SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-PAINTED WITH A DIFFERENT BRUSH
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by Steve Goodier
One man who loved the color yellow had yellow carpet, yellow furniture, yellow drapes, yellow walls and even yellow appliances in his yellow kitchen. He slept in a yellow bed with yellow covers and wore yellow pajamas. He got sick. You guessed it ... yellow jaundice.
He called a doctor who came to his apartment building. The manager told him he'd have no trouble finding the right one. "You just go down the hall and come to a yellow door," he said. "That's the one."
In a few moments the doctor was back. The apartment manager asked, "Were you able to help him?"
The doctor replied, "Help him! I couldn't even FIND him!"
It's not a good idea to blend too closely with your surroundings.
I think of that story when I hear stories like this newspaper account: A Miami mother came to police and spilled out cash and coins totaling $19.53. A young boy turned in 85 cents. After two days, they were the only people to return money scooped up from an armored truck that toppled on an overpass and rained more than half a million dollars onto the street below. Police said that witnesses reported seeing rush-hour commuters loading money into their cars and driving off while two Brinks workers lay bleeding. Police had pleaded with residents to return the money, but got nothing but laughter until a mother and a boy came in.
In a world that seemed to think alike, two people had a different idea. They were not painted with the same brush as everyone else. "I have children and I needed to set a good example," said the mother of six, who could have used a little extra cash to supplement her low retail store wage. She chose not to blend in too closely.
Most people talk about values - what we believe to be right and wrong. But whether or not we realize it, we all LIVE our true values. It is our actions, more than our words, that will show what we truly believe.
An 11-year-old boy who turned in 85 cents because he felt "it was wrong for me to keep anything," stood out from the crowd. And a mother who wanted to teach her children to do the right thing set an example they will never forget. Like Ruth E. Renkel says, "Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritances." If her children inherit her values, anything else is just money.
Paint them fortunate.
And that's something you can hang your hat on.
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5/13/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ONIF I HAD MY LIFE TO DO OVER
by Erma Bombeck
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would have gone into a holding pattern if I weren't there for a day.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would have sat in the grass with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life....>>Read more...
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5/12/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-THE PARENT TESTS
You're not ready to be a parent unless you can pass the following tests:
Mess test -- Smear peanut butter on the sofa and curtains. Now rub your hands in a wet flower bed and rub on the walls. Cover the stains with crayons. Place a fish stick behind the couch and leave it there all summer.
Toy test -- Obtain a 55-gallon box of Legos. (If Legos are not available, you may substitute roofing tacks) Have a friend spread them all over the house. Put on a...
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5/9/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-MOTHER
This is a truly BEAUTIFUL piece. For those of us lucky to still be blessed with our Mom, this is beautiful. For those of us who aren't, this is even more beautiful. For those who are moms, you'll love this.
The young mother set her foot on the path of life. 'Is this the long way?' she asked. And the guide said: 'Yes, and the way is hard And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning.'
But the young...>>Read more...
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5/8/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-SOMEBODY ISN'T A MOM
Somebody said a mother is an unskilled laborer ... somebody never gave a squirmy infant a bath.
Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby ... somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, normal is history.
Somebody said a mother's job consists of wiping noses and changing diapers ... somebody doesn't know that a child is much more than the shell he lives in.
Somebody said you learn how to be a...>>Read more...
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5/6/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-ONE FOR MOM
This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, 'It's alright honey, Mommy's here.' Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies
who can't be comforted.
This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse. For all the mothers...>>Read more...
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5/5/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-A DREAM THAT WILL CATCH YOUR HEART
by Steve Goodier
That all-too-quotable Yogi Berra once said, "If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else." There is something to be said for knowing where you're going. But even if you know where you want to end up, do you REALLY WANT to go there? Is the dream you are following IMPORTANT to you?
Motivator Tony Robbins says, "People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals -- that is, goals that do not inspire...>>Read more...
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5/2/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-PAINTED WITH A DIFFERENT BRUSH
by Steve Goodier
One man who loved the color yellow had yellow carpet, yellow furniture, yellow drapes, yellow walls and even yellow appliances in his yellow kitchen. He slept in a yellow bed with yellow covers and wore yellow pajamas. He got sick. You guessed it ... yellow jaundice.
He called a doctor who came to his apartment building. The manager told him he'd have no trouble finding the right one. "You just go down the hall and come to a yellow...>>Read more...
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5/1/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-THE RULES OF LIFE
(submitted by Bessie Bent-thanks!)
Got something in the email box today from Miss Bessie who send me great stuff all the time. It's a list that's been floating around the 'net for a couple of years and is usually falsely attributed to Bill Gates-supposedly from a speech he gave at a California High School. I've also seen it credited to Kurt Vonnegut, the award winning author. This is not true either. Ok, that ends the preface of today's message solely...>>Read more...
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4/30/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-SITTING ON YOUR TALENT
If you are like me, there are some things you may feel you do pretty well, and others that you would not admit to having done even at gunpoint! Please don't expect anything I build with my hands to remain standing past sundown, or anything I attempt to repair to ever stay fixed after I leave the room. And if my cars relied solely on me to keep them going, I would walk most everywhere I go.
On the other hand, I do play golf adequately, still have a decent jump shot, and I...>>Read more...
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4/29/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-JOY ALONG THE WAY
by Steve Goodier
A senator once took Will Rogers to the White House to meet President Coolidge. He warned the humorist that Coolidge never smiled. Rogers replied, "I'll make him smile." Inside the Oval Office, the senator introduced the two men.
"Will Rogers," he said, "I'd like you to meet President Coolidge."
Deadpan, Rogers quipped, "I'm sorry, but I didn't catch the name."
Coolidge...>>Read more...
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