The Circle Of Joy!!

And old story tells that one day, a countryman knocked hard on a monastery door. When the monk tending the gates opened up, he was given a magnificent bunch of grapes.

- Brother, these are the finest my vineyard has produced. I’ve come to bear them as a gift.

- Thank you! I will take them to the Abbot immediately, he’ll be delighted with this offering.

- No! I brought them for you. For whenever I knock on the door, it is you opens it. When I needed help because the crop was destroyed by drought, you gave me a piece of bread and a cup of wine every day.

The monk held the grapes and spent the entire morning admiring it. And decided to deliver the gift to the Abbot, who had always encouraged him with words of wisdom.

The Abbot was very pleased with the grapes, but he recalled that there was a sick brother in the monastery, and thought:

“I’ll give him the grapes. Who knows, they may bring some joy to his life.”

And that is what he did. But the grapes didn’t stay in the sick monk’s room for long, for he reflected:

“The cook has looked after me for so long, feeding me only the best meals. I’m sure he will enjoy these.”

The cook was amazed at the beauty of the grapes. So perfect that no one would appreciate them more than the sexton; many at the monastery considered him a holy man, he would be best qualified to value this marvel of nature.

The sexton, in turn, gave the grapes as a gift to the youngest novice, that he might understand that the work of God is in the smallest details of Creation. When the novice received them, he remembered the first time he came to the monastery, and of the person who had opened the gates for him; it was that gesture which allowed him to be among this community of people who knew how to value the wonders of life.

And so, just before nightfall, he took the grapes to the monk at the gates.

- Eat and enjoy them – he said. – For you spend most of your time alone here, and these grapes will make you very happy.

The monk understood that the gift had been truly destined for him, and relished each of the grapes, before falling into a pleasant sleep.

Thus the circle was closed; the circle of happiness and joy, which always shines brightly around generous people.

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The Finest Steel Come From The Hottest Furnaces

I’ll never forget the night in 1946 when disaster and challenge visited our home.

My brother, George, came home from football practice and collapsed with a temperature of 104 degrees. After an examination, the doctor informed us it was polio. This was before the days of Dr. Salk, and polio was well known in Webster Groves, Missouri, having killed and crippled many children and teenagers.

After the initial crisis passed, the doctor felt duty bound to inform George of the horrible truth. “I hate to tell you this, son,” he said, “but the polio has taken such a toll that you’ll probably never walk again without a limp, and your left arm will be useless.”

George had always envisioned himself as a championship wrestler for his senior year, after just missing it the season before while he was a junior. Barely able to speak, George whispered, “Doctor…”

“Yes,” said the doctor leaning over the bed, “what is it, my boy?”

“Go to hell,” said George in a voice filled with determination.

You see, Mom and Dad taught us that just like you would never let someone else come into your house with an axe and allow them to break up your furniture, you should never let a damaging thought come into your mind and break up your dreams.

The next day the nurse walked into George’s room to find him lying flat on his face on the floor.

“What’s going on in here?” asked the shocked nurse.

“I’m walking,” George calmly replied.

George refused the use of any braces or even a crutch that was given to him. Sometimes it would take him 20 minutes just to get out of the chair, but he refused any offers of aid.

I remember seeing him lift a tennis ball with as much effort as a healthy man would need to lift a 100-pound barbell.

I also remember seeing him, six months later, step out on the mat as captain of the wrestling team. George’s rehabilitation from the devastating effects of polio was written up all over the state of Missouri. No one had ever been known to recover so quickly or so completely from this disease.

The story continues. The next year, after being named to start for Missouri Valley College in one of the first football games to be televised locally, George came down with mononucleosis.

It was my brother Bob who helped reinforce George’s already strong philosophy of never giving up.

The family was sitting in George’s room at the hospital, watching the game on TV, when Valley’s quarterback completed a 12-yard pass to the tight end. Then the announcer said, “And George Schlatter makes the first catch of the game.”

Shocked, we all looked at the bed to make sure George was still there. Then we realized what had happened. Bob, who had made the starting line-up, had worn George’s number so George could spend the afternoon hearing himself catching six passes and making countless tackles. Later he said, “If I can do that flat on my back with a temperature of 103 degrees, just think what I can do when I’m up!”

As he overcame mono, he did it with the lesson Bob taught him that day…there is always a way!

George was destined to spend the next three falls seasons in the hospital. In 1948, it was after he stepped on a rusty nail. In 1949, it was tonsillitis, just before he was to sing in an audition for Phil Harris, a great orchestra leader and radio comedy icon. And in 1950, it was third-degree burns over 40 percent of his body and collapsed lungs. After an explosion had set George’s body on fire, my brother Alan put the flames out by throwing himself on George. Alan had saved his brother’s life, but he received serious burns himself.

Following each challenge, George came back stronger and surer of his own ability to overcome any obstacle. He had read that if one looks at the roadblocks, he isn’t looking at the goal.

Armed with these gifts, he entered the world of show business and revolutionized television by creating and producing such innovative shows as Laugh In and The American Comedy Awards. He also won an Emmy for his production of Sammy Davis Jr.’s 60th Anniversary Celebration Special.

He had literally been through the furnace and come out of it with a soul as strong as steel, and he used it to strengthen and entertain a nation.

Of course, the four of us didn’t always get a long, but we were brothers through and through, and yet… out of the conflicts came new respect and even memories about which we would later laugh.

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How the Poor Live!!

One day, a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yeah,” said the son.

“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden, and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard, and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”

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Injured Soldiers!!

This heart-warming, true story was written by Ronnie Polaneczky, a columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, and ran on page 6 of that paper on Dec. 22, 2005.

It started last Christmas, when Bennett and Vivian Levin were overwhelmed by sadness while listening to radio reports of injured American troops.

“We have to let them know we care,” Vivian told Bennett.

So they organized a trip to bring soldiers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital to the annual Army-Navy football game in Philly, on Dec. 3. The cool part is, they created their own train line to do it.

Yes, there are people in this country who actually own real trains. Bennett Levin — native Philly guy, self-made millionaire and irascible former L&I commish — is one of them.

He has three luxury rail cars. Think mahogany paneling, plush seating and white-linen dining areas. He also has two locomotives, which he stores at his Juniata Park train yard. One car, the elegant Pennsylvania, carried John F. Kennedy to the Army-Navy game in 1961 and ´62. Later, it carried his brother Bobby´s body to D.C. for burial.

“That´s a lot of history for one car,” says Bennett.

He and Vivian wanted to revive a tradition that endured from 1936 to 1975, during which trains carried Army-Navy spectators from around the country directly to the stadium where the annual game is played.

The Levins could think of no better passengers to reinstate the ceremonial ride than the wounded men and women recovering at Walter Reed in D.C. and Bethesda, in Maryland.

“We wanted to give them a first-class experience,” says Bennett. “Gourmet meals on board, private transportation from the train to the stadium, perfect seats — real hero treatment.”

Through the Army War College Foundation, of which he is a trustee, Bennett met with Walter Reed´s commanding general, who loved the idea. But Bennett had some ground rules first, all designed to keep the focus on the troops alone: No press on the trip, lest the soldiers´ day of pampering devolve into a media circus. No politicians either, because, says Bennett, “I didn´t want some idiot making this trip into a campaign photo op.” And no Pentagon suits on board, otherwise the soldiers would be too busy saluting superiors to relax.

The general agreed to the conditions, and Bennett realized he had a problem on his hands. “I had to actually make this thing happen,” he laughs.

Over the next months, he recruited owners of 15 other sumptuous rail cars from around the country — these people tend to know each other — into lending their vehicles for the day.

The name of their temporary train? The Liberty Limited.

Amtrak volunteered to transport the cars to D.C. — where they´d be coupled together for the round-trip ride to Philly — then back to their owners later.

Conrail offered to service the Liberty while it was in Philly. And SEPTA drivers would bus the disabled soldiers 200 yards from the train to Lincoln Financial Field, for the game. A benefactor from the War College ponied up 100 seats to the game — on the 50-yard line — and lunch in a hospitality suite.

And corporate donors filled, for free and without asking for publicity, goodie bags for attendees: From Woolrich, stadium blankets. From Wal-Mart, digital cameras. From Nikon, field glasses. From GEAR, down jackets. There was booty not just for the soldiers, but for their guests, too, since each was allowed to bring a friend or family member.

The Marines, though, declined the offer. “They voted not to take guests with them, so they could take more Marines,” says Levin, choking up at the memory. Bennett´s an emotional guy, so he was worried about how he´d react to meeting the 88 troops and guests at D.C.´s Union Station, where the trip originated. Some GIs were missing limbs. Others were wheelchair-bound or accompanied by medical personnel for the day. “They made it easy to be with them,” he says. “They were all smiles on the ride to Philly. Not an ounce of self-pity from any of them. They´re so full of life and determination.”

At the stadium, the troops reveled in the game, recalls Bennett. Not even Army´s lopsided loss to Navy could deflate the group´s rollicking mood. Afterward, it was back to the train and yet another gourmet meal — heroes get hungry, says Levin — before returning to Walter Reed and Bethesda. “The day was spectacular,” says Levin. “It was all about these kids. It was awesome to be part of it.”

The most poignant moment for the Levins was when 11 Marines hugged them goodbye, then sang them the Marine Hymn on the platform at Union Station. “One of the guys was blind, but he said, I can´t see you, but man, you must be (expletive) beautiful!´ ” says Bennett. “I got a lump so big in my throat, I couldn´t even answer him.” It´s been three weeks, but the Levins and their guests are still feeling the day´s love. “My Christmas came early,” says Levin, who is Jewish and who loves the Christmas season. “I can´t describe the feeling in the air.”

Maybe it was hope. As one guest wrote in a thank-you note to Bennett and Vivian, “The fond memories generated last Saturday will sustain us all – whatever the future may bring.”

God bless the Levins. And bless the troops, every one.

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The Grass Cutting Days

The pastor called me to come forward. I walked to the pulpit confident and proud. I looked out at my family. Some wore somber expressions. Others had faces still damp with tears. Then I gazed down at the shiny black coffin crowned with yellow flowers.

My father, Charlie Lyons, was gone. It was my turn at his funeral earlier this year to pay tribute to the man who taught me so much growing up on the Northside. How do you sum up a lifetime in 10 minutes?

I flashed to Dad holding the handlebar and jogging alongside my bike until I felt ready to ride on my own. I saw him pulling up to my broken-down car at night, doing a quick fix and trailing me home. I thought of the hug we shared at my wedding.

Then, I started talking about a special moment I draw from now. Dad was always full of advice, but one of the biggest lessons he taught me one summer was about having a strong work ethic. When my brother and I were growing up, we mowed yards during the summer to earn pocket change. Dad was our salesman. He pitched our service to neighbors and offered a price they could not refuse. My brother and I got $10 per yard. Some yards were a half-acre. I later found out our friends were charging $20 or more for the same amount of work.

Every time we headed out to mow lawns, Dad was there to watch. I used to wonder why he came with us. He stood supervising our work in the sticky Florida heat when he could have been inside relaxing with air conditioning and an icy drink.

One day we were cutting our next-door neighbor’s yard. She always waited until the grass was knee-high to call us over. To make matters worse, we had an old lawn mower that kept cutting off as we plowed through her backyard jungle. This particular afternoon, I was finishing up and was tired and sweaty. I pictured the tall glass of Kool-Aid I would gulp in a minute to cool down.

I was just about to cut off the lawn mower when I saw Dad pointing to one lone blade. I thought about the chump change I was getting paid for cutting grass so high it almost broke the mower. I ignored him and kept walking. Dad called me out and yelled, “You missed a piece.”

I frowned, hoping he would let me slide and go home. He kept pointing. So beat and deflated, I went back to cut that piece of grass. I mumbled to myself: “That one piece isn’t hurting anyone. Why won’t he just let it go?”

But when I reached adulthood, I understood his message: When you’re running a business, the work you do says a great deal about you. If you want to be seen as an entrepreneur with integrity, you must deliver a quality product. That single blade of grass meant the job was not done.

Other neighbors took notice of the good work we did and we soon garnered more business. We started out with one client, but by the end of the summer we had five, which was all we cared to handle because we wanted time to enjoy our summer break from school.

The lesson my dad taught me stayed with me: Be professional. If you say you are going to perform a job at a certain time, keep your word. Give your customers the kind of service you would like to receive. It shows how sincere you are and how much pride you take in your work.

Before I knew it, my tribute was over. I saw my wife jump to her feet in an ovation. The pastor embraced me. People rushed to shake my hand. Though Dad’s body lay inside the coffin, I felt his spirit there. I pictured him standing in the sanctuary, wearing the white T-shirt and blue shorts he did on grass-cutting days. Always there for me and always proud.

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How 2 Control Temper

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was talented, creative, handsome, and extremely bright. A natural leader. The kind of person everyone would normally have wanted on their team or project. But he was also self-centered and had a very bad temper. When he got angry, he usually said, and often did, some very hurtful things. In fact, he seemed to have little regard for those around him. Even friends. So, naturally, he had few. “But,” he told himself, “that just shows how stupid most people are!”

As he grew, his parents became concerned about this personality flaw, and pondered long and hard about what they should do. Finally, the father had an idea. And he struck a bargain with his son. He gave him a bag of nails, and a BIG hammer. “Whenever you lose your temper,” he told the boy, “I want you to really let it out. Just take a nail and drive it into the oak boards of that old fence out back. Hit that nail as hard as you can!”

Of course, those weathered oak boards in that old fence were almost as tough as iron, and the hammer was mighty heavy, so it wasn’t nearly as easy as it first sounded. Nevertheless, by the end of the first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence (That was one angry young man!). Gradually, over a period of weeks, the number dwindled down. Holding his temper proved to be easier than driving nails into the fence! Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He felt mighty proud as he told his parents about that accomplishment.

“As a sign of your success,” his father responded, “you get to PULL OUT one nail. In fact, you can do that each day that you don’t lose your temper even once.”

Well, many weeks passed. Finally one day the young boy was able to report proudly that all the nails were gone.

At that point, the father asked his son to walk out back with him and take one more good look at the fence. “You have done well, my son,” he said. “But I want you to notice the holes that are left. No matter what happens from now on, this fence will never be the same. Saying or doing hurtful things in anger produces the same kind of result. There will always be a scar. It won’t matter how many times you say you’re sorry, or how many years pass, the scar will still be there. And a verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. People are much more valuable than an old fence. They make us smile. They help us succeed. Some will even become friends who share our joys, and support us through bad times. And, if they trust us, they will also open their hearts to us. That means we need to treat everyone with love and respect. We need to prevent as many of those scars as we can.”

A most valuable lesson, don’t you think? And a reminder most of us need from time to time. Everyone gets angry occasionally. The real test is what we DO with it.

If we are wise, we will spend our time building bridges rather than barriers in our relationships.

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Interesting Animal Facts!!

All species have their own unique abilities.

Humans have highly developed brains. Ants never sleep. Elephants can smell water 3 miles away. Snails can grow new eyes…

Enjoy this little journey to the miraculous world of animals. Hope you learn a thing or two along the way!

Australian termites can build mounds twenty feet high and at least 100 feet wide.

Birds don’t urinate.

Ants never sleep. Also they don’t have lungs. Worker ants may live seven years and the queen may live as long as 15 years.

Horses and cows sleep while standing up.

If you lift a kangaroo’s tail off the ground it can’t hop – they use their tails for balance.

The horn of a rhinoceros is made from compacted hair rather than bone or another substance.

The bat is the only mammal that can fly. The leg bones of a bat are so thin that no bat can walk.

Bats always turn left when leaving a cave.

A tarantula spider can survive for more than two years without food.

Even when a snake has its eyes closed, it can still see through its eyelids.

Despite the white, fluffy appearance of Polar Bears fur, it actually has black skin.

The average housefly only lives for 2 or 3 weeks.

Male mosquitos do not bite, only female mosquito bites.

For every human in the world there are one million ants.

For every person there are rougly 200 million insects.

Even a small amount of alcohol placed on a scorpion will make it go crazy and sting itself to death!

Alligators and sharks can live up to 100 years.

Rats breed so quickly that in just 18 months, 2 rats could have created over 1 million relatives.

A bee must visit 4,000 flowers in order to make one tablespoon of honey.

A honeybee has two stomaches- one for honey, one for food.

A bee can see the colors green, blue and ultra-violet – but red looks like black.

Great white Sharks can go as long as three months without eating.

Mayflies live for a year or more as larvae; but as adults they live for only a few hours.

Killer whales kill sharks by torpedoing up into the shark’s stomach from underneath, causing the shark to explode.

Killer whales are not whales at all, rather a species of dolphin.

Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale. The heart of a blue whale is the size of a small car.

A cockroach can survive for about a week without its head before dying of starvation.

When a dolphin is sick or injured, its cries of distress summon immediate aid from other dolphins, who try to support it to the surface so that it can breathe.

A dragonfly can spot an insect moving 33 feet away.

The heart of a shrimp is located in its head.

A snail can sleep for 3 years.

The oceans contain 99 percent of the living space on the planet.

The fastest bird, the spine-tailed swift, can fly as fast as 106mph.

A cow gives nearly 200,000 glasses of milk in her lifetime.

A newborn kangaroo is about 1 inch in length. It then grows inside its mother’s bag.

Dolphins sleep with one half of the brain at a time, and one eye closed.

The leech has 32 brains.

Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from the blowing sand.

The average outdoor-only cat has a lifespan of about three years. Indoor-only cats can live sixteen years and longer.

It takes a lobster about seven years to grow to be one pound.

On average, pigs live for about 15 years.

Sharks are the only animals that never get sick. They are immune to every type of disease including cancer.

Goat’s eyes have rectangular pupils.

The placement of a donkey’s eyes in its head enables it to see all four feet at all times.

A dolphin’s hearing is so acute that it can pick up an underwater sound from fifteen miles away.

A mosquito has 47 teeth.

No two zebras have the same markings.

Butterflies taste with their hind feet.

The sex organ on a male spider is located at the end of one of its legs.

Birds do not sleep in their nests. They may occasionally nap in them, but they actually sleep in other places.

Lobsters can live up to 50 years.

The ears of a cricket are located on the front legs, just below the knee.

Bees have five eyes. There are 3 small eyes on the top of a bee’s head and 2 larger ones in front.

It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.

Polar bears cannot be detected by infrared cameras, due to their transparent fur.

A snail only mates once.

Flies have 4000 lenses in each eye.

Shrimp can only swim backwards.

The owl can catch a mouse in utter darkness, guided only by tiny sounds made by its prey.

Strands of spider web are stronger than steel wire of the same thickness.

Squirrels can climb trees faster than they can run on the ground.

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

Rattlesnakes gather in groups to sleep through the winter. Sometimes up to 1,000 of them will coil up together to keep warm.

Cows have four stomachs.

The honey bee has been around for 30 million years.

An elephant can smell water up to 3 miles away.

If you cut off a snail’s eye, it will grow a new one.

Oysters can change from one gender to another and back again depending on which is best for mating.

A starving mouse will eat it’s own tail.

Sharks have been around longer than dinosaurs.

A butterfly has 12,000 eyes.

The lifespan of 75% of wild birds is 6 months.

A Giraffe has the same number of bones in its neck as a man.

The blue whale is the largest of all whales and is also considered the largest animal to have ever existed in the world.

An adult lion’s roar can be heard up to five miles away, and warns off intruders or reunites scattered members of the pride.

Many fish can change sex during the course of their lives. Others, especially rare deep-sea fish, have both male and female sex organs.

The average hen lays 257 eggs a year.

A scallop has 35 blue eyes.

When a dog licks you with a straight tongue, he’s saying “I Love You.”

Spiders are believed to have existed for more than 300 million years.

Dinosaurs lived on Earth for around 165 million years before they became extinct.

We humans share 98.4% of our DNA with a chimp.

Each year, insects eat 1/3 of the earth’s food crop.

The blood of mammals is red, the blood of insects is yellow, and the blood of lobsters is blue.

You should not eat a crawfish with a straight tail. It was dead before it was cooked.

Of all known forms of animals life ever to inhabit the Earth, only about 10 percent still exist today.

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Each Person Shines His Own Way

A samurai who was known for his nobility and honesty, went to visit a Zen monk to ask him for his advice.

When the monk had finished his prayers, the Samurai asked, “Why do I feel so inferior? I have faced death many times, have defended those who are weak. Nevertheless, upon seeing you meditating, I felt that my life had absolutely no importance whatsoever.”

“Wait. Once I have attended to all those who come to see me today, I shall answer you.” – replied the monk.

The samurai spent the whole day sitting in the temple gardens, watching the people go in and out in search of advice. He saw how the monk received them all with the same patience and the same illuminated smile on his face.

At nightfall, when everyone had gone, he demanded: “Now can you teach me?”

The master invited him in and lead him to his room. The full moon shone in the sky, and the atmosphere was one of profound tranquility.

“Do you see the moon, how beautiful it is? It will cross the entire firmament, and tomorrow the sun will shine once again.”

“But sunlight is much brighter, and can show the details of the landscape around us: trees, mountains, clouds.”

“I have contemplated the two for years, and have never heard the moon say: why do I not shine like the sun? Is it because I am inferior?”

“Of course not.” – answered the samurai. “The moon and the sun are different things, each has its own beauty. You cannot compare the two.”

“So you know the answer. We are two different people, each fighting in his own way for that which he believes, and making it possible to make the world a better place; the rest are mere appearances.”

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Thee Black Dot!!

A small town chamber of commerce invited a speaker to address its annual dinner. The community’s economy was bad, people were discouraged, and they wanted this motivational speaker to give them a boost.

During her presentation, the speaker took a large piece of white paper and made a small black dot at the center with a marking pen. Then she held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw.

One person quickly replied, “I see a black dot.”

“Okay, what else do you see?”

Others joined in agreement: “A black dot.”

“Don’t you see anything besides the dot?” – she asked.

A resounding “No” came from the audience.

“What about the sheet of paper?” – asked the speaker. “I am sure you have all seen it”, she said, “But you have chosen to overlook it.”

“In life, we also tend to overlook and take for granted many wonderful things that we have or happen around us and focus our attention and energy on small, dotlike failures and disappointments. The so called ‘problems’ that we have are usually like the black dot on the paper. They are small and insignificant if we can widen our horizon and look at the whole picture.”

Are you one of the person who focus your attention and energy on dot-like problems?

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