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BRAINS AND BRAWN
by Roger Dean Kiser
It seemed strange that those of us from the orphanage were always the
last to be picked when it came to any type of a game at school.
Baseball, football and even dodge-ball. It didn''t seem to make a
difference if we were tall or short, thin or fat or fast or slow. The fact
that we came from the orphanage appeared to be all that mattered to those
who did the choosing.
I am not sure what came over me the day that the teacher picked me to
be one of the captains of the dodge-ball team. I was rather shocked as
even the teacher treated us as though we were different from the other
kids.
This time my team was going to win. I knew who was the fastest and I
knew who had the best aim. This was the day that I was going to become the
winner.
As we gathered in a group on the school ground, the teacher flipped a
coin to see who would be the first to pick.
"Heads!" yelled out Mrs. Cherry, my fourth grade teacher.
I smiled as I was the one who had picked heads. I am not sure what
came over me at that moment. Winning the game did not seem to be so
important to me now. I looked around the large group of boys and my eyes
stopped at Jeffrey. He was slow and he weighed a whopping 98 pounds.
"JEFFREY," I yelled out, as I pointed at him.
He looked up in total shock as he began to move his massive body toward me.
"You picked me?" he asked.
I reached over and I patted him on the back.
My next pick was Leonard. He was a small boy who wore black, thick
rimmed glasses and he never combed his hair. He was the quiet type and he
was not liked by very many of the popular kids. He was without a doubt the
brain of the class.
The remainder of my picks were kids that I knew from the orphanage.
Or, kids who were always the last to be picked. Kids that never got to
play because of the teams being uneven.
"He picked a bunch of losers. We''re gonna win without even trying,"
said the captain of the other team.
"We''re gonna lose," said Jeffrey, as our team huddled in a tight circle.
"Of course were gonna lose," I told them.
"Then why did you pick me?" asked Jeffrey.
"And why did you pick me? I can''t see without my glasses," said Leonard.
As the game started, I made sure that Jeffrey stood behind those of us
who were faster. That way he could get out of the way of the ball before
it reached him. I made sure that my team did not stay in the center of the
circle. We moved around the circle, rather than across the circle. That
seemed to give us a big advantage.
The ball was thrown five or six times before Robert was hit. Another
five or six times before the ball hit Wayne. One at a time my team members
were hit and fell out. They hit us with the ball as hard as they could,
slamming the ball against our backs when we could not get out of the way.
Their team was laughing and mocking at us the entire time. Soon, it was
down to just Jeffrey and me.
"I can''t believe it is just you and me," said Jeffrey, panting as hard
as he could.
"Just stay behind me," I told him.
"Get that fat Jeffrey kid," yelled out one of their team members.
They threw the ball ten or more times without hitting either one of
us. The harder they threw, the more they missed and the madder they seemed
to get.
"OK, that''s enough. You''re getting too rough," yelled out Mrs. Cherry.
I will never forget the look on Jeffrey''s face when the game ended.
He could hardly believe that he had made it that far. When Jeffrey and I
went to the bathroom to wash up he had tears in his eyes.
"You made me feel good by picking me first," he told me, as he stood
there crying over the sink.
I learned a very good lesson that day. We were just a bunch of kids
who were not popular at all. Earlier that morning, Mrs. Cherry had talked
to us about "brains" and "brawn". She told us that if we were *****cceed
in life that we had to learn to use all of our skills, and that we had to
work together as a team.
I just wanted to see if the teacher knew what she was talking about.
-- Roger Dean Kiser <trampolineone @ webtv.net>
Cha Mẹ nuôi con như biển hồ lai láng .Con nuôi Cha Mẹ sao tính tháng , tính ngày .

BLANCHE, ANIMAL SHELTER RECEPTIONIST
by Jim Willis
Blanche works long hours as an animal shelter receptionist and hears
the same stories day in and day out.
On the exterior, she''s cheerful and helpful. Inside, she''s often seething!
Just once, she wished she could speak her mind. She took that thought
with her, when during a rare quiet moment, she dozed off at her desk. She
dreamed about what she says while smiling sweetly versus what she''d really
like to say:
Man at the front counter: "I need to give you a dog. We''re moving and
can''t take her with us."
Blanche: "How sad for all of you." [What Blanche is really thinking: The
whole world is moving! There are so many people moving, why don''t they
just all pile into recreational vehicles and drive around? Maybe pick up
some stray dogs while they''re at it and drive them around, too!*]
Man: "And we just had a baby girl."
Blanche: "Well, isn''t that nice?" [What Blanche is really thinking:
Please tell me you won''t be dropping the baby off here, too, because the
only place I have left to put her is a cage in the catroom, otherwise the
barking and howling would deafen her.*]
Man: "The dog isn''t completely housetrained and my wife is afraid of germs."
Blanche: "I see." [What Blanche is really thinking: Of course she''s not
completely housetrained. If the level of attention the dog got is any
indication, your daughter will still be wearing diapers in college.*]
Man: "She barks sometimes and wakes the baby."
Blanche: "Completely understandable." [What Blanche is really thinking:
She barks because she''s a dog, Einstein. Probably to let you know she
needs to go out, or wants attention. Dogs also bark to let you know the
house is on fire.]
Man: "She''s not all that good with other dogs or strangers."
Blanche: "We''ll take that into consideration and note that in her adoption
information." [What Blanche is really thinking: The poor dear is socially
challenged because she probably never got out of the house. Why did you
ever get a dog in the first place?]
Man: "I hope she''ll adjust okay."
Blanche: "It may take her a few days." [What Blanche is really thinking:
Or never. Let''s see how well you adjust when your wife kicks you out
someday and takes your kids and the house.]
Man: "She''s so pretty, I''m sure somebody will want her."
Blanche: "That she is. We''ll certainly do our best to find her a good
home." [What Blanche is really thinking: In fact, we get daily calls from
Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth asking if we have any mixed-breed dogs who
are under-socialized and aren''t housetrained who they could move to their
penthouses and palaces.]
Man: "I''m sorry, but she''s not vaccinated or spayed."
Blanche: "Not a problem, we have a vetcare program and that''s part of the
adoption process. Would you like to make a contribution to our program?"
Man: "With moving costs, a new baby and all, I''m afraid I couldn''t."
Blanche: "I understand." [What Blanche is really thinking: I understand
you drove here in a $30,000 vehicle. Your wife is probably at the shopping
mall every chance she gets, and you don''t have an extra ten bucks?]
Man: "I figured you all are the experts. I didn''t want to advertise her
in the newspaper."
Blanche: "Thank you. No, you don''t ever want to advertise an animal as
''free to good home''." [What Blanche is really thinking: That might be the
only intelligent decision you''ve ever made, and we''re so expert that''s why
we''re paid minimum wage, or no wage.]
Man: "I really appreciate you taking her. Have a nice day."
Blanche: "You''re quite welcome. That''s what we''re here for." [What
Blanche is really thinking: Why wouldn''t you appreciate someone who takes
over your responsibilities? As for a nice day, after I finish my shift
here, I get to go home and cook and clean for my family and take care of my
own rescued animals. In fact, I might be taking your scared dog home with
me to foster.]
The ringing of the buzzer at the front counter jolted Blanche awake.
She rubbed her eyes, embarrassed to have dozed off. She got up from behind
her desk and walked to the glass window to the waiting room, and slid it
open. On the other side of the counter stood the man of her dreams holding
a medium sized dog shivering with fear.
Blanche smiled sweetly at him and then screamed, "MAY I HELP YOU?!"
-- Jim Willis
Cha Mẹ nuôi con như biển hồ lai láng .Con nuôi Cha Mẹ sao tính tháng , tính ngày .

THE FUNNY THINGS KIDS SAY
One day Rhonda''s husband was burning brush to clear their woods.
Rhonda overheard the following conversation:
Breanna, 4: "See, that''s why I like Mommy. She never burns anything
in the fire."
Christen, 6: "Yes, she does. It''s called food!"
-- Rhonda Bodeker of Ash Flat, Arkansas
Last week Dart picked up Amberlyn, 2, at day care. Since it was
nearly dinnertime, Dart said in a sing-songy voice, "Let''s go pick your
sister up and take her home to eat!" Amberlyn said, "I no eat my sister!"
-- Dart in San Diego
The other night Dart served her daughters dinner and Waverly, 8, said
a prayer to bless the food. She thanked God for the dinner He gave us.
Amberlyn interrupted, saying, "No! Mama cooked us this food, not God!"
Casey, 6, was visiting his Aunt Louise and Uncle Sam. He had eaten
two pieces of cake and was acting pretty wildly. His aunt explained to him
that he had eaten too much sugar and it was making him wild. He replied,
"I think I could calm down if I had just one more piece of cake!" -- Traci
Walker (mother of Casey) of Lebanon, Tennessee
When Rob was about 3 (he is now 38), he asked his mother to tell him a
"real" story about "real" people so she told him all about how much they
wanted a little boy and then God sent him. Shocked and angry he stormed
out of the house to where his father was doing yard work. "Daddy," he
said, "Mother told me a story about a couple that didn''t have any children
and God sent a little boy. But she said the little boy was me and I know
that is not true. You have ALWAYS had me!" -- "Grandma Joyce" (mother of
Rob) of Carmel, Indiana
Grandma Joyce had a bad experience with a rooster as a child and it
has always been a family joke that she doesn''t like chickens. Recently,
she was driving with her grandson Chris, 10, through the country. Chris
was looking at all the beautiful farms and he said, "Grandma, some day I
want to own a farm with a house and barn just like these." Then after a
long pause he added, "But don''t worry. If you get real old and I need to
take care of you, I will sell all the chickens."
While waiting for dinner at a restaurant, Stacey and her husband were
asking the kids what they were learning in school. They asked Selena, 7,
if she had started learning geography. She wasn''t sure what geography was.
So Stacey asked her if she knew the capital of Washington. Selenda
thought for a second and replied, "W." -- Stacey Lewis of Deer Park,
Washington
When Jill''s nephew Matt was 2, she took care of him while his parents
were at the hospital having his little brother, Luke. One afternoon, as
they were sitting on the couch, Jill said, "Matt, I''m bored." Without
skipping a beat, he said, "Then I''ll pound a nail in ya!" How could Jill
be bored after that! -- Jill Paskin of Chanute, Kansas
When Ellen''s daughter, Ronda, was in kindergarten she learned that
your nose has two nostrils. When Daddy tucked her into bed that night she
proudly proclaimed, "Daddy, you have two astronauts in your nose!" --
Ellen Anderson of Bishop, California
Riding in the back seat of the car with her 4-year-old granddaughter,
Allyson, Nancy asked, "Why do I love you so much? Is it because you are so
cute?" Allyson smiled and her blue eyes sparkled. "No, Grandma, it''s
because you are my grandma!" -- Nancy Stuller of Waterloo, Indiana
Cha Mẹ nuôi con như biển hồ lai láng .Con nuôi Cha Mẹ sao tính tháng , tính ngày .

THE MAGIC WORDS
by Pamela R. Blaine
Can you hear the music playing as the keys jingle in the Captain''s hand?
It''s in the memory banks of most of us who grew up a few decades ago.
On and on the music would play and then it would stop the moment that the
keys came to rest on a nail on the Treasure House wall where they belonged.
It was Captain Kangaroo who unlocked the Treasure House door and we
would come running to watch when we heard the theme song begin on our
television sets.
Just as small children wait to see what surprise Daddy has for us in
his pockets when he comes home, in the same way, we waited expectantly to
see what the grandfatherly Captain Kangaroo would extract from his
oversized marsupial jacket that he wore.
He brought out such outlandish things as large mirrors, bunches of
bananas, and even music stands -- and we all held our breath apprehensively
as he absent-mindedly laid a bunch of carrots on the counter because the
greedy Bunny Rabbit was known to snatch any carrots away in a split second.
We were never disappointed.
When we first saw the show, we didn''t know the Captain wore a red
jacket or that Mr. Green Jeans really did wear green jeans because we
didn''t have color TV then. But it didn''t matter. We simply loved Captain
Kangaroo with his walrus shaped mustache and haircut that looked like
someone had simply turned a bowl over on his head and trimmed around it
with a pair of dull scissors.
We learned to laugh at the antics of Mr. Moose who entertained us with
his jokes and would trick the Captain usually by telling a "Knock, Knock"
joke which went something like this:
"Knock, knock."
"Who''s there?"
"Justin."
"Justin who?"
"You''re justin time!"
At those words, hundreds of ping-pong balls would fall on the
Captain''s head. I often wondered who had the job of picking up all those
ping-pong balls. Surely it should be Mr. Moose since he caused it to
happen!
Who can ever forget Mr. Green Jeans and his inventions! In one
episode, I recall laughing uncontrollably because of a huge alarm clock
strapped to his wrist. He excitedly informed the Captain of his latest
invention, the wrist clock!
One of my favorite scenes on the show was waking up Grandfather Clock.
The Captain would tip toe quietly over near Grandfather Clock, who was
always snoring, as he whispered instructions to the TV audience: "Shhhh...
(tip toe, tip toe, tip toe)... all together now... one, two, three...
WAKE UP, GRANDFATHER!"
Grandfather Clock would make a lot of noise fluttering his eyes as he
awakened. Why we tip toed and whispered I never quite understood, since it
took all of the children watching the TV to yell, "Wake up Grandfather!" to
rouse him from his napping. However, Grandfather always woke up, and in a
good mood I might add, to recite a poem to us and then quickly fall back
asleep again.
Captain Kangaroo would read stories like Mike Mulligan and His Steam
Shovel, Mary Ann, or show films of Simon In The Land of Chalk Drawings.
The song began, "Now you know my name is Simon and the things I draw come
true," as Simon and his chalk drawings came to life.
Another favorite was the cartoon portion of the show, Tom Terrific and
Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog. Tom Terrific wore an upside down funnel hat
that could change him into any object to help him defeat the villainous
Crabby Appleton who sang, "My name is Crabby Appleton, I''m rotten to the
core. I do a bad deed every day, and sometimes three or four."
As in all good children''s stories, Tom Terrific would put the evil
Crabby Appleton in his place and proclaim honors upon his lazy and
perpetually hungry dog, Manfred, who hadn''t a clue about what had happened
as he curled up and went back to sleep.
Captain Kangaroo aired for many years so my own children learned from
these same characters on Captain Kangaroo with new ad***ions to the show
such as Bill Cosby and "Picture Pages" and Slim Goodbody who taught
children about health and nutrition.
We were not only entertained but also educated by Captain Kangaroo.
It was great to have the interaction with real people who were good role
models for us on television.
We learned a lot from the Captain and his friends.
We learned to appreciate music as we danced with Dancing Bear. We
learned a good work ethic and how to take care of animals from Mr. Green
Jeans (who looked suspiciously a lot like Bainter, the Painter.) We
learned poetry from Grandfather Clock. And we learned not to be like
greedy Bunny Rabbit who wanted all the carrots!
Perhaps one of the best lessons we learned was how to laugh through
the "knock, knock" jokes and the descending ping-pong balls because no
matter how hard the Captain tried, he would end up getting caught by the
falling ping-pong balls. Yes, life is like that sometimes. No matter how
hard we try "into this world a little rain (or ping-pong balls) must fall."
Captain Kangaroo taught us about the importance of reading and
learning but, perhaps more importantly, he taught us courtesy and respect
for others by teaching us to say the magic words, "Please" and "Thank you."
He also taught us respect for our parents when he would say at the end
of the show, "It''s another Be Good to Mother Day."
On January 23, 2004, at age 76, Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan) passed
away. Within a year''s time we have lost both Bob Keeshan and Fred Rogers
of Mr. Roger''s Neighborhood.
Now the Treasure House is empty and the neighborhood will never be
quite the same.
-- Pamela R. Blaine <Pamyblaine @ aol.com>
Cha Mẹ nuôi con như biển hồ lai láng .Con nuôi Cha Mẹ sao tính tháng , tính ngày .

DUSTY
by Jim Willis
Last night, a cousin emailed me that our beloved Uncle Dean was dying
of liver cancer, in Florida, where he''d retired decades ago.
I didn''t read the message until this morning and replied immediately.
I then received the bad news that he had died at 4am. One of my aunts is
on the way there now to make the arrangements and to bring him home.
Although he had just marked his 90th birthday, he was a fit and
handsome man, and an avid golfer. Most of the family had seen him weeks
ago when he came home for the funeral of his brother, my Uncle Eugene.
They were two of my mother''s seven brothers, and she also had two sisters.
I had just exchanged Christmas cards with him and he told me he was about
to perform in his 19th annual charity variety show.
When I was a boy, my parents wouldn''t allow me to have a dog.
Consequently, I remember the most important dogs of my childhood.
First, the Boxer girl who used to sit next to the old man on a park
bench near the apartment building where we once lived.
Next, the elderly, asthmatic Chihuahua girl who belonged to my
paternal great aunt. The aunt made the mistake of telling me, "If anything
happens to me, I want you to have her." As much as I loved my aunt, I
probably prayed that the Good Lord would take her quickly and painlessly.
Thankfully, she lived more than three decades longer.
And then there was Dusty.
Dusty was a young adult Scotch Collie girl adopted by my Uncle Dean
and his sweet wife, my Aunt Mary. They never had children. I remember the
first time I met Dusty. They''d only had her a matter of days when my
family came to visit. My little brother was afraid of dogs after a narrow
escape from a possibly rabid German Shepherd. My aunt asked us to sit
quietly, and then she opened the door to the cellar and let Dusty into the
living room. Dusty ran around the room like a rocket, knocking over lamps,
jumping on everyone, and hurdling furniture. My parents pursed their lips,
my brother paled and I was smitten.
By the time we next saw Dusty, the transformation was complete -- a
cre*** to both my uncle and aunt. I spent many weekend visits with them
and my adoration of Dusty undoubtedly transformed me.
My uncle was a talented sign painter and his shop was several miles
away. Dusty could hear his truck coming from more than a mile away and she
would lie in front of the door, waiting for him to come home. If Uncle
Dean asked her to roll over, she did. If he commanded her to speak, she
spoke. If he said, "Say hubba, hubba," she said "Hubba, hubba."
Dusty played football with us and neighborhood kids. She knew how to
tackle and she knew which team she was on.
And then there was the piece de resistance of tricks. Uncle Dean
would tell Dusty to sit and then he''d place one green-colored dog treat on
one of her front paws and one red-colored treat on the other paw. Dusty
would hold her pose like a statue. Then he''d say, "Okay, eat the red one."
She would and then return to her statue pose. Then he''d say, "Okay, you
can have the green one." And she would.
Nothing Siegfried & Roy ever did with their tigers impressed me more
as a little boy than watching Uncle Dean and Dusty.
My Aunt Mary died too soon from cancer. Following my mother''s
funeral, Uncle Dean and I went for a walk together. I brought up the
subject of Dusty and we reminisced about what a truly great dog she had
been. I didn''t ask him why he''d never married again, or kept another dog
again. I suspect the answer might have been that when you''ve known the
best you don''t expect to be able to find their equal.
I didn''t know then that my life would become animals -- animal rescue,
animal issues, animal welfare, animal rights, writing about animals.
I''ve always marked my volunteer service at an animal shelter, starting
at age 14, as a turning point in my life. I never understood until today
(and it took the loss of a wonderful man to make me realize it) that one of
the earliest and best lesson I ever received was from Uncle Dean and Aunt
Mary and Dusty. They taught me that all dogs have worth -- even badly
behaved ones -- and that people should not give up on dogs. Love,
attention, and kind training can work miracles.
I''d written to Uncle Dean in my Christmas card that I was going to
begin writing another book. The title came to me months ago, the storyline
came to me only a few days ago, and I didn''t yet have a name for the dog
character.
It will be "Dusty." Uncle Dean wrote to me in his Christmas card,
"You are a busy guy -- a good journalist and a wonderful artist. Stay
well, Jim. Let me know about your new book."
I suspect I just have. Writing a book is not easy. Nor is the
setting of deadlines or goals for yourself. I''m not sure I''m doing myself
any favors by adding the expectations that it might be a book that someone
I loved so much would be proud of.
But before I''m even brave enough to type one word on a blank page, and
rather than deal with the grief of another loss, yet again, I chose to
write this.
I''ll comfort myself a while longer with the image of Uncle Dean and
Aunt Mary walking hand-in-hand again, with Dusty at their side --
impeccably well behaved, because they loved and believed in her.
-- Jim Willis
Cha Mẹ nuôi con như biển hồ lai láng .Con nuôi Cha Mẹ sao tính tháng , tính ngày .

THE GOLDEN LEASH
by Jim Willis
Too soon the hourglass was empty,
Too soon you quietly stole away,
Leaving thirteen empty places,
And me cursing that fateful day.
You''d filled my life with laughter,
Your antics were beyond compare,
Now my days are tinged by sorrow,
With tears over lost friends so rare.
I recall your each and every foible,
Your sad lives before you came to me,
How you''d healed and thrived and blossomed,
I close my eyes and your faces I see.
They say everything happens for a reason,
The divine plan we aren''t meant to see,
I know I must go on for the living,
Though I still wish you were here with me.
It was your love that kept me going,
It will be love that allows a new start,
For the rest of my life, I won''t forget
The Golden Leash that connects our hearts.
Cha Mẹ nuôi con như biển hồ lai láng .Con nuôi Cha Mẹ sao tính tháng , tính ngày .

THE FUNNY THINGS KIDS SAY
A few weeks before Valentine''s Day, a six-year-old boy revealed he
had a crush on a girl in his kindergarten class. Finding out about it, his
three older sisters teased him unmercifully.
"Have you kissed her?" one sister asked.
"No!" he replied.
"Have you held her hand?"
"No!"
Then after a moment he said, "But I touched her chair!"
The day after taking her young daughters to a wedding, a mother
overheard them performing a wedding ceremony for their dolls. "Do you take
this man to be your awful-headed husband?" was the question asked of the
pretend bride.
WillowDean took her grandson Scott, 5, to a restaurant. They were
comfortably seated in a booth for two when Scott asked in a loud, clear
voice, "Grandma, why is it that when my daddy and mommy go to bed at night
they have jammies on. But when they get up in the morning they don''t have
them on?" It seemed like the whole restaurant quieted down to hear
WillowDean''s response. She said, as calmly as she could, that sometimes
the temperature changes at night and parents have to make adjustments!
It was a very formal wedding. One by one the bridal attendants
proceeded down the aisle with solemn dignity. As the bride appeared, the
members of the congregation rose to their feet. Debi, 5, stood up on the
pew, waved her arms wildly and screamed, "Daddy! Look at all the groom''s
maids!"
Jaclyn, 9, was visiting her foster parents, Linda and Randy. They
were in the kitchen when Randy spilled something. It was the second time
he had spilled something that day. "You''re definitely not any good in the
kitchen," Linda told Randy. "Yes, but he''s good in bed!" Jaclyn said.
After a moment of stunned silence, Linda said, "What do you mean he''s good
in bed?" "Well, he goes to sleep as soon as he lies down," Jaclyn said.
"You can tell because he snores so loud!"
While the family was sitting around the dinner table, Jennifer, 5,
turned to her brother Andy, 3, and pointed to her dad. "That''s not your
real father," she said, startling the whole family. "Yes, he is!" Andy
replied. "No, he''s not," Jennifer insisted. "God is your heavenly father.
Then pointing at her dad, she said, "That''s your homely father!"
Kristy, 13, was having a conversation with her little sister Cassie,
3. "Where do you live?" Kristy asked. With a look that showed she
wondered why Kristy would ask such a simple question, Cassie said, "Duh, at
Mommy''s house!" "Is it Daddy''s house, too?" Kristy asked. "No, Daddy''s
house is right there," Cassie said. And she pointed at the family''s new
garage!
A father explained the facts of life to his 9-year-old son, with not a
little embarrassment. When the father was done, the boy looked at him with
amazement. "You and mom did that THREE times?" he said.
A preschool teacher overheard the following conversation:
John Michael: "Will you be my wife today?"
Talia: "No."
John Michael: "Why not? You were on Tuesday?"
Sue''s husband came in while she was preparing lunch. He turned her
away from the stove and they started waltzing around the room. Little Jake
giggled, and little Matt looked terribly worried. After the dance was
over, Matt said, "I don''t think that''s legal."
Amanda, 4: Daddy got you pregnant, didn''t he?
Wanda: Yes!
Amanda: How did he do it?
Wanda: You''ll learn about that when you get older.
Amanda: Was it magic?
Wanda: It was kinda like magic.
Amanda: So he just said, "I want Mommy to be pregnant" and you got
pregnant.
Wanda (laughing): Something like that.
Amanda (worried): Uh-oh, Mommy. You might have two babies, because I
said the same thing!
Abby, 3, told her grandma that she had been thinking about who she
would marry. "Well, marry someone rich," her grandma said. Abby thought
for a minute and then said, "I know, Grandma! I''m going to marry the Tooth
Fairy!"
Casey, 6, was sitting on his mother Traci''s lap. Traci was enjoying
the moment and asked Casey, "Do you know how much Dad and I love you?"
Casey replied, "Very much." "That''s right," Traci said. "Do you know why
we love you so much?" Casey replied, "''Cause I''m so precious!" -- Traci
Walker of Lebanon, Tennessee
Cha Mẹ nuôi con như biển hồ lai láng .Con nuôi Cha Mẹ sao tính tháng , tính ngày .

WELCOME MAT
by Jacqueline Freeman
In early May on a very rainy spring day, my husband Joseph was down in
the basement looking for our black cat, Otie, who had really gotten himself
locked in the garage. However, Joseph didn''t know that yet, so he went
down in the basement to see if Otie was there.
When Joseph opened the cellar door, he heard a scuffling in our large
wood furnace, then heard a whomph and a big puff of ash came out the vent.
If this was a cartoon, Joseph would have had ???!! in the balloon over
his head.
He was immediately curious about what form of wildlife could be inside
the furnace. He knew right off it was a good idea to get some help.
So he ran upstairs and asked me to come with him. I instinctively
grabbed my rubber gardening gloves on my way through the mudroom and down
the stairs. Any animal that could find its way through three floors of
chimney flue was certainly one to be reckoned with.
We carefully opened the furnace door and, lo and behold, sedately
sitting inside on the metal grate was a full grown green and grey wood
duck.
Wow.
It took a few seconds to register to our unbelieving eyes that there
really was a duck inside our furnace. A large duck. A large dusty duck.
One who appeared to have an attitude about being there.
As we stared open-mouthed, she drolly turned and looked toward us,
then back at the wall. She shrugged her ash-covered shoulders the way
you''d do if you felt you''d been very inconvenienced by having to wait so
long for the bus to finally arrive to pick you up and you wanted the bus
driver to know you didn''t take kindly to his lollygagging tardiness.
So I reached in.
She let me pick her up with hardly any fuss. Joseph opened the
basement door and we set her free out into the yard.
She hurriedly waddled off mumbling to herself, shaking and fluffing
her sooty gray feathers in the drizzly rain.
We figured she was looking for a nesting place and saw the quiet dark
opening of our rooftop chimney. She must have stuck her head in for a
look, then fallen down a ways, but it was too narrow for her to open her
wings and get back up, so she followed the warren of vents down floor by
floor until she ended up in the stove.
She was still preening and brok-brak-berk-berk talking to herself as
we closed the cellar door. We shut the furnace door and went back
upstairs.
While this is the first time we''ve found a wood duck in our furnace,
it still seems almost normal for around here.
Our ever-growing list of animals who have found their way into our
home in the past year reads like this:
- a raucous-voiced flicker
- thundering herds of voles
- one hefty wee-eyed mole
- two small green snakes
- a scarlet hummingbird who visited my red fuschia
plant through an open window
- a cluster of lizards (one hiding under a rug)
- a handful of woody rats
- a half dozen fledgling chimney swifts who
fluttered in through my kitchen stove vent
- eight bunnies (including one on Easter day)
- too many mice to count
- and now one wood duck.
-- Jacqueline Freeman <TheFreemans @ myexcel.com>

It was your love that kept me going,
It will be love that allows a new start,
For the rest of my life, I won''t forget
The Golden Leash that connects our hearts.
-- Jim Willis​

Cha Mẹ nuôi con như biển hồ lai láng .Con nuôi Cha Mẹ sao tính tháng , tính ngày .

AMONG THE HEARTS
by James "PoppyK" Kisner
He took in all the special sights while strolling through the mall,
Hearts of every shape and size were hanging on the wall.
He smiles and thinks the Christmas things are put away this year,
The theme now is a valentine and that day now draws near.
He stands before the candy store amazed at what he sees,
Hearts of every shape and size replaced the Christmas trees.
He sees excitement on the faces of the people there,
Looking for that special thing for their loved ones to share.
He turns and sees a couple standing, locking arm in arm,
In a jeweler''s window pointing to a heart shaped charm.
He watches as the young girl leans to give her man a kiss,
He smiles and thinks "ah yes, young love" can there be more than this?
He then thinks back when he was young and caught in young love''s clutch,
He smiles again because young men can fall in love so much.
A pretty face, a cheerful smile, or tons of flattery,
A young man hops from bud to bud just like a busy bee.
But then one day it happens and just why nobody knows,
And all the flowers fade when he has found his perfect rose.
She touches all his senses and his heart just seems to melt,
And he thinks back to his own rose and that was how he felt.
"Young love" he thinks is beautiful, but that is just the start,
It takes many years of growing while it nurtures in your heart.
Love is not a feeling that you share one day each year,
Love is not a trinket or the candy that is here.
It is great expressing it with trinkets that you find,
But love is something that will grow into a frame of mind.
Love is not a feeling found within some magic potion
Love that grows and becomes real goes way beyond emotion.
He sees an older couple now and once again he stops,
Peering in the window of one of the mall''s card shops.
Maybe in their 40''s or at least he''s sure midlife,
With wedding rings so he assumes a husband and a wife.
He sees them looking through the cards and sharing what they say,
And to himself he thinks that one time he had shopped that way.
He watches as she grabs a card and reads the verse within,
Then shows her husband what it says and both begin to grin.
He watches as they both read cards and to each other show,
And thinks this simple little thing together makes love grow.
If they were married young in life and little things still share,
He turns to walk away and thinks, "That''s true love growing there".
He loves to watch the people in the mall as they walk by,
But now a special couple holding hands has caught his eye.
The perfect ending to the story of love sitting there,
On a bench beside the food court, both with silver hair.
Holding hands and laughing at what one of them had said,
The man was pointing to her heart shaped broach of brilliant red.
He knew they were enjoying life, to him there was no doubt,
And once again he thought, "Now that is what love is about."
Life is love and love is life and no one is immune,
Young love in the spring of life or by the harvest moon.
Love does not go fleeing in life when you turn a page,
Love remains or still may come at any given age.
Love may come to some but once, and never come again,
But in this life you never know when true love will begin.
So keep an open heart and love will find you where it may
Or cling to love for all it''s worth with your loved one today.
Share in all the happiness your Valentine may bring,
Share the special moments and don''t ever miss a thing.
"True love is so precious" he thinks, as he now departs,
His stroll down lover''s lane, inside the mall, among the hearts.
-- James "PoppyK" Kisner <PoppyK1 @ aol.com>
Cha Mẹ nuôi con như biển hồ lai láng .Con nuôi Cha Mẹ sao tính tháng , tính ngày .

THE FUNNY THINGS KIDS SAY
Annie had taken her two children, Kerry and Paul, on an educational
visit to the museum. After they had walked around the Egyptian mummy
section, Paul asked, "Did they wrap the daddies, too?" - Annie O of the
United Kingdom
Here''s another one from Annie (whose children are now nearly 31 and
32). Little Kerry gazed up at a plane in the sky which was leaving a long,
white vapor trail. In awe she asked, "Does it pull ALL that?"
Tina tells about Cameron, a child she cared for. He was 3 at the time
and eating an ice cream cone. Tina''s husband asked him to hurry up and eat
it. Cameron said, "Mr. Darren, you don''t eat it. You wick-it (lick it)!"
- Tina Williamson of Vicksburg, Mississippi
When Betty''s daughter (now 41) was four they lived in a rural area in
Tennessee. A lot of their neighbors had gardens, so Bettina decided she
wanted to have a garden and grow some corn. Betty took her to a feed and
seed store to purchase seeds. Bettina plopped her money on the counter and
announced to the salesman that she wanted to buy some seeds so she could
grow corn in her garden. The salesman asked, "What kind of corn do you
want to grow, young lady?" She gave it some thought and replied, "Corn on
the cob!" - Betty Abbe of DeSoto, Texas.
Casey, 6, was watching a television program about earthquakes. With a
very serious look, he turned to his mother, Traci, and said, "Boy, I sure
am thankful we don''t have ''earth breaks'' in Tennessee!" - Traci Walker of
Lebanon, Tennessee
When Casey lost his 91-year-old grandmother he asked, "Mom, when
people get old does God just say, ''OK, I am going to take you to heaven so
you won''t hurt any more?''"
Jeremy, 4, asked his mother why she was going to church one Sunday
afternoon. She replied, "I''m going to choir practice." Jeremy excitedly
replied "Wow! Are you going to be a doctor, like Uncle Neil?" It took
awhile for it to register, but his uncle is a CHIROPRACTOR! - Jennifer
Wensink of LaGrange, Indiana
Jeremy does not enjoy punishment, and always tries to throw the
punishment back at his parents. For instance, if they say "No TV for you
tonight," then he will say, "No TV for YOU tonight!" His mother has tried
to set down a rule that when toys are not put away at the end of the day,
she has the right to take away the toy for a set period of time. One day,
she noticed that Jeremy had, yet again, left a bag of marbles scattered all
over the living room floor. As she cleaned them up, she angrily told
Jeremy, "That''s it! You''re losing your marbles for a week." He responded
with "No, YOU''RE losing YOUR marbles!" Jennifer and her husband couldn''t
keep from breaking out in laughter!
Lena works as a personal trainer. After coming to work with her
mother all her life, Lena''s 5-year-old narrowed her mother''s career down to
this: "Mommy, people''s rear ends are the size of what they sit on. If they
lay in bed all day, it''s the size of a mattress. If they sit all day, it''s
the size of a couch cushion. If they run, then they don''t have one because
they worked their rear ends off!" - Lena Hunt Mabra of Blue Springs,
Missouri
When Lena''s children were age 2 and 3 she tried to teach them about
their conscience. "Kids, do you ever get a feeling deep inside that tells
you to do or not to do something?" she questioned as they looked at her
with eyes that seemed larger than the plates that were holding their
snacks. Then Lena tried another approach and said, "Chaz, do you
understand what Mommy is talking about?" He thought, circled his eyeballs
several times, then shrugged his shoulders. Lena looked at her daughter
and she, too, had a blank stare. As Lena continued her attempt to explain
"conscience," her daughter exhaled a huge sigh of impatience and yelled, "I
know, I know. It''s the wittle voice that I don''t wisten to!"
Cha Mẹ nuôi con như biển hồ lai láng .Con nuôi Cha Mẹ sao tính tháng , tính ngày .