Thought 25FEB2010

ONE FOR THE TEAM
This story was told by an old priest one Sunday. It is a true story of when he served in the military.

One day their drill sergeant came out and threw a hand grenade into a group of young soldiers. The men all ran away and took cover away from the grenade. Then the drill sergeant told them that the grenade was not set to explode and he just did it to see their reaction. The next day a newly recruited joined the group. The drill sergeant told the other soldiers not to tell the new soldier what was going to happen. As the drill sergeant came out and threw the grenade into the crowd of soldiers, the new soldier, not knowing it wasn't going to explode, threw himself on top of the grenade to prevent it from killing the other men. He was willing to die for his fellow soldiers.

That year the young man was awarded the only medal for courage and bravery that had not been won during battle.
Kim Noone - extracted from the "Chicken Soup Series", Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery & Nancy Mitchell, R.N., Health Communications, Inc., 1996
Min ma jgarrabx il-hazin ma jafx it-tajjeb / He who has had no experience of evil cannot know the worth of what is good - Kurdish Proverb

Thought 24FEB2010

LADY, ARE YOU RICH?
They huddled inside the storm door - two children in ragged outgrown coats. "Any old papers, lady?" I was busy. I wanted to say no - until I looked down at their feet. Thin little sandals, sopped with sleet. "Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa." There was no conversation. Their soggy sandals left marks upon the hearthstone. I served them cocoa and toast with jam to fortify against the chill outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget... The silence in the front room struck through to me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, "Lady ... are you rich?"

"Am I rich? Mercy, no?" I looked at my shabby slip covers. The girl put her cup back in its saucer - carefully. "Your cups match your saucers." Her voice was old, with a hunger that was not of the stomach. They left then, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn't said thank you. They didn't need to. They had done more than that. Plain blue pottery cups and saucers. But they matched. I tested the potatoes and stirred the gravy. Potatoes and brown gravy, a roof over our heads, my man with a good steady job - these things matched, too. I moved the chairs back from the fire and tidied the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my hearth. I let them be. I want them there is case I ever forget again how rich I am.
Marion Doolan - extracted from 'A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul', Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc., 1996
Hacer de tripas corazon / What can't be cured must be endured - Spanish Proverb

Thought 23FEB2010

TEN RULES OF HUMAN RELATIONS
1) SPEAK TO PEOPLE. There is nothing so nice as a cheerful word of greeting.
2) SMILE AT PEOPLE. It takes 72 muscles to frown, only 14 to smile.
3) CALL PEOPLE BY NAME. The sweetest music to anyone's ears is the sound of his own name.
4) BE FRIENDLY AND HELPFUL. If you would have friends, be a friend.
5) BE CORDIAL. Speak and act as if everything you do is a genuine pleasure.
6) BE GENUINELY INTERESTED IN PEOPLE. You can like almost everybody if you try.
7) BE GENEROUS with praise - cautious with criticism.
8) BE CONSIDERATE with the feelings of others. There are usually three sides to a controversy : yours, the other person's, and the right side.
9) BE ALERT to give service. What counts most in life is what we do for others.
10) ADD TO THIS A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOUR, a big doses of patience and a dash of humility and you will be regarded many fold.
Extracted from 'Management Thoughts' by Promod Batra, Golden Book Centre Sdn Bhd, reprinted 1995
It is easy to say "Come" difficult to say "Go" - Kurdish Proverb

Thought 22FEB2010

WINNING
His mother told us the story the day after.

Kenneth was in junior high school and was excited and eager about participating in a day of Special Olympics events. While his parents watched expectantly from the stands, he ran and won the, first race. He was proud of his ribbon and the cheers from the crowd.

He ran in the second race. Just at the finish line, when he again would have won, he stopped, then stepped off the track. His parents gently questioned him. "Why did you do that, Kenneth? If you had continued running, you would have won another race."

Kenneth innocently replied, "But, mom, I already have a ribbon. Billy didn't have a ribbon yet."
Clifford and Jerie Furness - extracted from 'a 4th course of chicken soup for the soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Hanoch McCarty and Meladee McCarty, Health Communication Inc, 1997
El mundo es un panuelo / (It's a) Small world! - Spanish Proverb

Thought 19FEB2010

TRUE FORGIVENESS
Forty-three years seems like a long time to remember the name of a mere acquaintance. I have duly forgotten the name of an old lady who was a customer of my paper route when I was a twelve-year-old boy in Marinette, Wisconsin back in 1954. Yet it seems like just yesterday that she taught me a lesson in forgiveness that I can only hope to pass on to someone else someday. On a mindless Saturday afternoon, a friend and I were throwing rocks onto the roof of the old lady's house from a secluded spot in her backyard. The object of our play was to observe how the rocks changed to missiles as they rolled to the roof's edge and shot out into the yard like comets from the sky.

I found myself a perfectly smooth rock and sent it for a ride. The stone was too smooth, however, so it slipped from my hand as I let it go and headed straight for a small window on the old lady's back porch. At the sound of fractured glass, we took off from the old lady's yard faster than any of our missiles flew off her roof. I was too scared about getting caught that first night to be concerned about the old lady, with the broken porch window. However, a few days later, when I was sure that I hadn't been discovered, I started to feel guilty for her misfortune. She still greeted me with a smile each day when I gave her the paper, but I was no longer able to act comfortable in her presence. I made up my mind that I would save my paper delivery money and in three weeks I had seven dollars that I calculated would cover the cost of her window. I put the money in an envelope with a note explaining that the seven dollars would cover the cost for repairing it.

I waited until it was dark, snuck up to the old lady's house and put the envelope of retribution through the letter slot in her door. My soul felt redeemed and I couldn't wait for the freedom of, once again, looking straight into the old lady's eyes. The next day, I handed the old lady her paper and was able to return the warm smile that I was receiving from her. She thanked me for the paper and said, "Here, I have something for you." It was a bag of cookies. I thanked her and proceeded to eat the cookies as I continued my route. After several cookies, I felt an envelope and pulled it out of the bag. When I opened the envelope, I was stunned. Inside was the seven dollars and a short note that said, "I'm proud of you."
Jerry Harpt - extracted from 'a 5th portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul', Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc., 1998
It is easier to make a camel jump a ditch than to make a fool listen to reason - Kurdish Proverb

Thought 18FEB2010

AH, BAMBINI
My husband and I were traveling in Italy with two small babies and an au pair. We would trade sightseeing time with the au pair so we could all visit the requisite churches and museums. But on this day we took the babies along, since we had only one day to go to Assisi and all of us urgently wanted to see it. The morning was wonderful - feeling like happy pilgrims, we read each other stories of St. Francis while the babies cooed and gurgled as we drove up the winding streets. But by the end of a very hot day, traipsing uphill and downhill in the 90-degree Italian sun, the two kids were crying nonstop. One was throwing up; the other had diarrhea. We were all irritable and exhausted and we had a three-hour trip ahead of us to get back to Florence, where we were staying. Somewhere on the plains of Perugia we stopped at a little trattoria to have dinner.

Embarrassed at our bedraggled state and our smelly, noisy children, we sheepishly tried to sneak into the dinner room, hoping we could silence the children long enough to order before they threw us out. The proprietor took one look at us, muttered, "You wait-a-here," and went back to the kitchen. We thought perhaps we should leave tight then, but before we could decide what to do, he reappeared with his wife and teenage daughter. Beaming as they crossed the dining room, the two women threw out their arms, cried, "Ah, bambini!" and took the children from our arms, motioning us to sit at a quite corner table.

For the duration of a long and hospitable dinner, they walked the babies back and forth in the back of the dining room, cooing, laughing and singing them to sleep in gentle, musical Italian. The proprietor even insisted we stay and have an extra glass of wine after the babies were asleep! Any parent who has reached the end of his or her rope with an infant will appreciate that God had indeed sent us angels that day.
Editors of Conari Press - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte & Tim Clauss, Health Communications, Inc., 1996
Habit is worse than rabies - Kurdish Proverb

Thought 17FEB2010

DANCE WITH ME
When we're young and we dream of love and fulfillment, we think perhaps of moon-drenched Parisian nights or walks along the beach at sunset. No one tells us that the greatest moments of a lifetime are fleeting, unplanned and nearly always catch us off guard. Not long ago, as I was reading a bedtime story to my seven-year-old daughter, Annie, I became aware of her focused gaze. She was staring at me with a faraway, trancelike expression. Apparently, completing the The Tale of Samuel Whiskers was not important as we first thought. I asked what she was thinking about.

"Mommy," she whispered, "I just can't stop looking at your pretty face." I almost dissolved on the spot. Little did she know how many trying moments the glow of her sincerely loving statements would carry me through over the following years. Not long after, I tool my four-year-old son to an elegant department store, where the melodic notes of a classic love song drew us toward a tuxedoes musician playing a grand piano. Sam and I sat down on a marble bench nearby and he seemed as transfixed by the lilting theme as I was. I didn't realized that Sam had stood up next to me until he turned, took my face in his little hands and said, "Dance with me."

If only those women strolling under the Paris moon knew the joy of such an invitation made by a round-cheeked boy with baby teeth. Although shoppers openly chuckled, grinned and pointed at us as we glided and whirled around the open atrium, I would not have traded a dance with such a charming young gentleman if I'd been offered the universe.
Jean Harper - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne & Marci Shimoff, Health Communications, Inc., 1997
Quien compra ha de tener cien ojos; a quien vende le basta uno solo / The buyer needs a hundred eyes, the seller but one - Spanish Proverb

Thought 11FEB2010

THE PROGNOSIS
A young mother who had been diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer returned home from the hospital, self-conscious about her physical appearance and loss of hair following radiation. Upon sitting down on a kitchen chair, her son appeared quickly in the doorway, studying her curiously. As his mother began a rehearsed speech to help him understand what he was seeing, the boy came forward to snuggle in her lap. Intently, he laid his head to her chest and just held on. His mother was saying, "And sometime, hopefully soon, I will look the way I used to and then I'll be better."

The young child sat up thoughtfully. With six-year-old frankness, he simply responded, "Different hair, same heart." His mother no longer had to wait for "sometime, hopefully soon" to be better. She was.
Rochelle M Pennington - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne and Marci Shimoff, Health Communications, Inc., 1997.
Comer hasta enfermar y ayunar hasta sanar / He that eats till he is sick must fast till he is well - Spanish Proverb

Thought 10FEB2010

GETTING THE GARBAGE OUT
When architect Jaime Lerner was appointed mayor of Curitiba, Brazil, in 1973, it was a rapidly growing town of 500,000 with sprawling favelas (slums). The favelas had many problems, not the least of which was garbage that could not be collected because of narrow or non-existence streets. Since trucks could not get in and because the garbage was attracting rodents that could carry disease, Lerner had to come up with a way to get the garbage out. His solution was to pay people for their garbage by placing recycling bins around the favelas and giving the people tokens to the city's transport system for the separated and, therefore, recyclable trash. For organic waste, which was taken by farmers and made into fertilizer for their fields, he gave chits that could be exchanged for food.

It has worked spectacularly. Kids scour the favelas for trash and can spot the difference between polyethylene terephthalate and high-density polyethylene bottles. The tokens give the poorer citizens the means to get out of the favelas to where the jobs are, while promoting cleanliness, frugality and the reclaiming and recycling of waste.
Paul Hawken - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte & Tim Clauss, Health Communications, Inc., 1996.
Nunca llueve a gusto de todos / One man's meat is another man's poison - Spanish Proverb

Thought 10FEB2010

TAKE A STAND
Jackie Robinson made history when he became the first black baseball player to break into the major leagues by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. Branch Rickey, owner of the Dodgers at that time, told Robinson, "It'll be tough. You're going to take abuse you never dreamed of. But if you're willing to try, I'll back you all the way." And Rickey was right. Jackie was abused verbally (not to mention physically by runners coming into second base). Racial slurs from the crowd and members of his own team, as well as from opponents, were standard fare.

One day, Robinson was having it particularly tough. He had booted two ground balls and the boos were cascading over the diamond. In full view of thousands of spectators, Pee Wee Reese, the team captain and Dodger shortstop, walked over and put his arm around Jackie right in the middle of the game. "That may have saved my career," Robinson reflected later. "Pee Wee made me feel that I belonged." Be sure that the employees of your team feel that they belong.
Denis Waitley - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte & Tim Clauss, Health Communications, Inc., 1996
Ley pareja no es dura / rigurosa / A rule isn't unfair if it applies to everyone - Spanish Proverb

Thought 09FEB2010

SPELLING BEE
In the fourth round of a national spelling bee in Washington, eleven-year-old Rosalie Elliot, a champion from South Carolina, was asked to spell the word avowal. Her soft Southern accent made it difficult for judges to determine if she had used an a or an e as the next to last letter of the word. They deliberated for several minutes and also listened to tape recording playbacks, but still they couldn't determine which letter had been pronounced. Finally the chief judge, John Lloyd, put the question to the only person who knew the answer. He asked Rosalie, "Was the letter an a or an e?"

Rosalie, surrounded by whispering young spellers, knew by now the correct spelling of the word. But without hesitation, she replied that she had misspelled the word and had used an e.

As she walked from the stage, the entire audience stood and applauded her honesty and integrity, including dozens of newspaper reporters covering the event, While Rosalie had not won the contest, she had definitely emerged a winner that day.
God's Little Devotional Book for Students - Honor Books - extracted from 'a 5th portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul', Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc., 1998
La compania en la miseria hace a esta mas llevadera / Two in distress makes sorrow less - Spanish Proverb

Thought 08FEB2010

START WITH YOURSELF
These words were written on the tomb of a Bishop in the crypts of Westminster Abbey

When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it too, seemed immovable. As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it. And now as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realized : If I had only changed my self first, then by example I would have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country and who knows, I may have even changed the world.
Anonymous - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Soul', Jack Cranfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc, 1993.
Palabras no sacan sangre / No offense taken when none is meant - Spanish Proverb

Thought 05FEB2010

THE HOME RUN
On June 18th, I went to my little brother's baseball game as I always did. Cory was 12 years old at the time and had been playing baseball for a couple of years. When I saw that he was warming up to be next at bat, I decided to head over to the dugout to give him a few pointers. But when I got there, I simply said, "I love you." In return he asked, "Does this mean you want me to hit a home run?" I smiled and said, "Do your best."

As he walked up to the plate, there was a certain aura about him. He looked so confident and so sure about what he was going to do. One swing was all he took and, wouldn't you know, he hit his first home run! He ran around those bases with such pride - his eyes sparkled and his face was lit up. But what touched my heart the most was when he walked back over to the dugout. He looked over at me with the biggest smile I've ever seen and said, "I love you too, Ter." I don't remember if his team won or lost that game. On that special summer day in June, it simply didn't matter.
Terri Vandermark - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997
Los mirones son de piedra / If you want to watch, you'd better keep quiet - Spanish Proverb

Thought 04FEB2010

I'D RATHER
I'd rather be a mother; Than anyone on earth
Bringing up a child or two; Of unpretentious birth
I'd rather nurse a rosy babe; With warm lips on my breast
Than wear a queen's medallion; Above a heart less blest.
I'd rather tuck a little child; All safe and sound in bed
Than twine a chain of diamonds; About my foolish head.
I'd rather wash a smudgy face; With round, bright baby eyes
Than paint the pageantry of fame; Or walk among the wise.
Meredith Gray - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne & Marci Shimoff, Health Communications, Inc., 1997
La comida, a reposar; y la cena a pasear / After dinner rest a while, after supper walk a mile - Spanish Proverb

Thought 03FEB2010

WHAT'S A GRANDMOTHER
A grandmother is a lady who has no children of her own. She likes other people's little girls and boys. A grandfather is a man grandmother. He goes for walks with the boys and they talk about fishing and stuff like that. Grandmothers don't have to do anything except to be there. They're so old that they shouldn't play hard or run. It is enough if they drive us to the market where the pretend horse is and have lots of dimes ready. Or if they take us for walks, they should slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars. They should never say "hurry up."

Usually, grandmothers are fat, but not too fat to tie your shoes. They wear glasses and funny underwear. They can take their teeth and gums off. Grandmothers don't have to be smart, only answer questions like, "Why isn't God married?" and "How come dogs chase cats?" Grandmothers don't talk baby talk like visitors do, because it is hard to understand. When they read to us they don't skip or mind if it is the same story over again. Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if they don't have a television, because they are the only grown-ups who have time.
Source unknown - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne and Marci Shimoff, Health Communications, Inc., 1997
En esta vida caduca el que no trabaja no manduca / No bees, no honey; no work, no money - Spanish Proverb

Thought 02FEB2010

ATTENTION TO DETAIL
Just before opening the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, Walt Disney was touring the ride and felt strangely dissatisfied. In his heart he felt that something was missing, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He gathered as many employees as he could find - including the maintenance and food service personnel - and led them through a kind of sensual "tour de focus." "Does it look right?" he asked. Yes, the costumes and shrubbery were authentic; the buildings had been copied from the New Orleans French Quarter, down to their intricate wrought-iron decorations. They all looked right.

"Does it sound right?" Disney had the latest in audio equipment installed to accurately reproduce the sounds of music, voices, boats and even animals that you'd associate with the Caribbean. Yes, it sounded right. "Does it feel right?" He had controlled the temperature and humidity to exactly that of a sultry New Orleans night. Yes, it felt right. "Does it smell right?" An elaborate, smell-producing system had been created that could combine the smells of Cajun food with gunpowder, moss and brine. Yes, it smelled right. And yet something was still missing. "What is it?" Disney asked.

Finally, one of the young men who had been sweeping the floors said, "Well, Mr Disney, I grew up in the South and what strikes me is that on a summer night like this, there ought to be lightning bugs." Disney's face lit up. That, of course was it! The young man was given a generous bonus and Disney actually had live lightning bugs shipped in until he could figure out a way to imitate them mechanically.
Bryan W Mattimore - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte & Tim Clauss, Health Communications, Inc., 1996.
Never give in! Never give in! Never, never, never, never - in nothing great or small, large or petty. Never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense - Winston Churchill