|
Two
stories
Story #1: Many
years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous
for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city
in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
Capone had a lawyer nicknamed
"Easy Eddie." He was his lawyer for a good reason. Eddie
was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept
Big Al out of jail for a long time. To show his appreciation,
Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but also
Eddie got special dividends. For instance, he and his family
occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the
conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an
entire Chicago City block. Eddie lived the high life of the
Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that
went on around him.
Eddie did have one soft spot,
however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that
his young son had the best of everything: clothes, cars and a good
education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object. And, despite
his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach
him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than
he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two
things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name
and a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a
difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had
done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth
about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name
and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he
would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost
would be great. So, he testified.
Within the year, Easy Eddie's life
ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his
eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at
the greatest price he would ever pay.
Police removed from his pockets a
rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion and a poem clipped from
a magazine.
The poem read:
The clock of life is
wound but once
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.
Now is the only time you own
Live, love, toil with a will
Place no faith in time
For the clock may soon be still
Story #1: World War
II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander
Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft
carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.
One day his entire squadron was
sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel
gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel
tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and
get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the
carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back
to the fleet. As he was returning to the mother ship he saw
something that turned his blood cold, a squadron of Japanese
aircraft were speeding their way toward the American fleet.
The American fighters were gone on
a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach
his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor
could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only
one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.
Laying aside all thoughts of
personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes.
Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one
surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of
the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible
until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he
continued the assault.
He dove at the planes, trying to
clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as
possible and rendering them unfit t o fly.
Finally, the exasperated Japanese
squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch
O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon
arrival he reported in and related the event surrounding his
return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the
tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect
his fleet He had in fact destroyed five enemy aircraft..
This took place on February 20,
1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of
W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal
of Honor. A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the
age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II
hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in
tribute to the courage of this great man.
So the next time you find yourself
at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's
memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's
located between Terminals 1 and 2.
SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE
TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?
Butch O'Hare was Easy Eddie's son.
How
To Stay Young
1. Throw out nonessential
numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctor
worry about them. That is why you pay him/her.
2. Keep only cheerful friends.
The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more
about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the
brain idle. " An idle mind is the devil's workshop."
And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud.
Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure,
grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire
life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what
you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants,
hobbies, whatever your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is
good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is
beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a
trip to the mall, to the next county, to a foreign country, but
NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that
you love them, at every opportunity
Teaching
Tale – The Starfish
The Zen monk, Ryokan, was discovered by his disciple Saito by
the sea, where the tide had washed ashore hundreds of starfish.
They would soon die of exposure. Ryokan was tossing the
starfish, one at a time, back into the ocean, in a slow,
meditative movement.
“Why do you bother?” Saito asked Ryokan, overwhelmed by the
sheer number of starfish dying. “It won’t make any
difference.”
Ryokan stopped for a moment, looking at the starfish in his
hand. He replied, “It will to this one.”
The
Elder Carpenter
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer,
a building contractor, of his plans to leave the house building
business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying
his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed
to retire. They could get by. His employer was sorry to see his
good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house
as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but it was easy to
see that his heart was no longer in his work. He had lost his
enthusiasm and had resorted to shoddy workmanship and used
inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.
When
the carpenter finished his work and his boss came to inspect the
new house, the contractor handed the front door key to the
carpenter, "This is your house," he said, "my
gift to you." What a shock! What a shame! If he had only
known he was building his own house, he would have done it all
so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none
too well.
So
it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting
rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At
important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then
with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find
that we are now living in the house we have built for ourselves.
If we had realized, we would have done it differently.
Think
of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day
you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely.
It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for
only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and
with dignity.
The
plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself
project." Who could say it more clearly? Your life today is
the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life
tomorrow will be the result of today.
~ Author Unknown ~
Shoveling
dirt
One day a farmer's
donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for
hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he
decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up
anyway, it just wasn't worth to retrieve the donkey.
So he invited all of
his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a
shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the
donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to
everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovels later, the
farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished what he
saw.
With every shovel of
dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's
neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he
would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was
amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and
trotted off!
Moral: Life is going to shovel
dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to
shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never give up!
Shake it off and take a step up!
Top of Page -
About shipping overseas - Freight charges -
Track your freight - Satellite images - Our
weather - Currency - Great
lessons of life
|
