... And the moral of the story is...

• CloneMe72

  31 Jul 02, 10:30

  Here is a lesson for all of us that we are indeed inter-connected in the same boat together and it is for us to support one another for a greater good that each of us can be proud of and cherished on our life journey.
  
  One day in a poor country town thousands of miles away from the nearest city, years and eras ago. A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see a farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? The rat was shocked to discover that it was a rat trap. Retreating to the farmyard, the rat announced of the imminent risk,
  “There’s a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!”
  The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said,
  “Excuse me, Mr. Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it. Not my problem.”
  The rat turned to the pig and told him, “There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!”
  I am so very sorry Mr. Rat,” sympathized the pig, “but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers.”
  The rat turned to the cow. She said,
  “Like wow, Mr. Rat. A rat trap. I am in grave danger. Duh? I’m the biggest here, do I look like I’ll be trapped in one?”
  So the rat returned to the house, head down and felt rejected. He now needs to face the farmerÂ’s rat trap alone.
  
  That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a rat trap catching its prey. The farmerÂ’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmerÂ’s wife. The farmer could not rush her to the hospital as the town had no transportation & that the nearest hospital is a few daysÂ’ travel. She returned home with a fever.
  
  Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soupÂ’s main ingredient. His wifeÂ’s sickness continued therefore friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmerÂ’s wife still did not get well. She died eventually & villagers came to her funeral & now the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all who came.
  
  Moral of the story: The next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when there is a rat trap in the house, the whole farmyard is at risk.
  
• Xavier

  7 Aug 02, 23:05

  MAKING CHOICES
  By Steve Goodier
  
  Joseph Henry used to tell a rather strange story about his
  childhood. His grandmother paid a cobbler to make him a pair of
  shoes.
  
  The man measured his feet and told Joseph that he could
  choose between two styles: a rounded toe or a square toe. Little
  Joseph couldn't decide. It seemed to be such a huge decision; after
  all, they would become his only pair of shoes for a long time.
  
  The cobbler allowed him to take a couple of days to make
  up his mind. Day after day, Joseph went into the shop, sometimes
  three or four times a day! Each time he looked over the cobbler's
  shoes and tried to decide. The round-toed shoes were more practical,
  but the square toes looked more fashionable. He continued to
  procrastinate. He wanted to make up his mind, but he just couldn't
  decide!
  
  Finally, one day he went into the shop and the cobbler
  handed him a parcel wrapped in brown paper. His new! shoes! He raced
  home. He tore off the wrapping and found a beautiful pair of leather
  shoes - one with a rounded toe and the other with a square toe!
  
  Joseph learned a difficult lesson about decisions: if we don't make
  them ourselves, others will make them for us. And wholeness
  in life can only come about when we take full responsibility for the
  choices we make.
  
  From ONE MINUTE CAN CHANGE A LIFE,
  by Steve Goodier
  
• CloneMe72

  31 Oct 02, 19:12

  The Frogs
  A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied,
  "There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs... millions of them. They croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!"
  So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks. The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said,
  "Well... where are all the frogs?"
  "I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!"
  
  The moral of the story...
  Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it is probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark.
  
  Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you will wonder what all the fuss was about.
• CloneMe72

  24 Dec 02, 12:44

  Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
  
  One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.
  
  As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man was not dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called out,
  
  "Good morning! What are you doing?"
  
  The young man paused, looked up and replied,
  
  "Throwing starfish in the ocean."
  
  "I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"
  
  "The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."
  
  "But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"
  
  The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said,
  
  "It made a difference for that one."
  
  There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our visions the power to shape the future.
  
  We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, the world will be blessed.
  From The Start Thrower by Loren Eisley.
• CloneMe72

  24 Dec 02, 12:59

  A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and he handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his mom dried her hands on an apron, she read it, and this is what it said:
  
  For cutting the grass, $5.00
  For cleaning my room this week, $1.00
  For going to the store for you, .50
  Baby-sitting my kid brother for you while you went shopping, .25
  Taking out the garbage, $1.00
  For getting a good report card, $5.00
  For cleaning up and raking the yard, $2.00
  Total Owed: $14.75
  
  The mother looked at her son standing there expectantly, and boy, could see the memories flashing through her mind. So she picked up the pen, turned over the paper he had written on, and this is what she wrote:
  
  For the nine months I carried you while you grew inside me, No Charge.
  For all the nights I've sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you, No Charge.
  For all the trying times, and all the tears you've caused through the years, No Charge.
  When you add it all up, the cost of my love is, No Charge.
  For all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the worries I knew were ahead, No Charge.
  For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose, there's No Charge, Son.
  And when you add it all up, the full cost of real love is No Charge.
  
  When the son finished reading what his mother had written, there were great big old tears in his eyes, and he looked straight up at his mother and said,
  "Mom, I sure do love you."
  And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote:
  "PAID IN FULL."
  
  "No Charge" was written by Gospel singer Shirley Ceasar. It was also a country song produced by Howard-Sony Tree Publishing Co., Inc. and sung by Melba Montgomery.
• CloneMe72

  31 Jan 03, 11:50

  The Stella awards rank up there with the Darwin awards.
  
  In 1994, a New Mexico jury awarded $ 2.9 million U.S. in damages to 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who suffered third-degree burns to her legs, groin and buttocks after spilling a cup of McDonald's coffee on herself.
  
  This case inspired an annual award - The Stella Award - for the most frivolous lawsuit in the U.S.
  
  The ones listed below are clear candidates. All these cases are verging on the outright ridiculous and yet with the right attorney you could win anything!
  
  1. January 2000: Kathleen Robertson of Austin Texas was awarded $780,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little so-and-so was her own son.
  
  2. June 1998: A 19 year old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car, when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.
  
  3. October 1998: A Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation. Mr. Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found, and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner's insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of half a million dollars.
  
  4. October 1999: Jerry Williams of Little Rock, Arkansas was awarded $14,500 and medical expenses after being bitten on the buttocks by his next door neighbour's beagle. The beagle was on a chain in it's owner's fenced-in yard. The award was less than sought because the jury felt the dog might have been just a little provoked at the time by Mr. Williams who was shooting it repeatedly with a pellet gun.
  
  5. May 2000: A Philadelphia restaurant was ordered to pay Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania $113,500 after she slipped on a soft drink and broke her coccyx. The beverage was on the floor because Ms. Carson threw it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.
  
  6. December 1997: Kara Walton of Claymont, Delaware successfully sued the owner of a night club in a neighboring city when she fell from the bathroom window to the floor and knocked out her two front teeth. This occurred while Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the window in the ladies room to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge. She was awarded $12,000 and dental expenses.
  
  And the winner is:
  
  Mr. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City. In November 2000, Mr. Grazinski purchased a brand new 32 foot Winnebago motor home. On his first trip home, having joined the freeway, he set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the drivers seat to go into the back and make himself a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly the Winnie left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Mr Grazinski sued Winnebago for not advising him in the handbook that he couldn't actually do this. He was awarded $1,750,000 plus a new Winnie. (Winniebago actually changed their handbooks on the back of this court case, just in case there are any other complete morons buying their vehicles.)
  
  Only in America!