The Trail Ride

An old cowboy was riding his horse down an unfamiliar trail with his faithful dog, Butch, walking along side.  The cowboy was enjoying the day when all of a sudden he remembered being shot in an ambush a way back.  He looked down and realized Butch, who was walking beside him, had died several years earlier as did his horse, Champ, the one he was now riding.  Confused, he wondered where he was riding to on this unfamiliar trail.  

 

 

Around a bend he saw a high, white marble wall.  Down the trail a piece, he saw a large golden gate in the wall that was topped with a huge golden letter "H" that sparkled in the sunlight.   As he rode closer, he saw magnificent streets inside the gate.  Some were painted gold and others were paved with mother of pearl.  As he continued looking inside, he saw a man sitting under a tree.  Parched and plum tuckered out from his trail ride he called out,  "Excuse me Mister.  Where are we?'' 

"Why this is Heaven", the man answered. 

"Wow!" said the cowboy.  "Would you happen to have some water inside?"  

"Of course we do partner", said the old man.  "Come on in, and I’ll pour you a tall glass." 

As the golden gate began to open, the cowboy and his dog and horse started to enter when the man inside jumped up and shouted, "Sorry fella.  "We don't allow animals in here." 

The cowboy thought for a moment, then pulled back on the reins and turned his horse back towards the road.  "Come on Butch, let’s go.   Thanks Mister, but we’ll be getting along." Then the cowboy, Champ and Butch continued down the trail. 

After a very long trail ride, the cowboy was coming down a steep hill and noticed a wooden fence with an open gate.  As he approached the gate, the cowboy saw a man sitting under a tree reading a book.   "Excuse me Mister", he called to the man.  "Do you have any water?'' 

"Sure do.  There's a pump right over there.  Go help yourself to all you want."  

"How about my friends?" the cowboy asked. 

"Why of course!  They look thirsty too; bring em on in", said the man. 

The trio went through the gate and headed straight to the old-fashioned hand pump.   There were buckets beside the pump and the cowboy got down from his horse, pumped the handle and filled two buckets with wonderfully cool water.  He put one down for his horse and the other for his dog.   He then picked up a tin cup, pumped the cup full and took a drink. When all three had quenched their thirst, the cowboy walked over to the man who was sitting under the tree.  "What do you call this place here?" asked the cowboy. 

"Why this is Heaven", the man answered.

"Heaven?  Now ain’t that confusing? The other man down the trail a piece by that big white marble wall said that was Heaven."  

''Oh, you mean the place with the cheap glitzy paint and fake mother of pearl streets?" the old man replied. 

"Yeah", said the cowboy.  

"No son, that was Hell", said the old man.

The cowboy pushed his hat back so it titled up and said, "Well now, doesn’t that make you angry when those folks down there use your name like that?" 

"No, not really", said the old man.  "We’re kind of happy they are down there." 

"You are? Why?" asked the cowboy. 

"Well, to tell you the truth," the old man replied, "They do a good job screening out the folks who’d leave their friends behind just so they could get a drink of water for themselves."

Around The Corner

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end.
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.

And I never see my old friend's face,
For life is a swift and a terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.

And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.

"Tomorrow," I say! "I will call on Jim,
Just to show that I'm thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner, yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram Sir, Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end,
For around the corner I have a vanished friend.

Why do Government Officials Make Dumb Decisions?

There was an international conference held in Paris a few years back and engineers from around the globe flew in to attend.  After morning-long seminars, they broke for lunch.  Upon walking out of the meeting rooms, they heard the Japanese coastline had been hit hard by a massive tsunami.

As the attendees funneled into a banquet room for lunch, they listened to the radio broadcasts.  It was announced that the President of the United States had authorized the deployment of two aircraft carriers to Japan.  Immediately, a few of the European engineers in line began to chuckle.   They said,  "How dumb is that?  The President of the United States is sending two aircraft carriers to Japan.  What does he intend to do, bomb the Japanese?"

An engineer from the Boeing corporation who was behind them in line commented, "An American aircraft carrier has three hospitals on board that can treat over five hundred people per day.  They are all nuclear powered so they can supply unlimited emergency electrical power to many facilities on shore.   They have three cafeterias with a capacity to feed up to 6,000 people three meals a day for up to 90 days without any need to resupply. 

He went on to say that they are also equipped with a sophisticated desalination system that can produce 40,000 gallons of fresh water from seawater each day.  Finally, he pointed out that all US carriers sail from port with a minimum of six helicopters on board.  Each helicopter can be used to transport victims to safety or any injured back to the ship for needed medical attention.

He then looked at the European engineers who scoffed at the dumb idea of the US President sending two aircraft carriers to Japan and said, "America has eleven such ships.  How many similar ships do your countries have?'

The European engineers stood silent.

The Secret of Success

One day, a young man went to the home of Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, and asked, "Sir, I have come to seek your wisdom.  Will you help me?" 

 

Socrates looked at the boy and replied, "How can I be of assistance?"

 

The boy responded, "I want to be a great success. Will you teach me all I need to know so I can be a great success?"

"Certainly, my son," replied Socrates.  "Walk with me."  Socrates began to walk and headed towards the sea.  Once on the sand, Socrates continued to walk straight into the water.  The young man followed.  When both were chest deep in the ocean, Socrates placed his hands on the young man's head and quickly forced it under the water. After about ten seconds, the young man fought his way to the surface and began to gasp for air.  Socrates released the boy’s head, turned and walked away.

The young man was appalled.  He had traveled a great distance to meet with this scholar whom he admired and respected and when he asked for his wisdom all he did was put his head under water.  Never again, vowed the young man, would he seek the advice of Socrates.

However, time as we know, has a way of healing wounds and after a week went by, the young man thought maybe he did something to upset Socrates.  So back he went to visit the scholar.  Again he beseeched Socrates to teach him all he needed to know so he could be a great success.

Socrates smiled and once again agreed. He asked the young man to follow him and again they walked toward the ocean. Just like before, Socrates walked in the water and, when the water was chest high, Socrates grabbed the young man by his head and pushed it under water.  This time, however, the young man was ready.  Before going under, he took a big gulp of air and held his breath for almost for thirty seconds before coming up gasping for air.  As he wiped the water from his eyes, he saw Socrates already on the shore walking away.

Now the young man was livid.  Twice he had approached Socrates for the knowledge he needed to become a great success and twice Socrates took him to the ocean and put his head under water.  Never ever again would he be insulted and humiliated like this.

Well, thirty days passed and the young man had time to reflect. He truly wanted to be a success.  Socrates had the wisdom he needed so he decided to go one final time to see the scholar.  Upon arriving at Socrates’ home, he rapped on the door.  When Socrates appeared, the young man said, "I hope you remember me?" 

 

Socrates flashed a big smile and said, "I do.  You are the young man who wants to be a great success."

 

The young man once again asked Socrates, "Will you please teach me all I need to know and all I need to learn to be a success?" 

 

Socrates nodded and said, "Absolutely."  Then he started walking toward the ocean with the young man following in step.

This time the young man was well prepared.  As soon as Socrates grabbed his head, he took a deep swallow of air, relaxed and was able to hold his breath underwater for almost two minutes. When he finally surfaced for air, Socrates had already walked away.

Furious the young man ran after Socrates.  When he was a few feet from Socrates he shouted, "Socrates, why is it every time I come to you and ask for your help to gain the wisdom and the knowledge on how to be a great success, all you do is take me out in the water and dunk my head?"

Socrates turned around, faced the young man, and said, "Son, I have tried three times now to teach you the secret of being a great success. The secret is simple: When you want to succeed as much as you want to breathe, you will be a great success."

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What Goes Around Comes Around

His name was Fleming and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day while working in his field, he heard a cry for help. He dropped his tools and ran to the nearby bog as fast as he could.

There, stuck up to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself.  Fleming sprung into action and saved the boy from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse farm.  An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming saved the day before.

"I want to repay you for saving my son's life," said the nobleman.

 

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied waving off any thought of an offer.  At that moment, Fleming’s son came to the door of the family hovel.

"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

 

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

 

"Then I'll make you a deal.  Let me provide your son with the same level of education as my own son will enjoy.  If your lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow up to be a man we can both be proud of."

Farmer Fleming agreed to this arrangement and his son, as promised, attended the very best schools in England and ultimately graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London.  He went on to become known throughout the world as Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Unfortunately this story doesn’t end here, for you see years later, the nobleman's son – the boy who got stuck in the bog and was saved by Sir Fleming's father - was stricken with pneumonia and nearly died.  What saved his life this time was a new miracle drug called Penicillin. 

The name of the nobleman who paid for the education of farmer Fleming's son was Lord Randolph Churchill ... His son, the boy who fell in the bog and later nearly died from pneumonia, was Sir Winston Churchill.

Maybe it’s true?  What goes around comes around.

Two Sheets of Paper

Late one Friday afternoon, Ms. Simpson handed out two sheets of paper to each of the students in her class.  She asked the students to list the names of all their classmates on the two sheets  paper – instructing them to leave a big space between each name they wrote down.   

She then told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about that classmate, then write that thought under the person's name.  She gave her class one hour to complete this assignment.  When the time was up, she had the students turn in their papers as they left the room.  

Over the weekend, Ms. Simpson sat at her dining room table and recorded all the things her students had written down. On Monday morning, Ms. Simpson handed each student the individual list she compiled and gave them a few minutes to read it.  All the students beamed large smiles as they read what their classmates had said about them.  Ms. Simpson was glad she had used the exercise to fill up time on a Friday afternoon.

She never mentioned this assignment again and never knew if the students discussed their papers after class or even shared them with their parents. The school year ended and all of her students moved on.  For some reason, she never found the time or had the desire to repeat that exercise with any subsequent classes.

Several years passed when Ms. Simpson learned one of her former students was killed in Afghanistan and she decided to attend his funeral.  The church was packed with family and friends and many, including Ms. Simpson, walked up to the casket to pay their last respects.  

As she returned to her seat, a soldier in his dress uniform approached her and asked, "Are you Ms. Simpson - Were you Mark's teacher?"  She nodded 'yes.'  He said, "Mark talked about you a lot when we were in Afghanistan – he really enjoyed having you as his teacher.  He said you were the best teacher he ever had."

Following the funeral service, a luncheon was served in the church basement and Ms. Simpson decided to attend. Just as she finished her lunch, Mark's mother and father walked over to her.  Mark's mom said, "We’d like to thank you for coming and we want to show you something."  Mark's father took out his wallet.   He carefully removed two worn pieces of paper that had been folded and refolded numerous times and were now covered in several layers of scotch tape.

He said, "They found this on Mark when he was killed.  We thought you might recognize it."  Ms. Simpson immediately knew what those two pieces of paper were.  They were the papers on which she listed all the good things Mark's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing this," Mark's mom said.  "Mark was so proud the day he brought these papers home - he could not stop talking about them - and, as you can see, he treasured it all his life."

Soon several of Ms. Simpson's former students, the classmates of Mark who also attended the luncheon, came forward and gathered around her.  Charlie smiled sheepishly and was the first to speak, "I still have my list, Ms. Simpson. It's in the top drawer of my dresser at home.  I look at it almost every night before I go to bed." 

Chuck's wife said, "Chuck had me put ours in our wedding album.  We show them off all the time."

"I have mine too," Marilyn said.  "It's in my diary."

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her purse, took out her billfold and pulled out her worn and frazzled list for the group.  "I carry mine with me at all times."

Without batting an eyelash, Wanda said, "I think we all saved our lists."  

That’s when Ms. Simpson sat down at a table and  began to cry.  She cried not only for Mark and all his friends but also for all the students she had taught throughout the years that she never took the time to repeat this effortless exercise.

Having a lasting impact on those we meet in life is easier than most of us think.  Once in awhile we need to take time out of our busy schedule to point out the nice things we see in those around us, the ones we work with and the ones we serve.