Drawing a line and grabbing the seeds!

[cire2]

THIS IS WHAT CHIRSTMAS IS ALL ABOUT......









Nice story...
made me cry.........















This is what Christmas is all about...



Better bundle up - the goose bumps will freeze you!! I think I need to

read this every year at Christmas.

Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their

means and then never had enough for the necessities.

But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all

outdoors. It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes

from giving, not from receiving.





It was Christmas Eve 1881. I was fifteen years old and feeling like the

world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to

buy me

the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas.

We did the chores early that night for some reason.

I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the

Bible.



After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of

the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible.

I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in

much

of a mood to read Scriptures.

But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and went

outside.

I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores.

Ididn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in

self-pity.

Soon Pa came back in.

It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard.

"Come on, Matt," he said.

"Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight."

I was really upset then.

Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now

Pa was dragging me out in the cold, and for no earthly reason that I

could see.

We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else

that needed doing, especially not on a night like this.

But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd

told them to do something, so I got up and put my boots\

back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens.

Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house.

Something was up, but I didn't know what..



Outside, I became even more dismayed.

There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the

big sled

Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick,

little job.

I could tell.

We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load.

Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand.

I reluctantly climbed up beside him.

The cold was already biting at me.

I wasn't happy.

When I was on, Pa pulled the sled around the house and stopped in front

of the woodshed.

He got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high sideboards,"

he said.

"Here, help me."

The high sideboards!

It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low

sideboards on, but whatever it was

we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards

on.



After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and

came out with an armload of wood -

the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then

all Fall sawing into blocks and splitting.

What was he doing?

Finally I said something. "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?"

You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked.

The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road.

Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three

children, the oldest being eight.

Sure, I'd been by, but so what? Yeah," I said, "Why?"



"I rode by just today," Pa said.

"Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a

few chips.

They're out of wood, Matt."

That was all he said and then he turned and went back into the woodshed

for another armload of wood. I followed him.

We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would

be

able to pull it.

Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke

house and Pa took down a big ham and a side of bacon.

He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait.

When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his right

shoulder

and a smaller sack of something in his left hand.

"What's in the little sack?"

I asked. Shoes, they're out of shoes.

Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was

out in the woodpile this morning.

I got the children a little candy too.

It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little candy."



We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence.

I tried to think through what Pa was doing.

We didn't have much by worldly standards.

Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most of what was left now

was still in the form of logs that I would

have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it.

We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we

didn't

have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy?

Really, why was he doing any of this?

Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our

concern.



We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the

wood

as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to

the

door.

We knocked.

The door opened a crack and a timid voice said, "Who is it?"

"Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?"



Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in.

She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the

fireplace by a very small fire that hardly gave off any heat at all.

Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.





"We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of

flour.

I put the meat on the table.

Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it.

She opened it hesitantly and took the shoes out one pair at a time.

There was a pair for her and one for each of the children - sturdy

shoes, the best, shoes that would last.

I watched her carefully.

She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled

her eyes and started running down her cheeks.

She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say something, but it wouldn't

come out.



"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said.

He turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile.

Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up.

" I wasn't the same person when I went back out to bring in the wood.

I had a big lump in my throat and as much as I hate to admit it, there

were tears in my eyes too.

In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace

and their mother standing there with tears running down

her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.



My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before,

filled

my soul. I had given at Christmas many times before, but never

when it had made so much difference.

I could see we were literally saving the lives of hese people.



I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared.

The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and

Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't

crossed her face for a long time.

She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said.

"I know the Lord has sent you.

The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his

angels to spare us."



In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled

up

in my eyes again.

I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow

Jensen mentioned it I could see that it was probably true.

I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth.

I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma

and me, and many others.

The list seemed endless as I thought on it.



Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left.

I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what

sizes to get.

Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that the Lord

would make sure he got the right sizes.



Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to

leave.

Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug.

They clung to him and didn't want us to go.

I could see that they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had

mine.



At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to

invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow.

The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can get

cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals.

We'll be by to get you about eleven.

It'll be nice to have some little ones around again.

Matt, here, hasn't been little for quite a spell."

I was the youngest.

My two brothers and two sisters had all married and had moved away.



Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles.

I don't have to say, May the Lord bless you, I know for certain that He

will."

Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't

even notice the cold.

When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to

know something.

Your ma and me have been tucking a little money away here and there all

year so we could buy that

rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough.

Then yesterday a man whoowed me a little money from years back came by

to make things square.

Your ma and me were real excited, thinking that now we could get you

that rifle, and I started into town this

morning to do just that, but on the way I saw little Jakey out

scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks

and I knew what I had to do.

Son, I spent the money for shoes and a little candy for those children.

I hope you understand."



I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again.

I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it

Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities.

Pa had given me a lot more.

He had given me the look on

Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children.



For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a

block of wood, I remembered, and remembering

brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night.

Pa had given me much more than a rifle that night, he had given me the

best Christmas of my life.



Don't be too busy today. Share this inspiring message. God bless you!

[faithisbelieving]

Merry Christmas Eric. Wishing you a peaceful holiday season. FIB

[sandi2]

Happy New Year!

[cire2]

Thanks Sandi!



Subject: funny


A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in Alberta
When suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced toward him out of a cloud of dust.


The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, RayBan sunglasses and YSL tie, leaned out the window and asked the cowboy, "If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?"

Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?"
The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg , Germany . ;

Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored.. He then accesses an MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.


Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech,miniaturized HP LaserJet printer, turns to the cowboy and says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says Bud.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on with amusement as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then Bud says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"

You're a cabinet minister from Ottawa, says Bud.

"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You used millions of dollars worth of equipment trying to show me how much smarter than me you are; and
You don't know a thing about how working people make a living - or about cows, for that matter. This is a herd of sheep. ....

Now give me back my dog.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[cire2]

Diplomat









A man in an Wisconsin supermarket tries to buy a half a head of lettuce.

The very young produce assistant tells him that they sell only whole
heads of lettuce.

The man persists and asks to see the manager.

The boy says he'll ask his manager about it.

Walking into the back room, the boy said to his manager, 'Some [censored]
wants to buy half a head of lettuce.' As he finished his sentence, he
turned to find the man standing right behind him, so he added, ...
'And this gentleman has kindly offered to buy the other half.'

The manager approved the deal, and the man went on his way.

Later the manager said to the boy, 'I was impressed with the way you got

yourself out of that situation earlier. We like people who think on their

feet here. Where are you from, son?'

' Canada, sir,' the boy replied.

'Well, why did you leave Canada ?' the manager asked.

The boy said, 'Sir, there's nothing but whores and
and hockey players up there.'

'Really?' said the manager. 'My wife is from Canada .'

'No Kidding?' replied the boy. 'Who'd she play for?'

[cire2]

Too funny!!






$5.37. That's what the kid behind the counter at Taco Bell said to me.

I dug into my pocket and pulled out some lint and two dimes and something that used to be a Jolly Rancher. Having already handed the kid a five-spot, I started to head back out to the truck to grab some change when the kid with the Emo hairdo said the harshest thing anyone has ever said to me.

He said, "It's OK. I'll just give you the senior citizen discount."

I turned to see who he was talking to and then heard the sound of change hitting the counter in front of me. "Only $4.68" he said cheerfully.

I stood there stupefied. I am 48, not even 50 yet? A mere child! Senior citizen?

I took my burrito and walked out to the truck wondering what was wrong with Emo. Was he blind? As I sat in the truck, my blood began to boil. Old? Me?

I'll show him, I thought. I opened the door and headed back inside. I strode to the counter, and there he was waiting with a smile.

Before I could say a word, he held up something and jingled it in front of me, like I could be that easily distracted! What am I now? A toddler?

"Dude! Can't get too far without your car keys, eh?"

I stared with utter disdain at the keys. I began to rationalize in my mind.

"Leaving keys behind hardly makes a man elderly! It could happen to anyone!"

I turned and headed back to the truck. I slipped the key into the ignition, but it wouldn't turn. What now? I checked my keys and tried another.

Still nothing.

That's when I noticed the purple beads hanging from my rearview mirror.

I had no purple beads hanging from my rearview mirror.

Then, a few other objects came into focus. The car seat in the back seat. Happy Meal toys spread all over the floorboard. A partially eaten doughnut on the dashboard.

Faster than you can say ginkgo biloba, I flew out of the alien vehicle.
Moments later I was speeding out of the parking lot, relieved to finally be leaving this nightmarish stop in my life. That is when I felt it, deep in the bowels of my stomach: hunger! My stomach growled and churned, and I reached to grab my burrito, only it was nowhere to be found.

I swung the truck around, gathered my courage, and strode back into the restaurant one final time.. There Emo stood, draped in youth and black nail polish. All I could think was, "What is the world coming to?" All I could say was, "Did I leave my food and drink in here?" At this point I was ready to ask a Boy Scout to help me back to my vehicle, and then go straight home and apply for Social Security benefits.

Emo had no clue. I walked back out to the truck, and suddenly a young lad came up and tugged on my jeans to get my attention. He was holding up a drink and a bag. His mother explained, "I think you left this in my truck by mistake."

I took the food and drink from the little boy and sheepishly apologized.

She offered these kind words: "It's OK. My grandfather does stuff like this all the time."

All of this is to explain how I got a ticket doing 85 in a 40. Yes, I
was racing some punk kid in a Toyota Prius.. And no, I told the officer, I'm not too old to be driving this fast.

As I walked in the front door, my wife met me halfway down the hall. I handed her a bag of cold food and a $300 speeding ticket. I promptly sat in my rocking chair and covered up my legs with a blanky..

The good news was I had successfully found my way home.

-*-*-*- READ BELOW ! -*-*-*-

Just in case you weren't feeling too old today...

The people who are starting college this fall were born in 1991.

They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.

Their lifetime has always included AIDS.

The CD was introduced two years before they were born.

They have always had an answering machine.

They have always had cable..

Popcorn has always been microwaved.

They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.

They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.

They never heard: 'Where's the Beef?', 'I'd walk a mile for a Camel ', or 'de plane Boss, de plane'.

McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers.

They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

Pass this on to the other old fogies on your list.

Notice the larger type?

That's for those of us who have trouble reading.

P.S. Save the earth.. It's the only planet with chocolate.



P.P.S. Just in case you forgot the date, Happy New Year ya old farts.

[cire2]

UCLA STUDY (VERY INTERESTING & SHORT)

A study worth sharing with friends both male and female:

A study conducted by UCLA's Department of Psychiatry has revealed that the
kind of face a woman finds attractive on a man can differ depending on where she
is in her menstrual cycle. For example: if she is ovulating, she is attracted
to men with rugged and masculine features. However, if she is menstruating,
or menopausal, she tends to be more attracted to a man with duct tape over his
mouth and a spear lodged in his chest while he is on fire.

No further studies are expected.....

[cire2]

Have You Ever Danced









Read all of this one. It pays not to mess with old people. > >>> An old
prospector shuffled into the town
> of El Indio , Texas leading an old tired mule.
> The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town, to
> clear his parched throat. He walked up to the saloon
> and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood
> there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes,
> a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in
> one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.
> >>>
> >>> The young gunslinger looked at the old man and
> laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever
> danced?"
> >>>
> >>> The old man looked up at the gunslinger and
> said, "No, I never did dance... never really wanted
> to."
> >>>
>
> >>> A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned
> and said, "Well, you old fool, you're
> gonna' dance now," and started shooting at the old
> man's feet. The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe
> blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot
> skillet. Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied.
> >>>
> >>> When his last bullet had been fired, the young
> gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned
> around to go back into the saloon. The old man turned to his
> pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked
> both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through
> the desert air.
> >>>
> >>> The crowd stopped laughing immediately.
> The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned
> around very slowly. The silence was almost
> deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman
> stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those
> twin
> barrels.
> >>>
> >>> The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in
> the old man's hands, as he quietly said, "Son, have
> you ever kissed a mule's a$$?"
> >>>
> >>> The gunslinger swallowed hard and said,
> "No sir...... but.... I've always wanted to."
> >>> There are two lessons for us all here:
> >>> Don't waste ammunition.Don't
> mess with old people.
> >>>
> >>> I just love a story with a happy ending!
> >>>

[cire2]

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end.




He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.



Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled him out. When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable.




When she went to tell Edna the news she said, 'Edna, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you're being discharged, since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of the person you love. I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness.




'The bad news is, Ralph hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead.'




Edna replied, 'He didn't hang himself. I put him there to dry.... How soon can I go home?'




Happy Mental Health Day!




You can do your bit by remembering to send an email to an unstable friend...

[cire2]

Guess it's been a while since I actually posted anything about my sitch.

In a nutshell...

- XGF has been a lot of the same. Ups and downs where as we haven't spoken anything in weeks. I once again let her suck me into helping her with the assurance I would be paid back. Well, lies again to the tune of $700. She has a problem but maybe it isn't as bad as my blind trust issues! =)

- I ended up going to the ER right after new years and promptly sent up to surgery. All is well now except the fact of no job or insurance. 3 days in the hospital adds up.

- Another female friend who is quite a bit younger (20's) had been hanging around quite a bit and we really hit it off. This was good for the bruised ego but she also has issues. I helped her also monetarily a bit before Christmas and low and behold...

Captain Save a HO!
A friend tells me i'm paying for expectations and not favors?
Is it wrong to expect integrity, morals, and courtesy?

- I still have no permanent place to live and that does wear on a person.

- Just found out a couple days back that my uncle is dying and that is a bit raw because of my dad passing away in october. This is my dads brother inlaw.

On a lighter note I continue to plug away each day laughing at lifes circumstances. It can always be worse. I guess i'm blessed with experience. lol

To all who read my thread I will continue to try and post whether it's an update or just passing along something funny or thought provoking.

I hope everyone gets something out of what they read here. Smiles especially!!

cire