Made From Scratch

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By Alex. Saturday, 14. July 2007, 16:10:14

It Couldn’t Be Done

By Alex. Monday, 18. June 2007, 17:56:05

Somebody said that it couldn't be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;"
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done," and you'll do it.

~ Edgar Albert Guest ~

2 comments

Jerry

By Alex. Monday, 23. April 2007, 16:13:07

Jerry is the manager of a restaurant.

He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say.
When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would always reply,
"If I were any better, I would be twins!"

Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs
when he changed jobs so they could follow him around
from restaurant to restaurant.

The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude.

He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day,
Jerry was always there telling that employee
how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious,
so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him,
"I don't get it!
No one can be a positive person all of the time.
How do you do it?"

Jerry replied,
"Each morning I wake up and say to myself,
I have two choices today.
I can choose to be in a good mood
or I can choose to be in a bad mood.
I always choose to be in a good mood.

“Each time something bad happens,
I can choose to be a victim or
I can choose to learn from it.
I always choose to learn from it.

“Every time someone comes to me complaining,
I can choose to accept their complaining
or I can point out the positive side of life.
I always choose the positive side of life."

"But it's not always that easy,” I protested.

"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices.
When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice".

“You choose how you react to situations.
You choose how people will affect your mood.
You choose to be in a good mood or a bad mood.
It's your choice how you live your life."

Several years later, I heard that Jerry accidentally did
something you are never supposed to do in the restaurant
business. He left the back door of his restaurant open one
morning and was robbed by three armed men.

While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from
nervousness slipped off the combination.
The robbers panicked and shot him.

Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was
released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked
him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins.
Want to see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds but did ask him what had gone
through his mind as the robbery took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should
have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, after they
shot me, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two
choices: I could choose to live or choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared?" I asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics
were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But
when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the expressions
on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared.

“In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.'
I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big nurse
shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was
allergic to anything."

“'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as
they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled,
'Bullets!'

“Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live.
Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'"

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors but also because
of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day you
have the choice to either enjoy your life or to hate it.

The only thing that is truly yours that no one can control or
take from you - is your attitude, so if you can take care of
that, everything else in life becomes much easier.

~Author Unknown~

3 comments

Why Dogs Don’t Live As Long As People

By Alex. Tuesday, 16. January 2007, 13:19:30

Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-
old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his
wife Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very much
attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the
family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to
perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.
As we made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told me they thought it
would be good the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure.
They felt as though Shane might learn something from the
experience.

The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's
family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old
dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was
going on.

Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The
little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any
difficulty or confusion.

We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering
aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than
human lives.

Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."

Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next
stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said,

"People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life
like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?"

The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do
that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

~Author Unknown~

3 comments

Dangerous Food

By Alex. Wednesday, 3. January 2007, 14:44:23

A Doctor was addressing a large audience in Tampa.
"The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed
most of us sitting here years ago.
Red meat is awful. Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining.

Chinese food is loaded with MSG. High fat diets can be disastrous,
and none of us realizes the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water.

But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all have, or will, eat it.
Can anyone here tell me what food it is
that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?"

After several seconds of quiet, a 75-year-old man in the front row raised his hand,
and softly said,

"Wedding Cake."

2 comments

B.A.D.

By Alex. Tuesday, 2. January 2007, 23:34:38

While shopping at a local Wal-Mart,
I spotted a man with the acronym "B.A.D." written on his shirt.
Being a little curious, I stopped the man and asked,
"What does B.A.D. stand for?"

Trust me; you'll be amazed at what his response was.

He replied B.A.D. stands for: "Blessed And Delivered."

That thought stuck with me as I finished doing my shopping.
So I came up with a little advice for you today:

* When the enemy tries to attack you, be B.A.D.
* When things don't seem to be going right on your job, be B.A.D
* When things are not looking good in your marriage, be B.A.D.
* When folks scandalize your name, just be B.A.D.

Get with somebody you know that you can be B.A.D. with!

~Author Unknown~

2 comments

25 Cents

By Alex. Tuesday, 5. December 2006, 15:24:17

Last Friday I stopped by a convenience store for a Mountain Dew
and a Little Debbie zebra cake.

The check-out person tried to scan the items, but they wouldn't
scan so she manually entered the prices. I noticed that she
only charged me 25 cents for the cake when it was 50 cents for
the larger size.

For a second I thought, "It's only a quarter; what's the big
deal?" But I couldn't do that, so I pointed out that she under
charged me.

She looked shocked that I spoke up; I guess because the error
was to the store's disadvantage. She smiled and said, "Thank you
for being honest." I walked out feeling a little lighter.

When I got outside, a man approached me and stopped me. He said
that he had had a bad day and felt that the world was full of
bad and dishonest people. But he was behind me in line and
heard me correct the lady and that because of my actions he knew
that there were honest people in this world. He blessed me and
walked to his car.

Now 25 cents is not much, it will no longer even buy a phone
call; but last Friday, 25 cents bought something that was
priceless.

That was a MountainWings moment!

~A MountainWings Original by Kitty Walker, Murfreesboro, TN~

Note,

This and many more interesting stories can be read at http://www.mountainwings.com/

No comments

Primitive Man

By Alex. Monday, 4. December 2006, 00:20:53

Millions of years ago,
there was no such thing as the wheel.

One day,some primitive guys were watching their wives
drag a dead mastodon to the food preparation area.
It was exhausting work;
the guys were getting tired just BY WATCHING.

Then they noticed some large, smooth, rounded boulders,
and they had an idea: They could sit on the boulders and watch!

This was the first in a series of breakthroughs
that ultimately led to television.