A Thousand Copies of Thesaurus's . . .

A truck with thousands of copies of thesaurus’s crashed, 

losing its load.

Stunned witnesses were startled, 

aghast, taken aback, stupefied, confused, 

shocked, rattled, paralyzed, dazed, bewildered, 

mixed up, surprised, awed, dumbfounded, nonplussed, flabbergasted, astounded, amazed, confounded, 

astonished, overwhelmed, horrified, numbed, 

speechless, and perplexed.

 

She Didn't Like To Read . . . So She Became An Author!

 
At six years old, little Beverly was put on academic probation after first grade. Her biggest problem was reading. The assigned books were all boring educational stories about polite children. It was thanks to a school librarian's friendly encouragement that the girl finally liked to read.

After college, Beverly began working as a children’s librarian. She still found children's books boring. Dick and Jane weren't at all like lively, curious, funny, angry, unruly real kids.

So Beverly Cleary became an author herself. She wrote Ramona the Pest, Henry Huggins, Ribsy, The Mouse and the Motorcycle --more than 40 books in all. Her books won dozens of awards, sold more than 90 million copies, and are still beloved today.

Not bad for the little girl who didn't like to read.

Cleary as a senior at the University of California, Berkeley, 1938

Find Beverly Cleary on Wikipedia

Cleary in 1971

She married Clarence Cleary in 1940

Cleary’s husband  died in 2004.

She celebrated her 100th birthday on April 12, 2016.

On March 25, 2021, Cleary died at her retirement home in

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, aged 104.

Below from the website  -  BookSeriesInOrder.com

Beverly Cleary Books In Publishing Order

Henry Huggins Series
Henry Huggins(1950)
Henry and Beezus(1952)
Henry and Ribsy(1953)
Henry and the Paper Route(1957)
Henry and the Clubhouse(1962)
Ribsy(1964)

Ellen & Otis Series
Ellen Tebbits(1951)
Otis Spofford(1953)

Ramona Quimby Series
Beezus and Ramona(1955)
Ramona the Pest(1968)
Ramona the Brave(1975)
Ramona and Her Father(1977)
Ramona and Her Mother(1979)
Ramona Quimby, Age 8(1981)
Ramona Forever(1984)
Ramona's World(1999)

Ramona Quimby Non-Fiction Books
The Beezus and Ramona Diary(1986)
Just for Me(2013)

First Love Series
Fifteen(1956)
The Luckiest Girl(1958)
Jean and Johnny(1959)
Sister of the Bride(1963)

Ralph S. Mouse Series
The Mouse and the Motorcycle(1965)
Runaway Ralph(1970)
Ralph S. Mouse(1982)

Leigh Botts Series
Dear Mr. Henshaw(1983)
Strider(1991)

Standalone Novels
Beaver and Wally(1961)
Emily's Runaway Imagination(1961)
Here's Beaver!(1961)
Ribsy and the P.T.A.(1963)
Mitch and Amy(1967)
Socks(1973)
Leave It to Beaver(1978)
Young Love(1982)
Lucky Chuck(1984)
Here Come The Twins(1989)
The Twins Again(1989)
Mouse House Trio(1989)
Muggie Maggie(1990)

Publication Order of Short Story Collections
Two Times the Fun(2005)

Publication Order of Picture Books
The Hullabaloo ABC(1960)
The Real Hole(1960)
Two Dog Biscuits(1986)
Janet's Thingamajigs(1987)
The Growing-Up Feet(1987)
Petey's Bedtime Story(1993)

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
A Girl from Yamhill(1988)
My Own Two Feet(1995)

Avon Camelot Books
My Own Two Feet(1995)

BEST ACCEPTANCE SPEECH EVER!!

 THE EMMY'S 

Fred Rogers Accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 24th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards. (1997)

Throughout his career Fred Rogers, both on television and off, emphasized the importance of creating a peaceful environment, and world where all children could grow and learn. "Our goal as a nation must be to make sure that no child is denied the chance to grow in knowledge and character from their very first years," Rogers said at a White House gathering for Early Childhood Initiative, a program for promoting literacy.

"In Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, every child is welcome into the world of learning -- not just a few, not just ones from certain neighborhoods, but every child."

Rogers was the recipient of two Peabody Awards, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, and four Emmy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was bestowed to him in 1997. Rogers, known for always taking the time to remember, reminded the audience that night that thoughtful expression should be followed by thoughtful reflection. As a reminder, below is Mr. Rogers' acceptance speech.

"So many people have helped me to come here to this night. Some of you are here, some are far away and some are even in Heaven. All of us have special ones who loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, 10 seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are, those who cared about you and wanted what was best for you in life. 10 seconds, I'll watch the time. Whomever you've been thinking about, how pleased they must be to know the difference you feel they have made. You know they're kind of people television does well to offer our world. Special thanks to my family, my friends, and my co-workers in Public Broadcasting and Family Communications, and to this Academy for encouraging me, allowing me, all these years to be your neighbor. May God be with you. Thank you very much."

A library of an astonishing 900 Mister Rogers' Neighborhood episodes will continue to be available for broadcast on PBS stations around the country.

THE HUSBAND STORE!!!

 

Really Easy Cute/Beautiful Christmas Craft Ideas

 I found this on Instagram, and I soooo wish I could have found it on youtube so you could just click on the video - but I looked and there are A LOT of them!

But I liked this on the most - so pretty and easy, too.

SUPER DUPER EASY FLOWER

Of course can use any occasion napkins and/or paper

Click here for video

Toilet paper roll SNOWFLAKE

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

SUPER DUPER SUPER EASY

STAR

Click Here For Video

Easy Origami Ornament

CLICK HERE

  

   

EASU DIY Advent Calendar

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

BRAIN TEASERS - Can YOU Figure Them Out?

Brain Games, Fun and Laughter!

The Ezz Show

Here are just a couple of videos from his page - 

and there are many more!!

See if YOU can figure them out first . . . 

You can also find him on Instagram

Choose Your Friends Discerningly - Wise Counsel From A Wise Grandma!!

 

ALL THOSE NUMBERS - What Is Behind the Numbering of US INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS

Pay Attention!!

This is explained very well,

but it goes fast!!

Here's another one

 

Earth Is Made Into 24 Time Zones - Explained

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - Fun Music to Share

 Here are some "music videos" from Instagram to share with your favorite people on their birthdays!

The candles light up as the ball hits them.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6_aZS4L5Bo/?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng%3D%3D

Two balls making music with lots of fun party stuff to see

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0tS9o8q28n/?igsh=ZDBjMWI0ZjMxOQ%3D%3D

And just a plain one!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1zI4kxI1Os/?igsh=ZDBjMWI0ZjMxOQ%3D%3D

Phone Addiction and How it Impacts Our Relationships

Most people are prisoners of their phones;

that’s why they’re called ‘’cell’’ phones.

 

Squirrel Faked His Own Death, and Created A Whole Crime Scene - UNBELIEVABLE!!

 

YES! This IS THE BEST Wedding Speech Made By A Dad, By Far!!

JUSTICE - It DOES Concern you!!

 

Finding Your Own HAPPINESS!!

Wonderful story below - watch a fellow share how this story changed his entire outlook on happiness -

A teacher asked her students to write their names on balloons and release them into the room.

She then asked them to find the balloon with their name on it, but none of them could.

She then asked them to take the first balloon they found and give it to the person whose name was on it. They completed the task in seconds.

The teacher concluded:

The balloons represent your happiness. Search for your own happiness and you may not find it, but help others find theirs, and you will find yours too.

Same video on instagram

TV Turns To Color TV For First Time

WMT-TV Goes to Color for 1st time

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Social Media Comments:

Neil deGrasse Tyson - American astrophysicist and writer - talks about how things used to be - posted on Instagram:

Click Here

AI - Taking Over Your Child's Life . . . ???

 Social Media Scare for Parents, Children, Grandparents . . . 

I first saw this on instagram - here are some of the comments from that post:

shereerainbolt

Big Tech in close partnership with big government has been doing this for a long time long before there was any indication that they would use it for evil. In fact, they promised us they would not use it for evil, but they did and they still are, and they will continue. But they will blame parents and friends, and even the victim themselves for being careless and reckless Online. This is the frosting on the devil’s cake. everyone trusted tech and gov when they assured us that our privacy mattered and our content was protected. It never was. They lied and now they will point the finger at parents and friends and the victims themselves. This is absolutely the height of the most evil.

iam_ayushw_2005 
But the today's generation didn't even hesitate to upload their photos on social media, specially girls....if you have trust on your followers likes your friends and relatives so make your account private 🙄....AI is already Dangerous

Best Trick of His Career!!

 INCREDIBLE!!

Click Here

From Everydays Posts

breathe . . . Just Let Me Breath . . .

breathe by Becky Hemsley

She sat at the back and they said she was shy,
She led from the front and they hated her pride.
They asked her advice and then questioned her guidance,
They branded her loud, then were shocked by her silence.

When she shared no ambition they said it was sad,
So she told them her dreams and they said she was mad.
They told her they’d listen, then covered their ears,
And gave her a hug while they laughed at her fears.

And she listened to all of it thinking she should,
Be the girl they told her to be best as she could.
But one day she asked what was best for herself,
Instead of trying to please everyone else.

So she walked to the forest and stood with the trees,
She heard the wind whisper and dance with the leaves.
She spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine,
And she told them what she’d been told time after time.

She told them she felt she was never enough,
She was either too little or far far too much.
Too loud or too quiet, too fierce or too weak,
Too wise or too foolish, too bold or too meek.

Then she found a small clearing surrounded by firs,
And she stopped…and she heard what the trees said to her.
And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave,
For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe`.

~ Becky Hemsley ~

Gal reads poem on instagram, if you'd like to listen to the poem.

"This Is My Story . . . "

Incredible story of a random shooting - shot 8 times! And he LIVED!!
If it doesn't come right up, scroll down and find the title on the lower left hand side -
"This Is My Story" - he tells you the whole incredible experience!!

Click Here to see the post on youtube dated Feburary 14, 2024

Click Here to see post on Instagram dated June 17, 2024

marcusastanley youtube account

marcusastanley Instantagram Account

THAT Explains It!!!!

 

The Illusion Of All Illusions - Can YOU see?

This is called 

The Coffer Illusion

In this image there are 16 circles

Can you find them?

The Coffer Illusion is a fascinating example of a visual phenomenon where the observer's perception alternates between seeing shapes and not seeing them.

In this specific illusion, the image contains 16 circles, which are often not immediately noticeable.

This occurs because the human brain is more attuned to processing straight lies and angles in this context, rather than curves or circles.  As a result, the circles, which are formed by the arrangement of other shapes and lines, become "Hidden in Plain Sight".

The Coffer Illusion highlights the complex ways in which our visual system interprets and organizes visual information, demonstrating how easily our perception can be deceived by clever arrangement of simple geometric shapes.

Here's a hint:

Once you see it, you can't unsee.
Concentrate on the Vertical lines between the boxes, the circle is in the center of those lines.

I could not see the circles until I enlarged the photo!

This came from instagram page: howeverythingworks   on May 29, 2024

"Gathering Courage Every Single Day"

When you learn that it's about what's inside of you, 

instead of what's outside of you, 

THEN YOU'VE GOT POWER"!!

Strength is not on the outside.

When you have strength in here, 

that's when you've got the power.

 

Meryl Streep Shares "A Momentous Moment"

This is me coming home from an audition for King Kong where I was told I was too 'ugly' for the role. It was a momentous moment for me.

That ill-intentioned opinion could have shattered my dreams of becoming an actress or forced me to pull myself together and believe in myself.

I took a breath and said, 'I'm sorry you think I'm too ugly for your movie but yours is just an opinion out of thousands.'

To this day, I have 18 Oscar nominations.

- Meryl Streep

Riddle of the Month

 

Ready for a tidal wave of confusion?

Use your super sleuth skills to solve the viral

"There's a woman in a boat" riddle.

Our phones offer endless forms of entertainment and education, and what better way to fill a few minutes of free time and exercise your brain than a simple riddle? There’s one viral brain teaser that has people staring blankly at their screens wondering if they need a second cup of coffee to activate those cognitive skills. The viral “There’s a woman in a boat” riddle is a popular puzzle that has people who can typically solve hard riddles super stumped.

Unlike many riddles that challenge your smarts, this head-scratcher becomes a bit more simple when you see that the answer is in the riddle. While some riddles (like “If I had four eggs…”) test your math skills, the “There’s a woman in a boat” riddle is more of a mystery to your cranium’s creativity. Good luck!

There is a woman in a boat, on a lake, wearing a coat. If you want to know her name, it’s in the riddle I just wrote. What’s her name?

The Hint
Read the riddle a few times, and the answer will appear. It’s not a long riddle, so you can look at it in small parts. Focus on the beginning of the riddle. Don’t overthink the teaser. The woman’s name is not a common one and could be replaced with your name or your best friend’s name.

The Answer
“There” is the woman’s name.
“There’s a woman in a boat” riddle revealed

The Viral
“There’s a woman in a boat” riddle achieves the primary goal of a good short riddle: It leaves you confused and hunting for the solution in places that take you further away from the answer. While “There” is not a traditional moniker, it serves the purpose of having you swimming for answers in faraway waters. Once you figure out the riddle, it seems super silly, but you’ll probably ask a few friends to try to solve it.

Did you enjoy this riddle? If so, you’ll love our other viral riddles and brain teasers. And if you really want to give your brain a workout, try our more challenging riddles.

See original from Reader's Digest HERE

Riddle of the Month!

TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT BEFORE YOU READ BELOW!!!

This is a deceptively tricky riddle! 

If your first thought was that Mr. Smith has eight children, you’re not alone. Lots of people think that each daughter has one brother, making four daughters and four brothers, which equals eight children. 

But nope, that’s not right! 

The riddle seems like a math test on the surface, but it’s actually all about reading comprehension.

The answer to the riddle is … five. 

Mr. Smith has five children. Each of his daughters has a brother, but they all share the same brother. Therefore, four daughters plus one brother equals five children in total. Grammar nerds might have gotten this one right before math lovers!

Of course, it’s called the “Mr. Smith had four daughters” riddle, so you could interpret that past tense “had” in two ways: 

First, that Mr. Smith had four daughters—i.e., that four daughters were born to him. 

Or you could read it to mean that Mr. Smith used to have four daughters, they all died, in which case the answer to how many children he had might be one.

However, the more commonly accepted interpretation is the first one: that Mr. Smith has four daughters and one son, making five children in total.

From Reader's Digest - original HERE

I Gave You My All

By Joanne Boyle

I gave you my eyes, 

so that you can see,

that each piece of you,

is a piece of me.

I gave you my heart,

so that you can know.

I am with you,

wherever you go.

I gave you my voice,

so that you can speak,

and say how you feel

each day of the week.

I gave you all of my pieces,

but you fill each hole.

You are My Child.

My Heart and Soul.

You can find the author

HERE

PAUL HARVEY'S LETTER TO HIS GRANDCHILDREN

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I'd like better.

I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would.

I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.

I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.

And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.

It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him.

When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.

On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.

If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.

I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.

When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.

I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy / girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it... And if a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he/she is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle.

May you feel sorrow at a funeral and joy during the holidays.

I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.

These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

Are YOU AN ISFJ?

The Visitor

 by Ken Merrell

When I was 18, as I was preparing to serve a mission for my church, my bishop called me to teach the 3 year old class. I had never before learned to love others more than myself until I had served those children in such a simple assignment. With time and patience I learned how to keep those seven children in their seats and listening to a simple lesson.

One day I invited Mike to come to church and sit in my class. Mike was my age but had stopped attending church completely by the time he was 12. We had remained friends over the years as I had served as a helper for the kids my age.  He had been the topic of many fellowshipping discussions and was often part of my prayers as the years had passed. Once in a while Mike would accept my invitations to come to an activity. It always surprised me when he did, so I kept inviting him.

At that time, Mike had long, black hair and a beard. His complexion was dark and pleasant. I don’t remember when I invited him to my Primary class, but one day he showed up.

“Class, I would like to introduce you to my friend Mike,” is how I began my lesson. “He is visiting us today.”

Mike sat next to me in front. The children sat in a semicircle with their eyes fixed on him. They were much quieter than usual. I was about five or six minutes into the lesson when one little boy got up from his chair and walked across the room and stood directly in front of my friend. The boy paused for a moment and then climbed onto his lap. I continued with the lesson as I watched the two of them from the corner of my eye.

The boy sat looking into Mike’s face. Mike was quite uncomfortable but did not interrupt the lesson or turn the boy away. The other children watched the two of them for a few minutes.

Then one of the girls climbed off her seat and approached Mike. I was intently interested in seeing how Mike would react and did not want to instruct the two children to return to their seats. The girl stood with her hand on Mike’s knee looking into his face.

Then it happened. The boy on Mike’s lap reached up with both hands and turned Mike’s face directly to his. I stopped my lesson to see what was about to unfold.

With the innocence of a child, he said to Mike, “Are you Jesus?”

The look on Mike’s face was total surprise. It seemed, as I glanced at the children’s faces, they all had the same question on their minds.

Mike looked at me as if to say, Help, what do I say?

I stepped in. “No, this is not Jesus. This is His brother.”

Mike looked at me as if in shock.

Then without hesitation the boy in Mike’s lap reached up and wrapped his arms around Mike’s neck. “I can tell,” the boy said as he hugged Mike.

The rest of the children smiled and nodded in agreement as their simple question was answered. Mike blinked back the tears in response to the love he felt from this small child. The lesson went on, but that day the teacher who taught the most was a three-year-old child.

Mike spent more than a year getting ready to serve a mission. It thrilled me to learn that he left for the mission field a few months before I returned. I still think of the scripture in Matthew 18:5: 

“And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.”

This story is slightly modified - find original story HERE

May 2000

Incredible Clouds Like You've Never Seen Before!!

 See original website HERE

One More!

"Time Does NOT Change the Way of Loving"

“Your grandfather proposed to me with a piece of candy. We had nothing, he knelt down and told me: I have nothing now, just a piece of candy, but if you want we can build everything together".

And you? I opened the candy, divided it in two and we ate it. From that moment we divided and shared everything. We fell, we got up and we build.

All together. We have experienced difficult moments, tiredness, but we have always been there for each other. Until the last breath.

Other times, Grandma.

Time does not change the way of loving.

What has changed is that you no longer have beautiful examples to follow.

Now they are afraid of everything. They do not marry for fear of not being able to build. As soon as they fight, they leave because then they think they are going to find a better one. They always look for perfection, as if it existed.

They miss the perception of reality. Of happiness in the little things.

They do this big demo, thousand-dollar rings, over-the-top video for marriage proposals, and then they miss the moment. That intimate thing that you keep in two, only in two for a lifetime.

This is what they lack. The courage to live life and love for what they are and not for how they imagine it.

With a candy, love and courage, you have for a life together.”

My Name Is Tomorrow

My name is Tomorrow "not my real name", I own a company, none of my staff knew me as the owner except the Manager and the Secretary. 

(I had told them not to disclose my identity).


I don't usually go for a visit. 

One day, I visited the company and I saw my ex wife, who had thrown me out of my own house. I asked the Manager and he said she is one of their staff. I instructed the Manager to promote her to Personnel Officer, gave her a car, a bungalow, garden boy, security and other emoluments. An undeserved position though, of which he did. 

A month later, I went there as a job seeker. As soon as she saw me with my application and CV, she rejected me outright, threw my application at my face, and immediately retrieved it from the floor and tore it to pieces and threw it into the waste bin. After regaling me with all my past, she informed me I would never get employment nor an opportunity at the company. Also, she swore on heaven and the earth that all this would happen. She boldly declared that the only way I’d get employment at the company was over her cold dead body. 

I came the following day with another application and went on my knees to beg her, but she refused and spat into the waste bin and said even if I was the only bridge to cross to come to work, she would opt for a boat and called the security men to throw me out, so I left. 

One day, I went to the company in my real identity and entered her office with the Manager who introduced me to her, she quickly knelt down crying and begging me, "the proposed rejected bridge.” She informed me that her entire family depended on her for survival. If her employment was terminated, she added, life would be absolutely horrendous not only for her but also her entire family. She even promised to remarry me. We both stood there motionless and speechless which left the Manager befuddled. 

Many things started racing in my head. 

Should I call for the police? Should I strip her of her current position to her former position? Should I cancel the unqualified benefits given to her? Should I accept such a woman back? 

I'm still standing at her office indecisive. 

If you were in my shoes, what would you do? 

THERE IS TOMORROW 

Whenever you are dealing with people, you must always remember that there is tomorrow and you might need them tomorrow. You may end up needing help from the people who are asking for your help today, so help as much as you can. 

Life is like a moving wheel, sometimes you are up and sometimes you are down. Sometimes we destroy the bridges that we might need to help us cross back tomorrow. Sometimes we treat people as though there is never going to be tomorrow. We sometimes act as though we will never need help from anyone. 

Remember there's tomorrow.

Message of the Day - Stay Strong My Friends

 

Do Not Lose Your Good Heart . . .

 A man saw a snake being burned to death and decided to take it out of the fire. When he did, the snake bit him causing excruciating pain. The man dropped the snake, and the reptile fell right back into the fire.

So, the man looked around and found a metal pole and used it to take the snake out of the fire, saving its life.

Someone who was watching approached the man and said: “That snake bit you. Why are you still trying to save it?”

The man replied: “The nature of the snake is to bite, but that's not going to change my nature, which is to help.”

Do not change your nature simply because someone harms you. Do not lose your good heart, but learn to take precautions

Things We Say Today, Which We Owe To SHAKESPEAR:

 I hope all this is true?!

Wow!  I had no idea!!

It is truly amazing - I've heard all of these!!

That's a LONG time for words to stay!!

Compiled by adgrayvisions

Old Eddie - "A Funny Old Duck"??

Capt. E.V. “Eddie” Rickenbacker wearing the

Congressional Medal of Honor. 

(U.S. Air Force photo)

It happened every Friday evening, almost without fail, when the sun resembled a giant orange and was starting to dip into the blue ocean.

Old Ed came strolling along the beach to his favorite pier. Clutched in his bony hand was a bucket of shrimp. Ed walks out to the end of the pier, where it seems he almost has the world to himself. The glow of the sun is a golden bronze now.

Everybody's gone, except for a few joggers on the beach. Standing out on the end of the pier, Ed is alone with his thoughts...and his bucket of shrimp.

Before long, however, he is no longer alone. Up in the sky a thousand white dots come screeching and squawking, winging their way toward that lanky frame standing there on the end of the pier. Before long, dozens of seagulls enveloped him, their wings fluttering and flapping wildly.

Ed stands there tossing shrimp to the hungry birds. As he does, if you listen closely, you can hear him say with a smile, 'Thank you. Thank you.'

In a few short minutes the bucket is empty. But Ed doesn't leave. He stands there lost in thought, as though transported to another time and place .

When he finally turns around and begins to walk back toward the beach, a few of the birds hop along the pier with him until he gets to the stairs, and then they, too, fly away.

And old Ed quietly makes his way down to the end of the beach and on home.

If you were sitting there on the pier with your fishing line in the water, Ed might seem like 'a funny old duck,' as my dad used to say. Or, to onlookers, he's just another old codger, lost in his own weird world, feeding the seagulls with a bucket full of shrimp. To the onlooker, rituals can look either very strange or very empty. They can seem altogether unimportant .....maybe even a lot of nonsense.

Old folks often do strange things, at least in the eyes of Boomers and Millennials. Most of them would probably write Old Ed off, down there in Florida ... That's too bad. They'd do well to know him better.

His full name: Eddie Rickenbacker. He was a famous hero in World War I, and then he was in WWII.

On one of his flying missions across the Pacific, he and his seven-member crew went down. Miraculously, all of the men survived, crawled out of their plane, and climbed into a life raft.

Captain Rickenbacker and his crew floated for days on the rough waters of the Pacific. They fought the sun. They fought sharks. Most of all, they fought hunger and thirst. By the eighth day their rations ran out. No food. No water. They were hundreds of miles from land and no one knew where they were or even if they were alive.

Every day across America millions wondered and prayed that Eddie Rickenbacker might somehow be found alive. The men adrift needed a miracle. That afternoon they had a simple devotional service and prayed for a miracle.

They tried to nap. Eddie leaned back and pulled his military cap over his nose. Time dragged on. All he could hear was the slap of the waves against the raft...suddenly Eddie felt something land on the top of his cap. It was a seagull!

Old Ed would later describe how he sat perfectly still, planning his next move. With a flash of his hand and a squawk from the gull, he managed to grab it and wring its neck. He tore the feathers off, and he and his starving crew made a meal of it - a very slight meal for eight men.

Then they used the intestines for bait. With it, they caught fish, which gave them food and more bait....and the cycle continued. With that simple survival technique, they were able to endure the rigors of the sea until they were found and rescued after 24 days at sea.

Eddie Rickenbacker lived many years beyond that ordeal, but he never forgot the sacrifice of that first life-saving seagull... And he never stopped saying, 'Thank you.'

That's why almost every Friday night he would walk to the end of the pier with a bucket full of shrimp and a heart full of gratitude.

Reference: (Max Lucado, "In The Eye of the Storm", pp...221, 225-226)

PS: Eddie Rickenbacker was the founder of Eastern Airlines. Before WWI he was race car driver. In WWI he was a pilot and became America's first ace. In WWII he was an instructor and military adviser, and he flew missions with the combat pilots. Eddie Rickenbacker is a true American hero. And now you know another story about the trials and sacrifices that brave men have endured for your freedom.

As you can see, I chose to pass this story along as it was passed to me from my father. It is a great story that many don't know...I think it exemplifies a couple of life's lessons to be remembered. You've got to be careful with old guys, you just never know what they have done during their lifetime. It also speaks to me about how we never know what we adversity we might face, but when we put our talent both mentally and physically together, we can overcome, but we must never forget what we learned and to remember to thank those that helped pull us through even if it was as something seemingly meaningless as a seagull and to pay it forward.

WIKIPEDIA

What Color Are you TODAY??!!

 This was written by a Black Gentleman in Texas and is so funny. What a great sense of humor and creativity!!!

 

When I born, I BLACK,

 When I grow up, I BLACK,

 When I go in sun, I BLACK,

 When I cold, I BLACK,

 When I scared, I BLACK,

 When I sick, I BLACK,

 And when I die, I still BLACK.

 

You white folks....

 When you born, you PINK,

 When you grow up, you WHITE,

 When you go in sun, you RED,

 When you cold, you BLUE,

 When you scared, you YELLOW,

 When you sick, you GREEN,

 When you bruised, you PURPLE ,

 And when you die, you GRAY.

 So who you callin' colored folks?