A little Inspiration

When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well the polished old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother used to talk to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person -- her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. "Information Please" could supply anybody's number and the correct time.

My first personal experience with this genie-in-the- bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer.

The pain was terrible, but there didn't seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway.

The telephone!

Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. "Information Please," I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear. "Information. " "I hurt my finger. . ." I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience. "Isn't your mother home?" came the question. "Nobody's home but me." I blubbered "Are you bleeding?" "No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts." "Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could. "Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger," said the
voice.

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before would eat fruits and nuts. Then, there was the time Petty, our pet canary died. I called "Information Please" and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was UN-consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in." Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone. "Information Please."

"Information, " said the now familiar voice.

"How do you spell fix?" I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific northwest. When I was 9 years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home, and somehow never thought of trying the tall, shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall.

As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations ever really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half an hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I as doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information, Please."

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well, Information. "

I hadn't planned this but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"

There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."

I laughed. "So it's really still you,' I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time."

"I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me." "I never had any children, and I used to look forward to your calls."

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

"Please do, she said. "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered "Information. " I asked for Sally.

"Are you a friend?" She said.

"Yes, a very old friend," I answered.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, she said. Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago." Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute. Did you say your name was Paul?"

"Yes."

"Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you." The note said, "Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean."

I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.

Always Remember Those Who Serve You

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."

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 and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

The True Prosperity

A rich man asked a Buddhist monk to write something down that could encourage the prosperity of his family for years to come. It would be something that the family could cherish for generations. On a large piece of paper, the monk wrote, "Father dies, son dies, grandson dies."

The rich man became angry when he saw the monk's work. "I asked you to write something down that could bring happiness and prosperity to my family. Why do you give me something depressing like this?"

"If your son should die before you," the monk answered, "this would bring unbearable grief to your family. If your grandson should die before your son, this also would bring great sorrow. If your family, generation after generation, disappears in the order I have described, it will be the natural course of life. This is true happiness and prosperity."

Reactions to this story:

"The man should be happy because he has his life. The greatest prosperity in life is not any material thing, but life itself."

"This story makes me realize how backwards our society is about money."

"True prosperity in life is to avoid tragedy - and to have your child die before you is the greatest tragedy."

"A close friend of mine had a one year old baby who died. It destroyed the family. I can see myself telling this story to my children someday."

"This story makes me think of my Mom because she always tells me that the worst thing that could happen to her would be me or my brother dying before her."

"The simplest things that we often take for granted are the things that can bring us the greatest happiness."

"We often take life for granted, especially how true happiness is being able to live our lives fully, then die naturally, without having to experience tragedy."

"I'd like to tell this story to my boyfriend. He's always working so hard for prosperity that he loses sight of the fact that life itself is happiness."

"The rich man was so used to having his wealth on paper he felt compelled to have in writing some proof or form of unity."

"This story seems to follow the traditional pattern of oriental ancestor worship. The greatest honor is in the passing down of family traditions from one generation to the next."

"Don't be too greedy. Be here now."

"We shouldn't expect too much out of life. If you do, you wind up getting disappointed and unhappy."

"I don't feel that people dying is any kind of happiness or prosperity, regardless of the order. My grandfather died a year ago and it didn't bring me any happiness whatsoever."

"My father died when I was five. I don't think I have ever been happy about that."

"I don't get this story. If someone dies, it's going to bring unhappiness - period."

"In reality we don't know who is going to die when. In a way, I think that is good and helps us to live life more fully, and without worry."

"We humans are used to life following a certain order. It seems natural to us. But when that order is disrupted, we become very disoriented and unhappy."

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

"A person's true character is revealed by what he does when no one is watching."

"Although the tongue weighs very little, very few people are able to hold it,"

"Success in a marriage is more than finding the right person. It's becoming the right person."

"Falling down doesn't make you a failure, but staying down does."

"Don't be afraid of pressure. Remember that pressure is what turns a lump of coal into a diamond."

"Even a woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head."

"The only preparation for tomorrow is the right use of today."

"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

"Temper is what gets most of us into trouble. Pride is what keeps us there."

"The heart is the happiest when it beats for others."

"He who thinks by the inch and talks by the yard deserves to be kicked by the foot."

A Boy's Best Friend.

My grandson Sam is 10 years old and is as handsome and energetic as a boy ought to be. He's very funny and loves imitating those Hollywood celebrities. He is a very good student too, taking second place in the science fair at his school. He built himself a radio of some sort. I think he's an extraordinary young man. He does have one physical limitation though. He was born missing a foot.

Three months ago his father got a job transfer and so the whole family moved out here to Kentucky. I was overjoyed that my son and his family moved closer to me. The two older boys seemed to adjust to their new home fine but Sammy needed a little help. The whole family favors Sam a little and would do just about anything for him. His older brothers are very protective and don't let anyone make fun of him without paying for it. They're good boys.

One Saturday morning with Sammy having a birthday coming up I took him to the mall to pick out some clothes. We walked by the pet store and Sam wanted to go take a look inside. When he got inside he fell in love with the little puppies. I hadn't seen that big a smile on that child's face in a long time. It was wonderful to watch. I wanted to buy him one of those puppies in the worst way.

When we got home I told his father about the puppies and how much Sammy loved them. He and his wife talked it over and later that evening at dinner it was decided that for Sam's birthday he should have a dog. Sam was in heaven. The father spoke up, "We'll make it an early birthday present. Tomorrow we'll all go to the pet store." Sam had another plan. "I know just the dog I want and its not at the pet store."

When I arrived at the house the next morning one of the older boys told me the good news, that the family was getting a dog. "You mean one of those cute puppies we saw at the store yesterday?" I asked. The boy picked up a flyer off the kitchen counter and handed it to me. "No, this one," he said. The flyer read, "DOG NEEDS SPECIAL HOME."

An hour later Mom, Dad and Sam arrived home with the dog. After the car pulled into the driveway and the rear door opened, most dogs would have jumped out of the car all excited and everything. Not this dog. Sam lifted the dog out and gently placed it on the ground. It was the cutest Dalmatian you'd ever seen. Tail wagging a mile a minute and licking the boy everywhere. Sammy reached down, put the leash on and helped the dog to its feet. "Come on girl."

The whole family crowded around this little dog. Sammy was beaming while tears welled up in everyone's eyes. The sight of this beautiful boy smiling at his new dog was a once in a lifetime moment. Ten minutes later he and the dog were still making there way from the car to the house, stopping here and there. I was watching from the front porch. His Mom came out with a water bowl and asked, "How are you two doing?" Sammy smiled back, "We're doing just fine Mom. Mom, I love you."

The flyer that read, "DOG NEEDS SPECIAL HOME" really should have read, "DOG NEEDS SPECIAL BOY," a boy that understands the special needs of someone with a physical limitation.

You see, this little dog was born missing a leg.

Indecent Proposal

A famous author found himself seated beside an attractive young woman in a dinner tendered in his honor. He couldn't take his eyes off that seductive-looking woman. When they were left alone, he looked at the woman straight in the eyes and said, "Would you like to go to bed with me if I were to give you $100,000?" The woman initially felt insulted, but after a moment, said, "I guess I would." Silence.

Breaking the pregnant pause, the man fired his second question, "Then would you go to bed with me if I were to give you $10?" This time the woman really got mad. She stood and said, "Just what do you think I am?" To which the author replied cooly, "But, my dear, we have already established what you are, I am simply negotiating for the price."

It has been said that all of us has a price. And looking at the things we assign premium value to, it just might be true.

Sometime ago I was introduced to a foreign businessman who wanted to sell his products locally. He gave the right to me, and with that resolved, the deal was on.

But a few days later, I found out the same products sold to practically all my competitors. The foreigner vehemently denied this. After I gathered all the necessary physical evidences, I flew to visit this foreigner in his country.

I gathered that this well-dressed, smooth-talking businessman was not honest in his dealings with me, so I decided to cancel my orders

I set up an appointment for dinner to formalize the cancellation. A long Mercedes Benz limousine was sent to pick me up from my hotel and be brought to an elegant Italian restaurant. The dinner was expensive but the gift he gave during the meal was even more expensive -- an antique collector's watch.

He was insistent that I accept the watch so, for fear of being poisoned to death, I accepted it. "Isn't this the price in exchange for a few signatures on the order sheets?" I thought to myself.

I can't seem to understand why because bribery is not the style of business in this country. Later on, it became clear to me that the problem is not his country; but rather, mine. Many of our businessmen accept gifts from him; those whom he can buy with the "right" price.

Finally, after a night of prayer, I returned the watch together with the cancelled orders to this businessman with a note, "Please accept my apologies, but I cannot receive your gift, for I view it as a form of bribery. I just would like to let you know that not everyone from our country could be brought for a price."

Exodus 23:8 says, "And you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just."

I went home that day fulfilled. And by the way, I never enjoyed that expensive dinner. Who cares if it's Italian?"

One of Life's Lessons

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.

"You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out, it won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a
physical one."