BE A FRIEND TO OTHERS AND YOURSELF

Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

Memorize your favorite poem. 

Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or loaf all you want.

When you say, "I love you," mean it. 

When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye. 

Be engaged at least six months before you get married. 

Believe in love at first sight. 

Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much. 

Love deeply and passionately. You may get hurt, but it's the only way to live life completely. 

In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling. 

Don't judge people by their relatives, or by the life they were born into. 

Teach yourself to speak slowly but think quickly. 

When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?" 

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk. 

Call your mother. 

Say, "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze. 

When you lose, don't lose the lesson. 

Follow the three "R's": Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility for all your actions. 

Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship. 

When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. 

Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

Marry a person you love to talk to. As you get older, his/her conversational skills will be more important. 

Spend some time alone. 

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values. 

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. 

Read more books.

Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time. 

Trust in God but lock your car. 

A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. Do all you can to create a tranquil, harmonious home. 

In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past. 

Don;t just listen to what someone is saying. Listen to why they are saying it. 

Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality. 

Be gentle with the earth. 

Pray or meditate. There's immeasurable power in it. 

Never interrupt when you are being flattered. 

Mind your own business. 

Don't trust anyone who doesn't close his/her eyes when you kiss. 

Once a year, go someplace you've never been before. 

If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. It is wealth's greatest satisfaction. 

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. 

Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly. 

Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other. 

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. 

Live with the knowledge that your character is your destiny.

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon. 

TO WALK IN ANOTHER'S SHOES

Bill Andrews was a big, awkward, homely guy. He dressed oddly with ill-fitting clothes. There were several fellows who thought it smart to make fun of him. One day one fellow noticed a small tear in his shirt and gave it a small rip. Another worker in the factory added his bit, and before long there was quite a ribbon dangling. Bill went on about his work and as he passed too near a moving belt the shirt strip was sucked into the machinery. In a split second the sleeve and Bill were in trouble. Alarms were sounded, switches pulled, and trouble was avoided. The foreman, however, aware of what had happened, summoned the men and related this story:

In my younger days I worked in a small factory. That's where I first met Mike Havoc. He was big and witty, was always making jokes, and playing little pranks. Mike was a leader. Then there was Pete Lumas who was a follower. He always went along with Mike. And then there was a man named... Jake. He was a little older than the rest of us - quiet, harmless, apart. He always ate his lunch by himself. He wore the same patched trousers for three years straight. He never entered into the games we played at noon, wrestling, horse shoes and such. He appeared to be indifferent, always sitting quietly alone under a tree instead.

Jake was a natural target for practical jokes. He might find a live frog in his dinner pail, or a dead rodent in his hat. But he always took it in good humor. Then one Fall when things were slack, Mike took off a few days to go hunting. Pete went along, of course. And they promised all of us that f they got anything they'd bring us each a piece. So we were all quite excited when we heard that they'd returned and that Mike had got a really nice big buck. We heard more than that. Pete could never keep anything to himself, and it leaked out that they had a real hopper to play on Jake. Mike had cut up the critter and had made a nice package for each of us. And, for the laugh, for the joke of it, he had saved the ears, the tail, the hoofs - it would be so funny when Jake unwrapped them. Mike distributed his packages during the noon hour. We each got a nice piece, opened it, and thanked him. The biggest package of all he saved until last. It was for Jake.

Pete was all but bursting; and Mike looked very smug. Like always, Jake sat by himself; he was on the far side of the big table. Mike pushed the package over to where he could reach it; and we all sat and waited. Jake was never one to say much. You might never know that he was around for all the talking he did. In three years he'd never said a hundred words. So we were all quite astounded with what happened next. He took the package firmly in his grip and rose slowly to his feet. He smiled broadly at Mike -- and it was then we noticed that his eyes were glistening. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down for a moment and then he got control of himself.

"I knew you wouldn't forget me," he said gratefully; "I knew you'd come through! You're big and you're playful, but I knew all along that you had a good heart."

He swallowed again, and then took in the rest of us. "I know I haven't seemed too chummy with you men; but I never meant to be rude. You see, I've got nine kids at home - and a wife that's been an invalid - bedfast now for four years. She ain't ever going to get any better. And sometimes when she's real bad off, I have to sit up all night to take care of her. And most of my wages have had to go for doctors and medicine. The kids do all they can to help out, but at times it's been hard to keep food in their mouths. Maybe you think it's funny that I go off by myself to eat my dinner. Well, I guess I've been a little ashamed, because I don't always have anything between my sandwich. Or like today - maybe there's only a raw turnip in my pail. But I want you to know that this meat really means a lot to me. Maybe more than to anybody here because tonight my kids," he wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand, "...tonight my kids will have a really..." He tugged at the string.

We'd been watching Jake so intently we hadn't paid much notice to Mike and Pete. But we all noticed them now, because they both dove at once to try to grab the package. But they were too late. Jake had broken the wrapper and was already surveying his present. He examined each hoof, each ear, and then he held up the tail. It wiggled limply. It should have been so funny, but nobody laughed -- nobody at all. But the hardest part was when Jake looked up and said thank you while trying to smile. Silently one by one each man moved forward carrying his package and quietly placed it in front of Jake for they had suddenly realized how little their own gift had really meant to them... until now....

This was where the foreman left the story and the men. He didn't need to say anymore; but it was gratifying to notice that as each man ate his lunch that day, they shared part with Bill Andrews and one fellow even took off his shirt and gave it to him.

I AM THANKFUL FOR...

The child who is not cleaning his room, but is watching TV, because that means he is at home and not on the streets.

For the taxes I pay, because it means I'm employed.

For the mess to clean after a party, because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat.

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

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing, because that means I have a home.

For all the complaints I hear about the government, because it means we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the lot, because it means I am capable of walking and I have been blessed with a car.

For my huge heating bill, because I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church who sings off-key, because that means I can hear.

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

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

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

And finally, for too much e-mail, because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.