger blew up on launch at 79 seconds, 9 nm high.

We lost seven good people, trying their best to improve our lives.

Take a moment and remember please…

Two Things…

First and foremost- Julie’s husband is going in for a hip replacement (finally)… They live in Perth, WA, so any prayers are appreciated! Jigsaw Thoughts I’ve met Julie, and she is good people, and a shooter like many of us (but with MANY more challenges down under).

Second- The abandoned car count on the way in this morning was…

Four Dodge Challengers
Three Mercedes (including at least one AMG CL65, and one CL55)
Three BMW M3/M5s
Two Corvettes
One Camaro
So, lemme think about this…
Low ground clearance, high horsepower, rear wheel drive… Yep… Common denominator 🙂
Oddly, I didn’t see a single cheap POS broken down or left on the side of the road…LOL

The ONLY three of us that made it in this morning were driving 4WDs and one co-worker actually brought out Big Red, his old military Dodge P/U with the fulltime 4WD and Hummer sized tires 🙂

On the news, they were saying some people had taken 12 hours to get home, and multiple abandoned cars littered the Interstate, major roads, and some minor roads. I’d guessed 400,000 without power, which turned out to be dead on the money. Schools were closed in mass (as usual up here).
One of my co-workers is from Vermont, he just harumph’ed and said, “Well, Vermont hasn’t cancelled school at ALL this year, even when it was -20 and two feet of snow on the ground! And I went on line in the middle of the last storm and there was ONE home in the entire state without power.”

Which just yet again proves this area is unable to handle even the simple stuff…

Sigh…

Logical…


I was gonna post about the SOTU, but I got so depressed I changed my mind…

(I ‘know’ I’m gonna catch hell for this one… )

WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED:

Men Are Just Happier People– What do you expect from such simple creatures?

Your last name stays put.

The garage is all yours.

Wedding plans take care of themselves.

Chocolate is just another snack.

You can be Prime Minister.

You can never be pregnant.

You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park.

Car mechanics tell you the truth.

The world is your urinal.

You never have to drive to another petrol station restroom because this one is just too icky.

You don’t have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.

Same work, more pay. (sorry bout that)

Wrinkles add character.

Wedding dress500+. Tux rental-50.

People never stare at your chest when you’re talking to them.

New shoes don’t cut, blister, or mangle your feet.

One mood all the time.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.

You know stuff about tanks..

A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.

You can open all your own jars.

You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.

If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.

Your underwear is 5.95 for a three-pack.

You almost never have strap problems in public.

You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.

Everything on your face stays its original color.

The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.

You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life.

One wallet and one pair of shoes — one colour for all seasons.

You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.

You can ‘do’ your nails with a pocket knife.

You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24th in 25 minutes.

It’s Official…



Monday Sucks…


I stumble out of bed at zero dark 30, paw my way to the kitchen, find the light switch and pour the first cup of coffee…


As I stagger back toward the shower, I glance over at the remote temp unit in passing… Stop… Backup…


‘Tink, Tink… This thing CAN’T be right…” NINE !@#&* degrees… This is Virginia, not Maine!


Turn on the TV, the bright cheerful and bubbly announcer/weather guesser is prattling on about how it’s a ‘bit’ chilly out there this morning.


Well DOH…


Sigh…


Revise what I’m wearing to add enough layers to stay warm, trot out to the truck, and off I go…


3/4 of the way to work, the truck FINALLY starts warming up.


Get to work, I’m the first one in, so NO COFFEE dammit… make coffee… Wait for coffee, tap… tap… tap…


Get a cup and get started with the day, only to have a co-worker come in still bundled up an say, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, we moved the meeting to XYZ location, so you ready to head over?”


Grumbling, I get re-dressed to go back out, slurp down some coffee and off we trudge…


I idly ask, you DID add me to the access, right? Only to be met with a blank stare. This is NOT good, as I really don’t want to sit in the lobby all morning.


Get to the meeting, low and behold, they actually FIND my access, and I’m allowed in (which is nice since I CALLED the meeting)…


Three hours and no coffee (their coffee machine is broke) later, meeting is done and back we go. Now I’m only three and a half hours behind in the work due.


I get back to find a note from my travel folks, I need to redo a one time training package, since ‘management’ decided we should redo it every two years; and OBTW, you’re now expired, so you can’t travel until you complete it…


Now this training package is online, and supposed to take SEVEN hours to complete, but I have to finish it today. And it’s noon…


Well, I was trying to lose weight anyway. MORE COFFEE…


Finally get the @#&( thing to load, and start in.


Next, next, next, lather, rinse, repeat… first of 12 modules complete at 1300 (This is gonna take FOREVER, unless….)


Next, next, next, next, next, next, next, next, next, next, next, Ohh… questions… got em right, 2 down, 11 to go… Coffee…


Four hours later, print completion and leave it on the travel person’s desk (who apparently left at 1530)… Must be nice.


Now eight hours behind on work, but I’m done… Out the door to go play in traffic, and as usual there is a backup from hell… sigh…

Finally get home, starving, go rummaging the fridge and find a fruit cup! Well, it’ll tide me over IF I can get the thing ope… damn, all down the front of the jacket I JUST got back from the cleaners…

Now sitting her finishing this post, still hungry, afraid to walk in the kitchen, as I’ll probably spill, knock over, break something, and wired all to hell on the multiple cups of coffee I drank all day…

Yep, Monday SUCKS…

Now back to your regularly scheduled blogging!

I am TJIC


“1 down, 534 to go.”

That was what blogger TJIC posted immediately after Gabrielle Giffords’ shooting. If you’ve ever read Dispatches From TJICistan, you know he’s an outspoken, perhaps even extreme advocate of smaller government. Now, his blog has been taken down and his guns – all legally owned – seized in Massachusetts.

ARLINGTON (CBS) – A blog threatening members of Congress in the wake of the Tucson, Arizona shooting has prompted Arlington police to temporarily suspend the firearms license of an Arlington man.

It was the headline “1 down and 534 to go” that caught the attention. “One” refers to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in the rampage, while 534 refers to the other members of the U.S. House and Senate.

Police are investigating the “suitability” of 39-year-old Travis Corcoran to have a firearms license.

What he said was crass and ill-considered, and in exceedingly poor taste. I don’t agree with it; but I spent 22 years defending AMERICAN’S right to freedom as elucidated in the Bill of Rights…

This was a political statement, not politically correct, maybe not morally correct, but a POLITICAL statement… Speech of ALL types is what the First Amendment was written to protect.


I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
– Voltaire

This man has committed no crime, and now his Second Amendment rights are being infringed without due process of law because he dared to exercise his First Amendment rights.

This is, to my mind, a ‘classic’ case of over-reaction; no charges were (to my knowledge) ever filed, but yet the Arlington PD saw fit to revoke his license to own guns in Mass…

Is THIS the future we face? We know the current administration and selected individuals within it want to take away ALL our guns, or put us in a position to get us convicted as felons (The McCarthy bill over magazines), then take away our guns under the “political” cover of ‘safety’ for the congresscritters ( the King bill) and others…

I have a better idea, make all of them wear day-glow Orange with a range reflector hat and give all of us range finders so we can make SURE we are 1000 feet away…

And limit their routes to/from any event, office, etc. so as not to inconvenience the public.

Actually, what I think is going to happen is we will see less and less interactions between the public that elected the congresscritters and the public themselves under the ‘guise’ of security (and then they can’t be asked those pesky little questions they don’t want to answer)…

YMMV, IANAL, and I didn’t stay in a Holiday Inn last night… so there…

H/T- AD, Borepatch, Newbius and many others…