For the People: Sam Brooks

(click to enlarge photo)

Life Lessons by Paul Harvey

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.

If a friend offers you dope or a joint, I hope you realize he 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 Hannukah/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.

Written with a pen. Sealed with a kiss. I'm here for you. And if I die before you do, I'll go to heaven and wait for you.

Send this to all of your friends. We secure our friends, not by accepting favors, but by doing them.

Paul Harvey riddle:

When asked this riddle, 80% of kindergarten kids got the answer, compared to 17% of Stanford University seniors.

What is greater than God, More evil than the devil, The poor have it, the rich need it, and if you eat it, you'll die?

Send this to 10 people and then press shift and you will get the answer.

P.S. You won't believe this, but this really does give you the answer!!!!

"A Positive Knowledge," by Juanita Brooks 1939

Excerpt taken from Lee Nelson’s Beyond the Veil, Volume III

Chapter 7: A Positive Knowledge, pg. 59-63

by Juanita Brooks

As told in a letter of consolation to a Brother and Sister Esplin who had just lost their son, Max.

September 11, 1939.

Dear Brother and Sister Esplin:

When I heard of your great loss, I felt that I must drop everything else and come out. I knew there would be little that I could do when I got there, but I did want to let you know of my sincere sympathy. But I did not get word of the accident until the morning of the services, and too late to get anyone to stay with my babies before Brother Schmutz left at nine o’clock. So I must use this poor way of substituting.

When death comes at the end of a long and useful life, it is beautiful. When it comes as release from hopeless suffering, it it a blessed release. But when it snatches one in the full flower of splendid young manhood, it is hard to understand. We cannot understand. If we try to get at the great “WHY” behind it, if we blame ourselves and think that if we had only done some things differently it might not have happened, we only add suffering to our sorrow. We must accept and trust, knowing that we cannot understand the purposes of God.

Dear Sister Esplin, I know you faith. In all my life I have never seen its equal. I am sure that your husband also has faith in the goodness of Him that doeth all things well. I know that you will receive comfort from that source, and assurance that all is right with Max, that he is well and happy, and in a condition to advance and accomplish things that he might not have had here. Be glad that his passing was swift and painless. He merely stepped out of this body into a new and beautiful life. 

I am tempted to tell you an experience of my own which has changed my whole attitude toward our passing from this life. I have told it before, especially immediately after it happened, and even wrote it then, so that I would not forget it.

It happened when I first came here to teach. I was not well, and I gave myself so completely to my work that I was completely exhausted every night. One evening I climbed the hill to my home, and was so tired that I went right to my bedroom and lay on the bed on my back.

Soon I had the sensation of being away from myself. Without any pain whatever, I was just separate from my body. I could see it, and wished that my mouth were closed. But I just kept thinking, “How strange! So this is what it is like to be dead!” I remember how I wondered at it and how surprised it made me.

“Francis will soon be here and find me, and he will call the folks,” (I thought,) and so my mind ran on.

Then suddenly, without the lapse of any time, I was at my father’s home in Bunkerville. I thought how sad (it was) that two who had had so many children should be there alone now. They were in the living room; there was a fire in the fireplace, and mother was stirring some mush in a saucepan over the coals. The house was so large and cold that they had not come into the kitchen to make a fire, and Daddy liked mush for his supper.

He was shaking some cream in a two-quart jar, because their one cow did not give enough to use the big churn. And he was telling her how one of the horses had got another into the manger and was kicking it.

“The old fool would have killed him if I had not gone out,” he said.

I remember little things like the fact that the lamp wick was not even and the flame was blacking the chimney a little on one side, and some ashes from the big log fell into the mush and when mother tried to get them out Daddy said, “What won’t fatten will fill.” I’m telling you all this to make you see how very real it all was to me.

And then in another flash, I was back in my bedroom in St. George, and on the bed, and able to move. But through it all I was filled with wonder, and kept saying, “So this is what it is like to be dead. I didn’t think it would be like this.”

And when I was looking at my parents in Bunkerville, I thought, “Soon they will get the word that I am dead.” I even wondered if the funeral would be in St. George or Bunkerville.

Well, Francis came just after I had come to and turned over. I told him all about it right then. That was Friday night, and on Sunday we went home to visit, and I told my folks, and every word of their conversation was real, even to the slang word mother used when the cinders fell in the mush, the churning, the horse in the manger, the smoking lamp, and all.

Dear friends, I didn’t expect to write this when I started. I don’t know why, except that the experience took the horror out of death for me. It gave me the positive knowledge that we are alive and conscious and intelligent after. I think that the Lord probably had things for me to do here, or I never would have come back.

This is an awkward expression of what I should say to you, but I do want you to know that you have my love and sympathy, and that I am sure all is well with your son. And I want you, Lucy, to know that more than any person I have ever met, you have been an inspiration to me.

The Lord bless you both, as I am sure he will.

Sincerely,

Juanita Brooks

Message from My Father

"Now that I am past 80, I have a renewed appreciation for my age. It has changed my view of death. I know that when I come out on the 'other' side of life, I will be with many of those whom I have loved on 'this' side. I view each day of life as a divine gift, especially with my wife. 

"The nice thing about being this age is.... my life now is timeless because it is so closely related to both sides of the eternal plan. 

"I can't 'get' old because I am old, and any years added from now on will be like icing on the cake. 

"Every experience I have had so far has proved to be preparing me for what will come....

"May we all pray now more than ever before that we will endure to the end and be welcomed by the Lord and those of our beloved ancestors. 

"Life is good."

Faith

Think of a Number from 1 to 10....

This is weird. Follow the instructions! NO PEEKING AHEAD! (From an email sent to me years ago)

Free will or synaptic wiring?  You be the judge. Do the following exercises, guaranteed to raise an eyebrow. There's no trick or surprise. Just follow these instructions and answer the questions one at a time and as quickly as you can! Again, as quickly as you can but don't advance until you've done each of them...

Now, think of a number from 1 to 10.

Multiply that number by 9.

If the number is a 2-digit number, add the digits together.

Now subtract 5.

Determine which letter in the alphabet corresponds to the number you ended up with  (example: 1=a, 2=b, 3=c, etc.)

Think of a country that starts with that letter.

Remember the last letter in the name of that country.

Think of an animal that starts with that letter.

Remember the last letter in the name of the animal.

Think of the name of a fruit that starts with that letter.

Are you thinking of a Kangaroo in Denmark eating an Orange?

If not, you're among the 2% of the population whose minds are different enough to think of something else. 98% of people will answer with Kangaroo in Denmark when given this exercise.

Jeff Litster's Choco-Story: Trick or Treat?

(From 02 November 2006)

The ladies in my life: my beautiful wife, Gwen; my soon-to-be 6-year old Mandi; and my soon-to-be 2-year old daughter Kimmie are all chocolate freaks.

Kimmie is especially known for spreading her chocolate love all over the place when she consumes it; especially all over her hands and face.

After the jubilee, she comes to flaunt it in my face by showing me her chocolate hands... usually getting some on me, which is alright because then I get to share in yummy goodness too.

That is, until tonight. Being as it is only two days after Halloween night and having buttloads of chocolate all over my home, it's natural to see Kimmie with chocolate fingers all-day-long.

Tonight is extra special. I'm sitting at my computer, checking some email and talking a friend through getting two computers networked together so he can play some network video games with his buddy.

Kimmie comes down in her usual flaunt style... chocolate all over her cute little hands... waving them at me to pick her up and help her get cleaned up. She gets the usual dab of it on my fingers and as I go to lick it off; I don't taste the sweet sensation I'm used to tasting.

Needless to say, the friend was immediately and without warning put on hold (phone dropped to the floor;) my toddler and I make the world's fastest dash upstairs where I promptly unload her on my wife (giving her the 10-second cliff notes summary of how my adorable angel-baby has stuffed her hands down her diaper to find treasure... and then haul my sorry tainted mouth to the bathroom for an emergency "chocolate" evac (otherwise known as a good toothbrushing.)

Needless to say, I won't be using that toothbrush ever again. Nor will I be licking the chocolate off my hands that my ever-so-sweet and cuter-than-cute daughter so lovingly shares with me... EVER... AGAIN.

Moral of the story: Next time someone tells you to eat $#!Z... I don't recommend it.

In September 1960

(Taken from an email sent to me several years ago)

In September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my pocket. Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much more than a presence they feared. Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway, they would scramble to hide under their beds.

He did manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries.

Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either. If there was a welfare system in effect in southern Indiana at that time, I certainly knew nothing about it.

I scrubbed the kids until they looked brand new and then put on my best homemade dress, loaded them into the rusty old '51 Chevy, and drove off to find a job.

The seven of us went to every factory, store and restaurant in our small town.

No luck.

The kids stayed crammed into the car and tried to be quiet while I tried to convince who ever would listen that I was willing to learn or do anything. I had to have a job.

Still no luck. The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old Root Beer Barrel drive-in that had been converted to a truck stop. It was called the Big Wheel.

An old lady named Granny owned the place and she peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids.

She needed someone on the graveyard shift, 11:00 at night until 7:00 in the morning. She paid 65¢ cents an hour, and I could start that night. 

I raced home and called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained with her to come and sleep on my sofa for a dollar a night. She could arrive with her pajamas on and the kids would already be asleep.

This seemed like a good arrangement to her, so we made a deal. That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers, we all thanked God for finding Mommy a job. And so I started at the Big Wheel.

When I got home in the mornings I woke the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip money -- fully half of what I averaged every night. As the weeks went by, heating bills added a strain to my meager wage.

The tires on the old Chevy had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak. I had to fill them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go home.

One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found four tires in the back seat. New tires!

There was no note, no nothing, just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up residence in Indiana ? I wondered. 

I made a deal with the local service station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did for him to do the tires. I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn't enough.

Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the kids. I found a can of red paint and started repairing and painting some old toys. Then I hid them in the basement so there would be  something for Santa to deliver on Christmas morning.

Clothes were a worry too. I was sewing patches on top of patches on the boys pants and soon they would be too far gone to repair.

On Christmas Eve the usual customers were drinking coffee in the Big Wheel. There were the truckers, Les, Frank, and Jim, and a state trooper named Joe.

A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the Legion and were dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat around and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home before the sun came up.

When it was time for me to go home at 7:00 on Christmas morning, to my amazement, my old battered Chevy was filled full to the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes.

I quickly opened the driver's side door, crawled inside and kneeled in the front facing the back seat.

Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box.  Inside was whole case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box: It was full of shirts to go with the jeans. Then I peeked inside some of the other boxes. There was candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries. There was an enormous ham for baking, and canned vegetables and potatoes.

There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling and flour. There was whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items.

And there were five toy trucks and one beautiful little doll.

As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most amazing Christmas Day of my life, I was sobbing with gratitude.

And I will never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that precious morning.

Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December. And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop....

THE POWER OF PRAYER. I believe that God only gives three answers to prayer:

1. "Yes!"

2. "Not yet."

3. "I have something better in mind."

You may be going through a tough time right now but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that you cannot imagine.

I am Thankful For...

(Taken from an email I received several years ago)

I am thankful for the wife who says it's hot dogs tonight, because she is home with me, and not out with someone else.

I am thankful for the husband was on the sofa being a couch potato, because he is home with me, and not out at the bars.

I am thankful for the teenager who was complaining about doing dishes, because that means she is at home, and not on the streets.

I am thankful for the taxes that I pay, because it means that I am employed.

I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party, because it means that I have been surrounded by friends.

I am thankful for the clothes that fit in a little too snugly, because it means I have enough to eat.

I am thankful for my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine.

I am thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, clothes that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing, because it means I have a home.

I am thankful for all the complaining I hear about the government, because it means that we have freedom of speech.

I am thankful for the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation.

I am thankful for my huge heating bill, because it means I am warm.

I am thankful for the lady behind me in church that sings off key, because it means that I can hear.

I am thankful for the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.

I am thankful for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.

I am thankful for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means that I am alive.

Five Lessons about How We Treat People

1. First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say “hello.”

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was  Dorothy.

2. Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain 

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African-American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance, and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. 

It read: “Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others. 

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Nat King Cole”

3. Third Important Lesson - Always Remember Those Who Serve

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. 

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. 

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress. 

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?” he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

“Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins. “I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. 

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier, and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4. Fourth Important Lesson - The Obstacles in Our Path

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. 

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. 

After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5. Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got

to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five-year-old  brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. 

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her." 

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away?”

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Funny Pun Statements

A bicycle can't stand on its own because it's two-tired.

What is the definition of a will? It's a dead giveaway.

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

A backwards poet writes inverse.

In democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.

She had a boyfriend with a wooden leg but broke it off.

A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

If you don't pay your exorcist, you get re-possessed.

With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I'll show you A-flat minor.

When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN down under.

He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key.

Every calendar's days are numbered.

A lot of money is tainted. It taint yours, and it taint mine.

A plateau is a high form of flattery.

The short fortuneteller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.

Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.

Those that jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.

When an actress saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know basis.

Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

Acupuncture is a jab well done.

Funny Bible Stories

STORY OF ELIJAH

The Sunday school teacher was carefully explaining the story of Elijah the Prophet and the false prophets of Baal. She explained how Elijah built the altar, put wood upon it, cut a steer in pieces, and laid it upon the altar.  And then, Elijah commanded the people of God to fill four barrels of water and pour it over the altar. He had them do this four times "Now, asked the teacher,  "Can anyone in the class tell me why the Lord would have Elijah pour water over the steer on the altar?"  A little girl in the back of the room started waving her hand, "I know! I know!" she said, "To make the gravy!"

LOT'S WIFE

The Sunday School teacher was describing how Lot 's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted,  "My Mummy looked back once, while she was driving," he announced triumphantly, "and she turned into a telephone pole!"

GOOD SAMARITAN

A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan, in which a man was beaten, robbed and left for dead. She described the situation in vivid detail so her students would catch the drama. Then, she asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?"  A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, "I think I'd throw up."

DID NOAH FISH?

A Sunday school teacher asked,  "Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?"  "No," replied David. "How could he, with just two worms?"

HIGHER POWER

A Sunday school teacher said to her children, " We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a higher power.  Can anybody tell me what it is?"  One child blurted out,  "Aces!" 

MOSES AND THE RED SEA

Nine-year-old Joey, was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday school. "Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his army build a pontoon bridge and all the people walked across safely. Then, he radioed headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved."  "Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?" his mother asked. "Well, no, Mom.  But, if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!"

CHURCH SMILES

There was a very gracious lady who was mailing an old family Bible to her brother in another part of the country. "Is there anything breakable in here?" asked the postal clerk.  "Only the Ten Commandments," answered the lady.

WHILE DRIVING

While driving in Pennsylvania, a family caught up to an Amish carriage.  The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign... "Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass. Caution: Do not step in exhaust.”  

 A QUILT

Sunday after church, a Mom asked her very young daughter what the lesson was about. The daughter answered, "Don't be scared, you'll get your quilt." Needless to say, the Mom was perplexed. Later in the day, the pastor stopped by for tea and the Mom asked him what that morning's Sunday school lesson was about.  He said, "Be not afraid, thy comforter is coming."