The things children say

Listening to Elton John in the car yesterday. Harvey asked if he used to be in a group called The Bumble Bees. I said no. Harvey said he got mixed up with John Lennon. I said that will be The Beatles.......

Ugly the cat

Everyone in the apartment complex knew who "Ugly" was. Ugly was the resident tomcat that loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and, shall we say, love. The combination of these things, combined with a life spent outside, had their effect on Ugly.

To start, Ugly had only one eye. And, where the other eye should have been, a gaping hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side. His left foot appeared to have been badly broken at one time, and had healed at an unnatural angle, making him look like he was always turning the corner. His tail had long ago been lost, leaving only the smallest stub, which he would constantly jerk and twitch.

Ugly would have been a dark gray tabby, striped-type, except for the sores covering his head, neck, even his shoulders, with thick, yellowing scabs. Every time someone saw Ugly, there was the same reaction. "That's one UGLY cat!! " All the children were warned not to touch him. The adults threw rocks at him, hosed him down, squirted him when he tried to come in their homes, or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave. Ugly always had the same reaction. If you turned the hose on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl his lanky body around feet in forgiveness.

Whenever he spied children, he would come running, meowing frantically. He would bump his head against their hands, begging for their love. If you ever picked him up, he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt, earrings, or whatever he could reach or find.

One day, Ugly shared his love with the neighbor's huskies. They did not respond kindly, and Ugly was badly mauled. From my apartment I could hear his screams, and I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying, it was apparent Ugly's sad life was almost at an end. Ugly laid in a wet circle, his back legs and lower back twisted grossly out of shape, a gaping tear in the white strip of fur that ran down his front.

As I picked him up and tried to carry him home, I could hear him wheezing and gasping, and could feel him struggling. It must be hurting him terribly, I thought. Then I felt a familiar tugging, sucking sensation on my ear. Ugly, in so much pain, suffering, and obviously dying, was trying to suckle my ear. I pulled him closer to me, and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head, then he turned his one golden eye towards me, and I could hear the distinct sound of purring. Even in the greatest of pain, that ugly, battled-scarred cat was asking only for a little affection, perhaps some compassion. At that moment I thought Ugly was the most beautiful, loving creature I had ever seen.

Never once did he try to bite or scratch me, or even try to get away from me, or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up at me, completely trusting in me to relieve his pain. But he died in my arms before I could even get inside. I sat down and held him for a long time afterwards, thinking about how one scarred, deformed little stray could so alter my opinion about what it means to have true pureness of spirit, to love so totally and truly.

Ugly taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand books, lectures, or talk show specials ever could, and for that I will always be thankful. Ugly had been scarred on the outside, but I was scarred on the inside, and it was time for me to move on and learn to love truly and deeply. To give my total to those I cared for. Many people want to be richer, more successful, well liked, and beautiful. But for me, I will always try to be "Ugly."

Lipstick in School

According to a news report, a certain private school in Washington was recently faced with a unique problem.

A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick, they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.
 
Every night the maintenance man would remove the lip prints, and the next day the girls would put them back.
 
Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night (you can just imagine the yawns from the little princesses).
 
To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required.
 
He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

The elephant

This is a story about the importance of being persistent and never giving up, no matter how many failures you have experienced in the past.

A man was spending his holiday in Africa. One day he watched the elephants passing by. To his great surprise these giant strong animals were being held only by a small rope, tied to their front leg. Obviously, they could easily run away any moment. However, they did not.

Then he saw a trainer and asked him, how could this happen that not a single elephant makes an attempt to break free. The trainer explained: "When the elephants are very young, we use the same size rope to tie them, and at that time it is enough to hold them. Gradually they grow up, get stronger, nevertheless they never try to get away, as they believe that the rope will still hold them".

The man was stunned. These strong animals could break free any time, but they did not, because they believed that this is impossible.

Sometimes people act like elephants, when they give up after the first failure. Remember, that failures are part of learning. If we want to succeed, we should never give up, but try and try again.

Unconditional Love

The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance.

Values

When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier. 

Wildflowers

The hills were alive with wildflowers

And I was as wild, even wilder than they

For at least I could run, they just died in the sun

And I refused to just wither in place

Just a wild mountain rose, needing freedom to grow

So I ran fearing not where I'd go

When a flower grows wild, it can always survive

Wildflowers don't care where they grow

Dolly Parton