Archives (continued)

January 15, 2001
Issue No. 30

Welcome to "Snippets"

Saying for the Week

Chin Ups

"YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT LIES RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER"

In 2000, Joanne Kathleen Rowling earned $29 million making her the highest paid female in Great Britain. The miraculous thing is that just seven years ago, Joanne was practically penniless living in an unheated, mouse-infested apartment. She was recently divorced after having been married for only a year and was struggling to support her infant daughter. Feeling depressed and angry, she was sure she had really messed up her life.

However, Joanne's whole world was about to change. She began to put down on paper a story that had been brewing in her mind. Little did she know at the time that her original book plus three sequels would rake in millions of dollars and a movie would be made from it. Now known as J.K. Rowling, her character, Harry Potter, has entertained millions of people, adults and children alike, all over the world.

Fame did not come instantly, however. Joanne first started writing at age six and completed two novels that were never published. When the image of Harry Potter first came into her mind, she spent five years working the plots for Harry's adventures. Then when she finally finished the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, she had trouble finding a publisher. Told that her sentence structure was too complex and the setting of a British boarding school would not interest most people, she undauntedly strove to find a publisher and finally succeeded.

Missing Persons

To help us update our directory, if you know the author of the following wise old saying, please send the author along with the saying to: wiseoldsayings@email.com.

"Loose lips sink ships."

Telling Tales

Green-eyed Monster

A long time ago in the land of Snoo
There once lived a boy whom everyone knew.
He was nearly perfect except for one flaw:
He would get jealous of all that he saw.
This happened so often it became routine
For his deep blue eyes to turn a bright green.
The people of Snoo always teased and made fun
Of his bright green eyes and forced him to run.
Tired of being the town's laughing stock
He asked his mother to please stop the mock.
She sat him right down and spoke gentle but stern
"The teasing will stop when you finally learn
To be content with who you happen to be
And stop being jealous of each person you see.
Then your eyes will remain a deep blue
And you'll look like everyone else in Snoo."

Moral: Envy of others always shows.

Words of Wisdom

"Human beings are like tea bags. You don't know your strength until you're in hot water."
Bruce Laingen (Iranian Hostage)

Thimbleful of Therapy

"I never let my schooling interfere with my education."
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

As a Matter of Fact

The wise old saying "Leave no stone unturned" means to explore all possibilities and use all methods at one's disposal. This adage was first written by Euripedes (484-406 B.C.), but was believed to have been coined from the spoken reply of the Delphic oracle "Turn every stone". The story goes that before the Persian general, Mardonius, was killed, he buried treasure on the field of Plataea right before a battle there in 479 B.C. The oracle's advice was to literally look under every stone to find the treasure.

(Source:Familiar Quotations by John Bartlett, Little Brown and Company, New York)

Sayings Sampler

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is a wise old saying of unknown origin. The obvious association is with our health. We are told by the medical profession that if we eat right, eliminate stress and get plenty of exercise we can drastically reduce our chances of getting cancer and heart attacks. Some health insurers even pay for routine checkups. Doctors recommend that patients quit smoking (or better still never start) in order to lessen our chances of getting lung cancer and emphysema. We are also told that wearing a seat belt in a car or a life preserver in a boat or a helmet on a bicycle can reduce our chances of getting injured or even killed in the event of an accident.

Less obvious, but just as appropriate, is making sure that you really know yourself and your future spouse before you get married to prevent a devastating divorce later. Other forms of prevention include keeping several job options open to soften the blow in the event of a layoff; diversifying your investments to insulate yourself from a downturn in any one of them and getting rid of multiple credit cards to keep you from overspending and falling deeply in debt.

Talent Show

In each issue of "Snippets" we print contributions sent in by our readers. Anyone who wants to share their talent is welcome to send us their creation to show in "Snippets". If you have a wise new saying, a fable, an inspirational story or a fact about a wise old saying that you would like to share, please send it to: wiseoldsayings@email.com.

This week's features are rewrites of three Aesop fables in limerick form by Janet S. Krueger. To see more of Janet's work visit her webpage at http://sites.netscape.net/jannieluusa/home where she displays one of her light-hearted published and unpublished writings each month, plus clever graphics.

THE FOX AND THE GRAPES

Said Fox, glimpsing grapes in a bower,
"How nice, for it's my supper hour!"
Alas, at each jump
He came down with a thump
But no grapes. Of wrath full, he cried, "Sour"!"

Moral: Don't disdain what you can't attain.

THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE

With tortoise engaged in a race,
Shrewd Hare was so sure of first place
That he stopped for a snooze
And thereby did lose
The contest, and also some face!

Moral: Persistence goes the distance.

THE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE CITY MOUSE

The city mouse thought it divine:
The caviar, roquefort and wine,
But country mouse fled:
Cats and noises brought dread,
"Let me, on a crumb, in peace,dine!"

Moral: Less stressed, more blessed.

Blankety Blanks

"If it ain't ______, don't ______ it."

The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
"Great oaks from little acorns grow."

Discombobbles

"Of sea fish there the plenty in are."

The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
"All roads lead to Rome."

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January 1, 2001
Issue No. 29

Welcome to "Snippets"

Special Request

Saying for the Week

Chin Ups

"OUR HANDICAPS EXIST ONLY IN OUR MINDS"

James Earl Jones is well known today as an award-winning multitalented actor. He has performed on Broadway and starred in numerous Hollywood productions, such as "Field of Dreams", "Star Wars" and "The Lion King". He also appeared in the television series "Gabriel's Fire" and as narrator for the PBS show "Long Ago and Far Away", in addition to being the voice for Bell Atlantic.

What isn't widely known about Jones, however, is that when he was a child he was mute for eight years, caused by several traumas in his life. His parents were married for less than a year and had little to do with him during his childhood. He never even met his father until he was twenty-one years old. He was raised by his maternal grandparents on a family farm in Mississippi. When Jones was five, his grandparents decided to move to Michigan. Not wanting to take him with them, they tried to deliver him to his paternal grandmother, but he refused to get out of the car. So his grandparents took him with them to Michigan after all.

Feeling insecure from having been ripped away from the home he loved in Mississippi and realizing that his grandparents didn't really want him, he began to stutter. When kids at church began to make fun of him, he decided to stop speaking. He was six years old at the time and would remain virtually silent until age 14. His silence was only broken when his teacher had him read a poem aloud to his classmates. It was one he had written called "Ode to a Grapefruit" and to his amazement the rhythm of the poem prevented him from stuttering. Not only did James Earl Jones conquer his stuttering, his baritone voice became known all over the world.

Missing Persons

To help us update our directory, if you know the author of the following wise old saying, please send the author along with the saying to: wiseoldsayings@email.com.

"If at first you don't succeed, try try again."

Telling Tales

The Piston's Path

Once there was a bright and shiny steel piston. It was very focused and wanted only to power the machine for which it worked. At first it traveled back and forth through the shiny cylinder smoothly and with little effort. But soon it began to grind against the sides of the cylinder creating shavings that made its exterior rough and its performance less than perfect.

The little piston didn't know what to do, but the machinist knew what was needed. He took a quart of oil which had been sitting idle on the shelf and poured it into the cylinder. The oil felt useful and gladly lubricated the piston's path in the cylinder. Soon the piston's speed improved and it powered the machine with the greatest of ease. The machine generated great energy and many important tasks were completed.

Moral: One hand washes the other.

Words of Wisdom

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

Thimbleful of Therapy

"I can't be out of money, I still have checks left."
Unknown

As a Matter of Fact

"Boys, be ambitious" is a saying that an American professor named William Smith Clark (1826-1886) delivered in 1877 to his students at the Sapporo Agricultural College in Japan. This saying has been passed down from generation to generation in Japan and continues to this day to inspire Japanese boys.

Clark, a native of Massachusetts, was a graduate of Amherst College and later taught science there. He was also instrumental in helping to establish what is now the University of Massachusetts where he taught and served as president for twelve years. In 1876 he was hired by the Japanese government to oversee the start up of the Sapporo Agricultural College (now called Hokkaido University). He remained in Japan for only eight months, but succeeded in that brief period to leave an everlasting impact on the University and the people of Hokkaido.

Sayings Sampler

"Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do, doesn't mean it's useless" is a saying coined by Thomas Edison (1847-1931). During his lifetime he filled up 3400 notebooks with notes and sketches and was granted 1093 patents. Today we use many items that started out as other things. Here are a few examples:

- "Post-it Notes" came about by accident when 3M was trying to come up with a type of super glue. One of their batches was thought to be useless until one employee discovered the semi-stick glue and paper worked great as removable bookmarks for his choir book.

- Scotch tape was another failed experiment by 3M. Trying to cut costs in producing their masking tape, they reduced the amount of glue used. It failed to work as masking tape because it wasn't sticky enough, but instead became a new inexpensive household tape.

- Popsicles were invented by an 11-year-old boy who left his homemade soda pop outside and then forgot about it for a day. Thinking it was ruined because it was frozen, he then discovered that it made a delicious frozen treat.

- Potato chips were invented by accident when an angry chef decided to annoy a complaining customer. Thinking the customer would be upset that his potatoes were ruined, to the chef's surprise the customer loved them.

- "Silly Putty" was originally supposed to be a cheap substitute for rubber, but was too soft. It was considered useless until someone realized that it made a great toy.

- "Slinky" was intended to be used with military navigational instruments. When it was accidentally knocked down from a high shelf, it displayed its toy-like qualities and was then marketed as such.

- Vaseline petroleum jelly is a bi-product of "rod wax" which was considered a nuisance because it gummed up the works in petroleum plants. A chemist saw that it had healing qualities and after coming up with a clean version, sold it in the form we know it as today.

Talent Show

In each issue of "Snippets" we print contributions sent in by our readers. Anyone who wants to share their talent is welcome to send us their creation to show in "Snippets". If you have a wise new saying, a fable, an inspirational story or a fact about a wise old saying that you would like to share, please send it to: balancinga@aol.com.

This week's features are:

"Love is like a rose. It may seem beautiful, but if you get too close, you could get hurt." April D. Colclough

"Learning the hard way makes the lessons more valuable." Monty Overson

"You can't make anyone want to do anything." Monty Overson

Blankety Blanks

"Great ______ from little ______ grow."

The answer to last week's "Blankety Blank" is:
"If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride."

Discombobbles

"Rome lead all to roads."

The answer to last week's "Discombobble" is:
"Light gains make heavy purses."

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December 15, 2000
Issue No. 28

Welcome to "Snippets"

Saying for the Week

Chin Ups

"THE LONGEST JOURNEY BEGINS WITH THE FIRST STEP"

In 1953, a 44-year-old woman known as "Peace Pilgrim" started walking across the United States spreading the idea of peace. On her pilgrimage, she wore a tunic with the words "Peace Pilgrim" on it and carried her meager possessions in her pockets. She vowed she would not sleep unless given shelter and would not eat unless offered food. Throughout her pilgrimage she never went without food or shelter. She talked with thousands of people and spoke to church, college and civic groups all over the United States and even made appearances on TV and radio. Believing that there would not be world peace until enough people attained inner peace, she helped people all over America find such peace through her example and her teachings. Her pilgrimage ended with her death in 1981 after walking more than 25,000 miles. She was 72 years old and had been walking for 28 years. One memorable story about her travels includes the time she was walking during the winter in a northern climate and it began to snow. She was far from shelter and was at risk in the storm. However, soon enough she came to a bridge and decided to seek shelter under it. It was snowing heavily and bitterly cold. Loe and behold, under the bridge was a cardboard refrigerator box. The Peace Pilgrim crawled into it and safely slept through the storm.

(Note: For more information about "Peace Pilgrim" go to www.peacepilgrim.com.)

Missing Persons

To help us update our directory, if you know the author of the following wise old saying, please send the author along with the saying to: wiseoldsayings@email.com.

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

Telling Tales

Ricky's Ruse

Ten-year-old Ricky wanted to give his dad an extra special gift for Christmas. It was very important to him that he give him something out of the ordinary. There was only one problem, however. Ricky didn't have any money. After listening to his sister, Patsy, brag about how much money she had, a plan started to form in Ricky's mind. He knew where Patsy hid her money -- in her jewelry box on her dresser. Since she had so much, Ricky figured that she certainly wouldn't miss $10. So one day when Patsy was off visiting a friend, Ricky sneaked into her room and stole a $10 bill.

Within a day, Patsy had discovered the theft and ran around the house telling everyone that she was missing $10. Ricky had forgotten that Patsy kept very good records and knew just how much money she had to the penny. He wasn't worried, however. He figured the whole thing would blow over in a few days and that his best approach was to just play dumb. Unfortunately for him, it didn't blow over. Every day until Christmas, Patsy fumed about her missing money.

Finally, Christmas morning came and Ricky was so excited for his dad to open his gift. He was sure it was the best present his dad had ever received. Slowly, with exaggerated anticipation, his dad opened the small present that Ricky had wrapped all by himself. In it was the $10 bill all neatly folded. There was a look of shock on Patsy's face, as well as on his mom's and dad's faces. His mom quickly led Patsy out of the room leaving a very embarrassed Ricky alone with his dad. To Ricky's surprise, his dad didn't say anything. Ricky felt so guilty, however, that in a very short time he confessed to his crime.

Moral: A guilty conscience needs no accuser.

Words of Wisdom

"When the pain of remaining the same exceeds the pain of change, you will change."
Unknown

Thimbleful of Therapy

"Get even. Give fruitcake."
Unknown

As a Matter of Fact

"Time is of the essence" is a wise old saying that comes from law. "Of the essence" is a legal term from around 1900 which means "essential". When a contract read "time is of the essence", it meant that time is very important to the completion of the contract.

(Source: Heavens to Betsy by Charles Earle Funk, Harper & Row, New York, 1955)

Sayings Sampler

"All of us, the great and the little, have need of each other" is the moral of an Aesop fable. Every job is important. Not only are corporate presidents, union chiefs, politicians, religious leaders and major generals important, but also all the people under them. For example, where would we be if trash collectors stopped collecting the trash? This happened in New York City several years ago and the city was a mess with trash piled everywhere. Without leaders, followers can't get organized, but without followers, leaders have no purpose.

Talent Show

In each issue of "Snippets" we print contributions sent in by our readers. Anyone who wants to share their talent is welcome to send us their creation to show in "Snippets". If you have a wise new saying, a fable, an inspirational story or a fact about a wise old saying that you would like to share, please send it to: wiseoldsayings@email.com.

This week's features are:

"Surround yourself with loving people." Judy Gannon

"If you can't make a decision, then you don't have enough information yet." Anonymous

"The more shortcuts you take in life, the quicker you get to the end of it! Chris Reed

Blankety Blanks