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, "Daddy, are you talking to me?"
I know how that boy feels. Sometimes I want answers to some of those confusing problems we all run up against. I want someone to explain how to get through difficult times or tell me what to do in a tough situation. I just want to get it right.
But I think I identify a bit more with the father whose daughter asked him if he would help her with some homework.
"I'm sorry," he replied. "It wouldn't be right."
"Well," she said, "at least you could try."
Problem is, I don't always have the answers I need. And nobody else seems too, either. So I blunder ahead worried that I'll never get it "right."
But I'm beginning to learn something about not knowing what to do and making a poor choice. That is -- I don't HAVE TO always get it right. I don't have to always know what to do all the time. All I really need to do is try my best, learn from the mistakes and go on.
The affable Dr. Leo Buscaglia once said, "No one gets out of this world alive, so the time to live, learn, care, share, celebrate, and love is now." Which is pretty hard to do when you're waiting for the answers first.
So you got it wrong. You made a mistake. So what? Forgive yourself and try again. Even if you don't get out of this world alive, you can get plenty of life out of this world if you're not too worried about always getting it right.
And that's something to hang your hat on.
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I am impressed by an incident that happened during Ignacy Paderewski's (November 18, 1860 - June 29, 1941) career. The famous Polish pianist agreed to play a concert organized by two Stanford University students working their way through school. Paderewski's manager said they would have to guarantee the artist a fee of $2,000. The boys agreed and eventually the concert was held.
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From time to time, she would take her eyes off the book and reach up to touch his wrinkled cheek. She was alternately stroking her own cheek, then his again.
Finally she spoke up, "Grandpa, did God make you?"
"Yes, sweetheart," he answered, "God made me a long time ago."
8/25/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-THE OLD PHONE When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.
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8/22/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-A TOUCHING MOMENT Did you meet a friend for lunch? According to "The Farmer's Almanac," if you are American you probably touched each other twice an hour. If you are English, you may not touch each other at all. If you are French, you might touch each other 110 times an hour, and if you are Puerto Rican, you just might touch each other 180 times an hour.
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One man said of his marriage, "I very distinctly remember my wedding day. As we unloaded the moving van into our little house, I said, 'Darling, this is your and my little world.'"
"And I suppose," wondered his friend, "that you've lived happily ever after?"
"We've been fighting for the world's championship ever since," he said.
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You heard about the sign posted on a rancher's fence? On the other side of the fence resides the biggest, meanest looking bull you can imagine. The sign is intended to strike fear into the hearts of would-be trespassers. It reads: "Don't attempt to cross this field unless you can do it in 9.9 seconds. The bull can do it in 10 flat!"
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8/18/08 - SOMETHING TO HANG YOUR HAT ON-HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the...>>Read more...
Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, at this point, is 6 for 6 for 6: 6 events, 6 gold medals, 6 world records set. If tonight, he doesn't win his 7th, will he NOT be a success?
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This world seems to be full of talent. I've never felt as if much of it has come my way, so I appreciate this story.
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