SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-A MORSEL OF HOPE
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by Steve Goodier
Jean Kerr said, "Hope is the feeling you have, that the feeling you have, isn't permanent." It is what we have when we know that we WILL eventually survive the night and bask in sunshine once again. It does not deny the present darkness, but it reminds us that dawn is coming.
Brigadier General Robinson Risner ("Robbie") spent seven years as a POW at the "Hanoi Hilton," as prisoners of war called their North Viet Nam compound. There he discovered the power of hope. He spent four and a half years of that time in isolation. He endured ten months of total darkness. Those months were the longest of his life. When they boarded up his little seven-by-seven foot cell, shutting out the light, he wondered if he was going to make it. He had already been under intense physical and mental duress after years of confinement. And now, not a glimmer of light shone into his cell -- or into his soul.
Robbie spent hours a day exercising and praying. But at times he felt he could nothing but scream. Not wanting to give his captors the satisfaction of knowing they'd broken him, he stuffed clothing into his mouth to muffle the noise as he screamed at the top of his lungs.
One day Robbie got down on the floor and crawled under his bunk. He located a vent that let in outside air. As he pressed against the vent, he saw a faint glimmer of light reflected on the inside wall of the opening. Robbie put his eye next to the cement wall and discovered a minute crack in the construction. It allowed him to glimpse outside, but was so small that all he could see was one blade of grass. A single blade of grass and a faint ray of light. But when he stared at the sight, he felt a surge of joy, excitement and gratitude like he hadn't known in years. "It represented life, growth, and freedom," he later said, "and I knew God had not forgotten me." It was that tiny glimmer of hope that sustained Robbie through an unbearable ordeal.
I am amazed at the strength of the human spirit. It seems to run forever on nothing but a morsel of hope. But it still must be fed.
I find myself busy keeping my body going - but I know it is just as important to feed my spirit. Even if all I have is a morsel of hope, for today that just may be enough.
And that's something to hang your hat on. |
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7/23/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-EVERYTHING COUNTS
by Steve Goodier
Early 20th Century African-American poet Countee Cullen spent the summer of his eighth year in Baltimore, Maryland. Shortly after he arrived he noticed a little white boy staring at him. Countee smiled, but the little boy did not smile back. Instead, he stuck out his tongue and called him a hurtful, racial slur.
Cullen later wrote a poem that included his recollection of the summer when he was eight. In it, he says this: >>Read more...
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7/22/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-THE FUNERAL
(submitted by Saundra Crawford-thanks!)
One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big sign on the door on which was written:
Yesterday, the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym.
In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who...>>Read more...
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7/21/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-ASSUME THE POSITIVE
Indra Nooyi -- PepsiCo's CEO, listed in Time's Top 100 influentials around the globe -- was recently asked by Fortune magazine: What was the best advice you ever got? She had a great response:
My father was an absolutely wonderful human being. From him I learned to always assume positive intent. Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent. You will be amazed at how your whole approach to a person or problem becomes very different. When you assume negative...>>Read more...
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7/18/08 SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-BOUND TO FORGIVE
Writer Norman Cousins said that life is an adventure in forgiveness. I think Fr. Lawrence Martin Jenco would agree. In 1984, Fr. Jenco traveled to Beirut, dedicated to help the poorest of the poor. On January 8, 1985, he was kidnapped by Shiite Muslim extremists and held hostage for 564 days. He endured imprisonment, beatings, illness and heartbreaking periods of sorrow and loneliness. Several years after his release, he wrote a book...Read More>>
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7/17/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-LIVING IN THE SAME BOX
by Steve Goodier
As we get ready for the latest installment of the Summer Olympics, I'm reminded of a story that is worth retelling.
It is 1936. American Jesse Owens seems sure to win the long-jump competition in the Olympic games. The previous year he had jumped 26 feet, 8 1/4 inches - a record that will stand for 25 years.
As he walks to the long-jump pit, however, Owens sees a tall, blue-eyed, blond German taking practice jumps in the...>>Read more...
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7/16/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-GETTING IT RIGHT
by Steve Goodier
A young boy was sitting in the back seat of the car eating an apple. He poked his father in the front seat and asked, "Daddy, why does my apple turn brown?" His father answered, "When the skin is removed from the apple, air reaches the flesh of the apple and causes oxidation. This changes the apple's molecular structure and results in a brownish color.
After a long pause, a small voice from the back seat asked,...>>Read more...
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7/15/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-LEWIS W. NAPPER?S "BILL OF NO RIGHTS"
From Snopes.com: The famed "Bill of No Rights" was written in 1993 by Lewis Napper, a self-described amateur philosopher from Mississippi who ran for a U.S. Senate seat in 2000 as a Libertarian. The "Bill" resonates with folks because it addresses a number of issues that have often led many of us to shake our heads in disbelief. This Bill of Rights parody strikes straight at the heart of the sense of entitlement so often displayed by those who feel the world owes them a...>>Read more...
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7/14/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-THE FORREST GUMP GUIDE TO BEING A SUCCES
From OnMakingMoney.com
Who taught Elvis how to dance, received the Congressional Medal of Honor, got Nixon impeached, became the world ping-pong champion, built a national shrimping empire, and fathered Haley Joel Osment? One man: Forrest Gump. Let’s listen to what he has to say, and translate his Gumpisms into advice that, if followed, will make you a much more successful moneymaker:
"And cause I was a gazillionaire, and I liked doin it so much, I...>>Read more...
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SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-A MONSTER TO HUG 7/3/08
One couple spent a holiday driving in the mountains. "Every time you race around one of those narrow curves," exclaimed the wife, "I just get terrified." "Then do what I do," suggested her husband. "Close your eyes!" We are all afraid at times, but closing our eyes may not be the best way through fear. I've found it better to open my eyes and try to experience those fears. Read More>>
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SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-YELLOW ROSES 7/2/08
I walked into the grocery store not particularly interested in buying groceries. I wasn't hungry. The pain of losing my husband of 57 years was still too raw. And this grocery store held so many sweet memories. He often came with me and almost every time he'd pretend to go off and look for something special. I knew what he was up to. I'd always spot him walking down the aisle with the three yellow roses in his hands. He knew I loved yellow roses. Read more>>
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