Rich vs. Poor - A lesson to Ponder

One day the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yeah,” said the son.

“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered: “I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”

A Boss' Memo to all Employees

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your jobs. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country. However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact, which might help you, decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back-story. This back-story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life. However, what you don't see is the back-story.

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way would eventually employ you. My diet consisted of Ramen noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business - hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50,000 a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the discount store extracting any clothing item that didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's.

My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9:00 AM, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5:00 PM, I don't. There is no "off" button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a one-year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden - the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations. You never realize the back-story and the sacrifices I've made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bailout all the people who didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for. Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why: I am being taxed to death and the government still thinks I don't pay enough.

I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on top of taxes. I have to hire a taxman to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes.

You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country. The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand...to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had government suddenly mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep. So where am I going with all this?

It's quite simple. If any new taxes are levied on me or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more. Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship. So, if you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the Constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about.

Sincerely,
Your Boss

Helium Balloon Lawn Chair Pilot

BEND, Ore. — Last weekend, Kent Couch settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks — and a parachute. Attached to his lawn chair were 105 large helium balloons.
Destination: Idaho.

Read the rest of the story here.

I think this is every kid's dream growing up, to be able to fly. I might actually have to give this a try some day. Check out the guy's website.

You Won't Accept My US Dollars?

Over the weekend I happened to eat lunch with 15 close friends and family members at the Kenwood Pavalion Panera Bread in Cincinnati. Normally Panera Bread is one of my favorite lunch time restaurants, great food and service. Not this time however. Since there were 15 of us and we were on a retreat/conference budget there was going to be one check and it would be paid in cash. Our check of close to $86.00 was presented by a young gentleman named Casey, and we promptly gave him a $100 bill. His response to this was "we don't accept $100 bills because we've had several counterfeits recently."

Now excuse me for a moment but the last time I checked we are still in the U.S. and American greenbacks are still legal tender. I explained to him that we were on a cash account and had no other way to pay except for the $100 bill. He said there was nothing he could do so I asked to speak with the manager. The manager, a mid-to-late-30's aged woman named Kelly Moss explained to me that their regional manager would not allow them to accept $100 dollar bills because over the past several months they had accepted several counterfeit bills. My response to her was that she had to accept our money as it explicitly states on the bill "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private" and therefore they are required by law to accept it. Her response was that she could do nothing without the consent of her regional manager.

The problem with this whole scenario is that even though legally Panera Bread has to accept my U.S. Dollars because it is legal tender, who is going to enforce it? The police? Hardly. My only option would be to take the matter to court, but obviously it's not worth it over such a small amount. A member of our party ended up footing the bill via personal credit card, but this created more of a hassle for us in trying to figure out the account details. How hard would it be for Panera Bread to get one of those little highlighters that proves if a bill is fake or not? That's what every other place of business I've been to does.

My point of the story is this. When businesses will no longer accept the currency of the land by forcing an individual to use a paper-less unit of exchange such as a credit card or other debt instrument we have a serious problem on our hands. A loss of privacy ensues, infringement upon constitutional rights becomes the order of the day. Laws are supposed to be in place to protect individuals and they should be enforced, so long as they are moral and constitutional.

Here's the contact info for the Panera Bread if anyone is in the area and would like to check up on them.

8115 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, Oh 45236
Phone (513) 891-5401
Fax (513) 891-3338

I wonder if they accept Pesos?

Gianna Jessen's Story

This is one of the most amazing stories I've ever heard, the story of an abortion survivor named Gianna Jessen. This piece was emailed to me several days ago, and after researching it I found it's authenticity to be true. Check out these links about her: Wikipedia's article, her personal site, Godandscience.org, a great blog about her here, and abortionfacts.com.

Here now is the original article that was sent to me. Please link to it and refer others as it is such a powerful story.


I want to share with you an awesome experience I recently had in the
Colorado House of Representatives. It is a humbling experience to look
back and realize that God used me to play a role in His divine
orchestration.

As I was leaving the House chambers for the weekend when our Democrat
Speaker of the House mentioned that the coming Monday would be the final
day of this year's General Assembly. He went on to state that there were
still numerous resolutions on the calendar which we would need to be
addressed prior to the summer adjournment. Interestingly, he specifically
mentioned that one of the resolutions we would be hearing was being
carried by the House Majority Leader Alice Madden, honoring the 90th
anniversary of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.

As a strong pro-life legislator I was disgusted by the idea that we would
pass a resolution honoring this 90 year legacy of genocide. I drove home
that night wondering what I could say that might pierce the darkness
during the debate on this heinous resolution.

On Saturday morning I took my eight-year-old son up to the mountains to
go white water rafting. The trip lasted all day. As we were driving home,
exhausted and hungry, I remembered that I had accepted an invitation to
attend a fundraising dinner that night for a local pro-life organization.
One of my most respected mentors had personally called me several weeks
earlier and asked me to attend, so I knew I'd have to clean up and head
over.

After our meal, the executive director of the organization introduced the
keynote speaker. I looked up and saw walking to the stage a handicapped
young lady being assisted to the microphone by a young man holding a
guitar.

Her name was Gianna Jessen.

Gianna said "Hello," welcomed everyone, and then sang three of the most
beautiful Christian songs that I have ever heard.

She then began to give her testimony. When her biological mother was 17
years old and 7 ½ months pregnant she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic
to have an abortion. As God would have it, the abortion failed and a
beautiful two-pound baby girl was brought into the world. Unfortunately,
she was born with cerebral palsy and the doctors thought that she would
never survive. The doctors were wrong.

Imagine the timing! A survivor of a Planned Parenthood abortion arrived
in town just days before the Colorado House of Representatives was to
celebrate Planned Parenthood's "wonderful" work.
As I listened to Gianna's amazing testimony the Lord inspired me to ask
her if she could stay in Denver until Monday morning so that I could
introduce her on the floor of the House and tell her story. Perhaps she
could even begin the final day's session by singing our country's
national anthem!

To my surprise she said she would seriously consider it. If she were to
agree, she wanted her accompanying guitar player to stay as well. A lady
standing in line behind me waiting to meet Gianna overheard our
conversation and said that she would be willing to pay for the
guitarist's room. Gianna then said that she would think about it.
As I was driving home from the banquet my cell phone rang. It was Gianna
and she immediately said, "I'm in, let's ruin this celebration." Praise
God!

When Monday morning came, I awoke at 6:00 to write my speech before
heading to the Capitol. As I wrote down the words I could sense God's
help and I knew that this was going to be a powerful moment for the
pro-life movement.

Following a committee hearing, I rushed into the House Chambers just as
the opening morning prayer was about to be given. Between the prayer and
the pledge of allegiance I wrote a quick note to the Speaker of the House
explaining that Gianna is an advocate for cerebral palsy. I took the note
to the Speaker and asked if I could have my friend open the last day of
session by singing the national anthem. Without any hesitation the
Speaker took the microphone and said, "Before we begin, Representative
Harvey has made available for us Gianna Jessen to sing the National
Anthem."

Gianna sang the most amazing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner that
you could possibly imagine. Every person in the entire chamber was
completely still, quiet, and in awe of this frail young lady's voice.
Due to her cerebral palsy, Gianna often loses her balance, and shortly
after starting to sing she grabbed my arm to stabilize herself, and I
could tell that she was shaking. Suddenly, midway through the song, she
forgot the words and began to hum and said, "Please forgive me I am so
nervous." She then immediately began singing again and every House member
and every guest throughout the chambers began to sing along with her to
give her encouragement and lift her up.
As I looked around the huge hall I listened to the unbelievable melody of
Gianna's voice being accompanied by a choir of over 100 voices. I had
chills running all over my body and I knew that I had just witnessed an
act of God.

As the song concluded the Speaker of the House explained that Gianna has
cerebral palsy and is an activist to bring awareness to the disease. "Let
us give her a hand not only for her performance today but also for her
advocacy work," he said. The chamber immediately exploded into
applause.she had them all in the palm of her hand.
The Speaker then called the House to order and we proceeded as usual to
allow members to make any announcements or introductions of guests. For
dramatic effect, I waited until I was the last person remaining before I
introduced Gianna.

As I waited for my turn, I nervously paced back and forth praying to God
that he would give me the peace, confidence and the courage necessary to
pull off what I knew would be one of the most dramatic and controversial
moments of my political career.

While I waited, a prominent reporter from one of the major Denver
newspapers walked over to Gianna and told her that her rendition captured
the spirit of the national anthem more powerfully than any she had ever
heard before.

Finally, I was the last person remaining, so I proceeded to the
microphone and began my speech:

"Members, I would like to introduce you to a new friend and hero of
mine-- her name is Gianna Jessen. She is visiting us today from
Nashville, Tennessee where she is an accomplished recording artist.
She has cerebral palsy and was raised in foster homes before being
adopted at the age of four.

She was born prematurely and weighed only two pounds at birth. She
remained in the hospital for almost three months. A doctor once said she
had a great will to live and that she fought for her life. Eventually she
was able to leave the hospital and be placed in foster care.
Because of her cerebral palsy her foster mother was told that it was
doubtful that she would ever crawl or walk. She could not sit up
independently. Through the prayers and dedication of her foster mother,
she eventually learned to sit up, crawl, then stand. Shortly before her
fourth birthday she began to walk with leg braces and a walker.
She continued in physical therapy and after a total of four surgeries,
she was able to walk without assistance.

She still falls sometimes, but she says she has learned how to fall
gracefully after falling for 29 years.
Two years ago she walked into a local health club and said she wanted a
private trainer. At the time her legs could not lift 30 pounds. Today she
can leg press 200 pounds.
She became so physically fit that she began running marathons to raise
money and awareness for cerebral palsy. She just returned last week from
England where she ran in the London Marathon. It took her over 8 ½ hrs to
complete. They were taking down the course by the time she made it to the
finish line. But she made it none the less. With bloody feet and aching
joints she finished the race.

Members would you help me recognize a modern day hero.Gianna Jessen?
At this point the chamber exploded into applause which lasted for 15 to
20 seconds.Gianna had touched their souls.
Ironically, Alice Madden the Majority Leader and sponsor of the Planned
Parenthood Resolution walked over to Gianna and gave her a hug.
As the applause began to die down I raised my hand to be recognized one
more time.

"Mr. Speaker, members, if you would allow me just a few more moments I
would appreciate your time.

My name is Ted Harvey not Paul Harvey but please let me tell you the rest
of the story.

The cause of Gianna's cerebral palsy is not because of some biological
freak of nature, but rather the choice of her mother.
You see when her biological mother was 17 years old and 7 ½ months
pregnant she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic to seek a late term
abortion. The abortionist performed a saline abortion on this 17-year-old
girl. This procedure requires the injection of a high concentration of
saline into the mother's womb which the fetus is then bathed in and
swallows which results in the fetus being burned to death, inside and
out. Within 24 hrs the results are normally an induced still-born
abortion.

As Gianna can testify the procedure is not always 100% effective. Gianna
is an aborted late term fetus that was born alive. The high concentration
of saline in the womb for 24 hrs resulted in a lack of oxygen to her
brain and is the cause of her cerebral palsy.
Members, today we are going to recognize the 90th anniversary of Rocky
Mountain Planned Parenthood,"

BANG! The gavel came down.

Just as I was finishing the last sentence of my speech.The climax of the
morning.The Speaker of the House gaveled me down and said,
"Representative Harvey, I will allow you to continue your introduction
but not for the purposes of debating a measure now pending before the
House."

At which point I said,

"Mr. Speaker I understand, I just wanted to put a face to what we are
celebrating today".

Silence.Deafening silence.

I then walked back to my chair shaking like a leaf. The Democrats
wouldn't look at me.they were fuming. It was beautiful. I have been in
the legislature for five tough years and this made it all worthwhile.
The House Majority Leader wouldn't talk to me the rest of the day.
Was it because I introduced an abortion survivor, or was it because we
touched her soul? She could hug an inspirational cerebral palsy victim
and advocate, but was outraged when she discovered that the person she
hugged was also an abortion survivor.

The headline in the Denver Post the next day read Abortion Jab Earns
Rebuke. The Majority Leader is quoted as saying "I think it was amazingly
rude to use a human being as an example of his personal politics,"
Yes Representative Madden, Gianna Jessen is a human being. She was when
she was in her mother's womb and she was when she sang the National
Anthem on the Floor of the Colorado House of Representatives.
The paper went on to quote Gianna Jessen, stating she was glad Harvey
told her story.

"We need to discuss the humanity of it. I'm glad to be able to speak up
for children in the womb," she said. "If abortion is about women's
rights, where were my rights?"

Leslie Hanks, one of the matriarchs of the pro-life movement in Colorado,
was in the House Chamber that morning and told me that it was the single
greatest moment she had witnessed in the State Legislature in the 20
years that she'd been lobbying in the Capitol.

All I can say is, "Glory to God!" He orchestrated it all, every minute of
it, and I was so honored to have been chosen to play a part. May we all
continue to be filled with and to fight for the passion of our Lord Jesus
Christ!

In His service,
Ted Harvey
Assistant Minority Leader
Colorado House of Representatives

The Plan

We need our UN Ambassador to stand up and repeat this message. The 'I love New York' shirt written in Arabic is priceless!


"I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan."

1. The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those "good ole boys", we will never "interfere" again.

2. We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany, South Korea, the Middle East, and the Philippines. They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence.

3. All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of whom or where they are. They're illegal! France will welcome them.

4. All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit! No one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers.

5. No foreign "students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D" and it's back home baby.

6. The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while.

7. Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)

8. If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.

9. Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

10. All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH...learn it...or LEAVE!

11) And lastly bring back the manufacturing from our country, curtail the cheap imports from all over the world and put the middle class back to work in our country.

Now, isn't that a winner of a plan?

"The Statue of Liberty is no longer
saying "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses." She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'you want a piece of me?'"

A Quick Fix?

Have you ever wanted to help a butterfly out of a cocoon? You know that if you did you just prevented that butterfly from ever being able to fly. If a child has spent all his/her money and then wants to go to the movies with friends, what is the most growth producing response from parents? If a young couple purchased an expensive car and now cannot make the payments, what is the most helpful response? If I can't pay my electric bill, should my church take care of it for me? We are prone to medicate too much joy or too much sadness. We classify ourselves as ADD, depressed or bipolar. We want instant health, income and friends. What if the journey itself is part of the growth and process leading to ultimate success?

A world class athlete has to go through years of struggle and rigorous daily training to ever be competitive. Any respected musician has spent hours and hours of making mistakes before finding the notes that create a beautiful sound. Can we recognize the valuable training taking place in the struggles of our daily lives? Do you always want a quick fix to your own challenging situations? When a person crashes financially not having a rich dad to bail them out can be good. It is through the struggle of no frills living that we are reminded of how precious simple pleasures can be and we can expand our appreciation for the simple things in life. Are you in between opportunities in your work? Are you hoping to win the lottery as an instant fix to your financial woes? Maybe you're overlooking the opportunity to learn from and enjoy the journey you're on. A prolonged challenge may force you into your own successful business or to learn some new skills that increase your marketability.

Be careful of shortcuts that plop you down in the success you think you want. The real value may be in your present journey.

Taken from the website 48 Days to the work you love

Instructions For Life

Merry Christmas!

Go Dan!

My Friend from school, Dan Marrone just proved by this article what a great guy he is.

The Road Less Traveled

THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet, knowing how way leads onto way
I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference


-Robert Frost

Crossroads Walk 2005

As I begin to write this I am sitting in Phoenix, AZ at the Cafe Fiat after praying at a Planned Parenthood here in Phoenix with the group The Underground Project, started by the beautiful Melanie Welsch. The past week has been incredible. It started out with a long and delayed arrival into Ontario, CA after many challenges on my connecting flight into Houston. I began my journey in 29 Palms walking all night long through the desert of Southern California. Previous to beginning our night time journey we ate dinner at the O'Briens. Arriving at their house was an experience to be sure, they live in the middle of nowhere in the California desert. It was almost surreal, like something out of a movie! They were the nicest people you'll ever meet though.
The rest of the trip has consisted of walking though California and into Arizona, which is where I am now. Crossroads has a blog that will be updated all summer long here.

Here's some of the pictures I've taken thus far.

An Irish Joke

A good Irishman, John O"Reilly, met regularly with his toastmasters club. One evening they were hitting the Guinness Stout & Jameson and having a contest about who could make the best toast for their wife. John O"Reilly hoisted his Guiness and said, " Here 's to spending the rest of my life between the legs of me wife!" That won him the top prize for the best toast of the night. John went home and told his wife, Mary," I won the prize for the best toast of the night." Mary said," Aye, and tell me what was your winnin' toast me darlin?" John replied," Here's to spending the rest of me life, sitting in church beside me wife." "Oh, that is very nice indeed, John, I can see why you won!" Mary said. The next day Mary ran into one of John's toasting buddies on the street corner. The man chuckled leeringly and said, "So Mary... John won the prize the other night with a toast about you." Mary said: "Aye and I was a bit surprised meself! You know, he's only been there twice!!! Once he fell asleep, and the other time I had to pull him by the ears to make him come..."

The Double Life...

How very simple life would be, if only there were two of me,
A restless me to drift and roam, a quiet me to stay at home.
A searching one to find his fill, of varied skies and newfound thrill,
While same and homely things are done, by the domestic other one.

And that’s just where the trouble lies; there is a restless me that cries,
For chancy risks and changing scene, for artic blue and tropic green,
For deserts with their mystic spell, for lusty fun and raising hell.

But shackled to that restless me, my other self rebelliously,
Resists the frantic urge to move, it seeks the old familiar groove
That habits make. It finds content—with hearth and home—dear prisonment,
With candlelight and well-loved books, and treasured loot in dusty nooks.

With puttering and garden things, and dreaming while a cricket sings
And all the while the restless one, insists on more exciting fun,
It wants to go with every tide, no matter where…just for the ride.
Like yowling cats the two selves brawl, until I have no peace at all.

One eye turns to the forward track; the other eye looks sadly back.
I’m getting wall-eyed from the strain, (it’s tough to have an idle brain)
But one says “stay” and one says “go,” and one says “yes” and one says “no”
And one self wants a home and wife, and self craves the drifter’s life.

The restless fellow always wins; I wish my folks had made me twins!


~Don Blanding

A Son's Letter To His Father...

As I was blog surfing I ran across this funny story, it's from a really cool Canadian blog called dust my broom. Check it out, lots of conservetive, Canadian political insights.


A father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see the bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then he saw an envelope propped up prominently on the center of the bed. It was addressed to "Dad". With the worst premonition, he opened the envelope and read the letter with trembling hands:

Dear Dad,

It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with mom and you. I've been finding real passion with Joan and she is so nice-even with all her piercing, tattoos, and her tight Motorcycle clothes. But it's not only the passion dad, she's pregnant and Joan said that we will be very happy. Even though you don't care for her as she is so much older than I, she already owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. She wants to have many more children with me and that's now one of my dreams too. Joan taught me that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone and we'll be growing it for us and trading it with her friends for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want. In the meantime, we'll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Joan can get better; she sure deserves it! Don't worry Dad, I'm 15 years old now and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure we'll be back to visit so you can get to know your grandchildren.

Your son, John

PS: Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at the neighbor's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than my report card that's in my desk center drawer. I love you! Call when it is safe for me to come home.

Can a Pig Fly?

Once upon a time, all the animals in a special advanced animal kingdom became very excited about the new school that was being formed for all the animal children. Modern administrators organized the school and adopted a curriculum of activities consisting of running, climbing, swimming, and flying.

All the animal parents flocked to the school, eager to enroll their children in this new progressive school. After all, they wanted the very best for their offspring. Mr. and Mrs. Duck enrolled their son, Donald Duck, and expected great things from him because he was an excellent swimmer. In fact, he was better than the instructor. However, Donald had been in school only one week when the administrators discovered that he was quite poor in running, jumping and climbing trees. So they made him stay after school and practice those skills. Finally, Donald's webbed feet became so badly worn from climbing trees that he then was only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in this school, so no one worried about this except Donald Duck who really loved swimming.

Now, Ronnie Rabbit was at the top of the class in running but ended up having a nervous breakdown because of having to do so much makeup work in swimming. And Sammy Squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed cramps from overexertion and got a "C" in climbing and a "D" in running.

Ernie Eagle was a problem child and was frequently disciplined. In the climbing class, he beat all the others to the top of the trees, but he did not follow the procedures for climbing and insisted on getting to the top of the tree using his own method. He was not a good team player and often went off on his own. His teachers could not understand his desire to see new things and reprimanded him for daydreaming in the classroom. Ultimately he was put on Ritalin to try to make him a better student.

At the end of the year, Freddie the Goldfish could swim exceedingly well and could also run, climb and fly a little. Freddie had the highest overall score and was voted valedictorian of the class.

The neighborhood dogs stayed out of school and fought the tax levy because the administration would not add digging and fetching to the curriculum. They had noticed the emotional strain on the other students and were considering starting a school of their own.

How sad that we often diminish our best gifts by struggling valiantly to develop in someone else's area of ability. It is better to focus on your uniqueness and do that with excellence than to end up with mediocrity in several areas. Use this rule of thumb for organizing your work strategy:

~Work where you are the strongest 80 percent of the time.
~Work where you are learning 15 percent of the time.
~Work where you are weak 5 percent of the time.