The Loser

For Sparky school was all but impossible. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He flunked physics in high school getting a grade of zero. Sparky also flunked Latin, algebra and English. He didn't do much better in sports. Although he did manage to make the school's golf team, he lost the only important match of the season.

Throughout his youth Sparky was awkward socially. He was not actually disliked by the other students; no one cared that much. He was surprised if a classmate ever said hello to him outside of school hours. There's no way to tell how he might have done at dating. Sparky never once asked a girl to go out in high school. He was too afraid of being turned down.

Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates...everyone knew it. So he rolled with it. Sparky had made up his mind early in life that if things were meant to work out, they would. Otherwise he would content himself with what appeared to be his inevitable mediocrity.

However, one thing was important to Sparky - drawing. He was proud of his artwork. Of course, no one else appreciated it. In his senior year of high school, he submitted some cartoons to the editors of the yearbook. The cartoons were turned down. Despite this rejection, Sparky was so convinced of his ability that he decided to become a professional artist.

After completing high school, he wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios. He was told to send some samples of his artwork, and the subject for a cartoon was suggested. Sparky drew the proposed cartoon. He spent a great deal of time on it and on all the other drawings he submitted. Finally, the reply came from Disney Studios. He had been rejected once again. Another loss for the loser.

So Sparky decided to write his own autobiography in cartoons. He described his childhood self - a little boy loser and chronic underachiever. For Sparky, the boy who had such a lack of success in school and whose work was rejected again and again, was Charles Schultz.

Although his little cartoon alter ego, Charlie Brown, has never been able to get his kite to fly or has succeeded in kicking a football, "Sparky" Schultz long ago dropped his loser image through Charlie Brown's extraordinary successful cartoon home, "Peanuts."

Charles “Sparky” Shultz died in 2000. In high school he may have been considered a loser, but “in life” he was a definite winner. It took time for him to discover what he really loved, and whet he did well with in life. And as Charlie Brown in his own way had the understanding and patience from his family, I am confident that Sparky did along the way as well.

~ From a story told by Earl Nightingale with a touch of Wikipedia and C.F. Pofahl ~

The Richest Woman In the World

I will always remember Stella. Elderly, blind, and living alone, one might think she should have spun long tales of hardship and misery. And I suppose she could have told such stories, but she made little room in her life for self-pity.

She might have mentioned the deaths of friends and family, including her husband; the glaucoma which finally claimed her eyesight; the small pension on which she was forced to subsist and the arthritis which kept her homebound in a little trailer house.

But she never did lament about all her hardships, either past or present. I frequently recall her enumerating her good fortune. Speaking of her son, she often said:

"My Jimmy came to see me today. He's so good to me!" Of her friends, she often commented:

"I've been talking on the phone all morning. I'm so thankful I have such good friends." Then, with a slap on her knee and a broad smile on her lips, she would invariably exclaim,

"I'm the richest person in the world!"

And maybe she was! She had love. She found it in her friends, her family and her faith. She had everything she needed for a happy and fulfilled life. And what"s more, she knew it. Stella spoke of her upcoming 90th birthday.

"All my family will be here," she smiled. And with that familiar slap on her knee, she exclaimed,

"You know, I'm the richest person in the world!"

But she barely made that birthday celebration herself. Several days prior she was laid in a hospital bed and slipped into a coma. Her family was told she would die shortly. I felt sad that she would not experience her long-awaited celebration.

However, a strange thing happened. On the day of her birthday, she opened her eyes and greeted the smiling faces of family and friends surrounding her bed. She sat up and enjoyed birthday cake while someone read cards.

They told her they loved her and they said, "Good-bye." At one point, she looked at me with that familiar twinkle in her eye, smiled and whispered,

"I'm the richest person in the world!"

Stella went to sleep that night and slipped peacefully away. I have often wondered if she felt sorry for those who have everything but happiness. After all, they could be just as wealthy and happy as she, if they only realized that the greatest of all riches love.

Thanks to Stella, I have now decided to become the Richest Person in the World!

-written by S. Goodier-

A Real Gorgeous Story

Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like it even if you don't and you may even decide you need one!

Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.' Lucky was a real character.

Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.

Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favourite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease......in fact; she was just sure it was fatal.

She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her....what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through.

If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him! The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.

Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap..

Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned!

While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favourite things in life.

He had covered her with his love.

Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky. He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

Remember.....live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget....the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.

If you see someone without a smile today give them one of yours! Live simply.. Love seriously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God .

A small request All you are asked to do is keep this circulating.

Dear God, I pray for the cure of cancer.
Amen

All you are asked to do is keep this circulating, even if it is only to one more people, in memory of anyone you know that has been struck down by cancer or is still fighting their battle.

-Author Unknown-

Thanks to Angela who sent me this post.

Stress Management

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?"
Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.
The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it."

"If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day,you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can."

"Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!"

And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

* Never buy a car you can't push.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

* The second mouse gets the cheese.

* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull.
Some have weird names, and all are different colours,but they all have to live in the same box.

* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today.........I DID.