LOVELIGHT

Magazine

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May 2004

 

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Volume 1, no. 5

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PLEASE NOTE: Rest assured, dear friends, that your email address will not be used in any unapproved way or given or sold to anyone else!

 

 

 

General managing editors: Richard Shining Thunder Francis and Ada Maria Francis

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Contributors to this issue, in alphabetically order: Alvin Blanco, George Carlin, Pat Fields, Phil and Patty Goodman, Sandy Grubb, Tom Gustin, Patricia Helms, Kel Lung, Mary McLocklin, Kathy Oros, Jim Rink, Karleen Sell, Larkin Sell, Frank Tyrrell

 

FEATURE ARTICLE: Possibilities and Impossibilities, by Tom Gustin

 

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Today, while discussing technical “stuff,” it was casually commented that “nothing is impossible.”  Another person added the common phrase, “given enough time and money...”  And that condition has also been my usual attitude.  This condition applies especially to those problems whose solutions others considered “impossible.”  So, I have invented many products that were, in others’ eyes, “impossible.”

 

From this perspective, what those engineers meant when they said that something was impossible is that they couldn’t do it.  Now, functionally, “I can’t do it” is an equivalent statement to “it can’t be done”, provided that one adds, “by me.”  The universe comes with very few guarantees; but here is one:  If you say you  can’t, you can be one hundred percent guaranteed that you won’t!  How can such a statement be guaranteed with such certainty?  It’s very simple, really.  When you say you can’t, you are in fact creating a very powerful statement to the universe about yourself, about who you are and who you wish to be.  The universe replies with a great force: “Alright, you can’t.  Now, what else do you have to create with which I may assist you?  Once you experience this as your personal reality, it makes you slow down and carefully look at every one of your opinions.  It causes you to examine every statement about your perspective and your experiences.  For your intentions (thoughts that become creations) often lead to words-- which are even more powerful creations.  They also often lead to the even more powerful creations called actions.  The universe assists you with all of these forms of creation.  This it does by providing you with the experience of being able to perceive the results.  If you say that you can’t, then the universe provides you with the experience of “not being able to,” as per your implicit “request.”  This often creates very uncomfortable consequences.  If you can’t design a product for a customer, you don’t get the contract.  You don’t get to help that customer solve the problem.  You don’t get the experience of working with other very creative engineers on the project.  You don’t receive compensation.  And you might even lose future opportunities for other designs.  And these are just a few of the really obvious ramifications.  The word “can’t” can be very expensive in many senses, even in a monetary sense.

 

What about the concept that “nothing is impossible,” or “everything is possible”?  I have approached my projects from an atypical perspective-- not with the memories of “how it was taught in school.”  In this approach, a very poor memory can actually be a plus.  This permits you to approach a solution from a unique vantage point.  It is the same one that guides the whole universe.  For the cosmos is continuously being created, without boundaries and constraints.  Of course, this almost always elicits the response from others that they do have certain limitations on time and money.  This, in turn, does provide some boundaries and limitations to solutions.  This is where the common phrase “given enough time and money” comes from, of course.  However, for any given project, it is possible to come up with imaginative, creative solutions.  (Other solutions are offered by book-educated engineers on the team.)  It is common to hear responses such as, “That sure is off-the-wall,” or, “Where did you come up with that idea?” or, “I’ve never seen anything like that before,” etc.  In the past, attempts have been made to explain these creation techniques.  The result was usually only blank stares and glazed looks of total non-comprehension.

 

From my own personal experiences, then, I feel fairly comfortable in saying that “anything is possible.”  Having said this, of course, I must, in complete honesty, also admit that this might, in fact, be another glaring demonstration of my own ignorance.  For instance, if I can dream up a solution to a problem, it is, in fact, already a reality.  Now all that is left to do is to convert those thought forms into the patterns necessary to materialize it into physical reality.  After many puzzled looks from people hearing such a statement, and after a small pause for reflection, there is often some agreement to this observation.  And my brother often adds, “You sure are weird!”  Such looks and statements are confirmation.  This usually generates more puzzled looks.

 

Our religions very nearly all teach that “with God all things are possible.”  My tiny little singularity of awareness is highly filtered by my experiences.  It is also extremely limited by my sensory systems.  On the surface, it appears that all things are possible.  So, what about:

 

  1. Is it possible for God to Not Love (Love is a VERB, not a noun) since that is what God does?
  2. Is it possible for me, a tiny little subset of the All, to Not be part of the All?
  3. Is it possible for me, a “created creator,” to Not create the experience of being a creator?
  4. Is it possible for me to create any thoughts, words or deeds, that are not also experienced, through me, by the entire universe?
  5. Is it possible for me to choose any path consisting of any number of intentions that won’t somehow eventually lead back to my source?
  6. Is it possible for me to stop loving my dear, spiritual partner, Joyce?

 

Is it possible that six “impossibilities” have been listed here?  How many more can there be?

 

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Feng Shui Corner, by Pat Fields

 

       

           Don't put a bath room across from your kitchen (which represents your family's prosperity),  across from the main entrance (where positive energy enters the home), or at the center of the house (which represents the heart of the home)

 

           Do be mindful of the original purpose or use of an antique or secondhand item. For example, avoid masks of the dead that were used for burials or exorcisms, and avoid statues that have come from tombs, caves, pyramids, cemeteries, or temples.

 

          Do place an alter across the room from your front door or in the NW area of a room or house. The NW represents heaven and father, the spiritual and temporal heads of the household.

 

        Calligraphy:  In learning to play a piano, the beginner must first master finger placement and scales; in learning calligraphy, the beginner must practice endlessly the eight basic strokes.

 

        Holiday:  The 106th day after the winter solstice marks Ching Ming (clear and bright), the Chinese equivalent of All Souls' Day, and is a memorial day for the deceased. Ching Ming lasts for a month and is a time for paying respects to one's ancestors. After all, if it weren't for them, we wouldn't be here!

 

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TO MY SON, by Jim Rink

 

 

although the drops of my blood

which flow through your veins are few,

they are scattered carefully

 

because I was merely the ship

that carried you to this shore

to find your way through an uncharted land

guided by clouded memories of prior journeys,

I still sail the shallows

 

from the loft, I scan the distance

with an ever-watchful eye

 

should you find yourself with your back to the sea

look over your shoulder

 

for my sails, though tattered

will weather the storm

and my hull, though battered

will skirt the shoals

to stow you away

close to my heart

 

 

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 FRANCIS’S WORDS OF WISDOM, sent by Kathy Oros

 

"Where there is charity and wisdom,
there is neither fear nor ignorance.
Where there is patience and humility,
there is neither anger nor vexation.
Where there is poverty and joy,
there is neither greed nor avarice.
Where there is peace and meditation,
there is neither anxiety nor doubt."
Francis of Assisi

 

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These Lessons I Have Learned, by Kel Lung

***
I've learned....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
That money doesn't buy class.
That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
That love, not time, heals all wounds.
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
That no one is perfect until you fall in Love with him/her.
That life is tough, but I'm tougher.
That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
That I can't always choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.
That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occur while you're climbing it.
That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life threatening situation.

 
 


 

 

 

LOVELETTTERS FROM OUR BEST BUDS, PALS, AND FRIENDS

From Panther (Pat Helms)

Hello Dearest Donkamelephantcyberfloweringflowingpup,

 

...Yes, received wonderful Lovelight! ...Thank you for the treat...

 

Maribee's heart sharing and growth knowledge are outstanding.  The depth of the subject, along with the personal experiences openly discussed displays so much Love and trust!  What beautiful people!  I hope Maribee is a touch stone for suicide prevention for the world.  Her wording flows with Love.

 

Your short blurp before hand was a perfect opener for our minds.

 

Oh my gosh oh my gosh, all of the humor was great.  When it is my time to "go" I hope I "go" laughing. Thanks to so many shared copies I am now changing the ink cartridge.  One of the things I like so much about all the articles is that they are so "ageless friendly".  I print some things for my 90 year old Aunt and others for my 18 year old son.  But I could do the whole thing for anyone!   This is wonderful and shows how much Love and respect for Life your unit [Lovelight contributors] has.  Know you hold all of us with great pride and surely hope you are filled with that same joy knowing it is reciprocated.

Sending Love from a full and laughing heart!  Always Your Panther

 

 

 

 

THE POWER OF FREEDOM, sent in by Pat Helms

  

EDITORIAL FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY

 

 

We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA. I

think this is very much worth reading and passing on. It says a lot.

 

Read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by Mr.

Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title "C"ntarea Americii meaning

"Ode To America") on September 24, 2002 in the Romanian newspaper

Evenimentulzilei ("The Daily Event" or "News of the Day").

 

An Ode to America

 

Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you

painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and

form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.

 

Still, the American tragedy [9-11] turned three hundred million people into a hand

put on the heart.

 

Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, and the secret services

that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank

accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about. The

Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand.

 

After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking

ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national

flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on

every car a government official or the president was passing.

 

On every occasion, they started singing their traditional song: "God Bless

America!" I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours

listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a

woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian

hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented

the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or

thousands of people.

 

How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being?

 

Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned

into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and

millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or

a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy.

 

What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land? Their... history? Their economic Power? Money?

 

I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases

with the risk of sounding commonplace.

 

I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion...

 

 

 

Only freedom can work such miracles.

 

 ****

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Alvin Blanco:


Dear Mr. Francis,

 

I caught some of your on-air discussion about Jehovah,

etc., the other night. The idea of a God who is pure

love is an attractive one, and is probably accurate...

 

 The Roman Catholic view is not that God

metes out arbitrary punishment, literally roasting the

damned over hot coals. The Catholic position is quite

a bit more nuanced than that. First, all depictions of

"hell" are metaphorical--they are attempts to convey

to the limited human mind what eternity without God

might feel like. Second--hell is just that: eternity

without God. And, at least in the Catholic view,

eternity in hell is NOT a fate that God flings at us

because we've made him mad. "Hell" comes about as a

natural result of the choices we make throughout our

lives. That is to say, again in the Catholic view, if

we consistently make the choice, in our lives, to turn

away from God, then, in the end, he respects that

choice.

 

Or, another way to think about it is this: We have

free will--the necessary condition for returning a

free gift of love to the God who loves us. That free

will--the very thing we need in order to respond

freely to God's love--is also the thing that enables

us to make wrong choices, the choices that draw us

away from God. A life spent making selfish, immoral

choices that rebel against the Love that created us

will just naturally result in an afterlife that flows

from those choices.

 

It's a natural result in the same way that falling is

a natural result of jumping from a high place; i.e.,

gravity is an inherent and binding law in our world--a

description of what really happens if we drop things.

Just so, estrangement from God is the natural result

of our consistent, willful turning away from him and

his love--of our violating the natural law, if you

will. It's not a question of God's punishing us for

doing wrong, it's a matter of his respecting our free

will. I am free to flout God and free to jump from

high places; the result in either case is equally

disastrous. [Note that this is not exclusively a

Christian idea. Every major world religion posits a

moral code for its adherents--and dire consequences

for those who reject it.]

 

...People can make bad choices and do bad things--i.e., that

they can live in a way that is unworthy of the gift of

God's love.... You said, God is pure Love...

Love of God has

to be freely chosen. That implies that we have the

ability to also reject that Love....

*******

MORE HUMORTHERAPY:  HEALING THROUGH LAUGHTER

 

HAIKU ERROR-MESSAGES sent in by Sandi Grubb

__________________________________

Here are eleven actual error messages seen on the computer screens in Japan, where some are written in Haiku.  Aren't these better than "your computer has performed an illegal operation”?

 

1. The Web site you seek cannot be located, but countless more exist.
2. Chaos reigns within. Reflect and reboot. Order shall return.
3. Program aborting: Close all that you have worked on. You ask far too much.
4. Windows NT crashed. I am the Blue Screen of Death. No one hears your screams.
5. Your file was so big. It might be very useful. But now it is gone.
6. Stay the patient course. Of little worth is your ire. The network is down.
7. A crash reduces your expensive computer to a simple stone.
8. Three things are certain: Death, taxes and lost data. Guess which has occurred?
9. You step in the stream, but the water has moved on. This page is not here.
10. Out of memory. We wish to hold the whole sky, but we never will.
11. Screen. Mind. Both are blank.

***

Also from Sandi Grubb:

LOGOMANIA

 

Once again, The Washington Post published its yearly contest in which
readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for various words. And the winners are:

1. flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
2. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absent-mindedly
answer the door in your nightgown.
3. gargoyle (n.), an olive-flavored mouthwash.

4. Flatulence (n.) the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller
5. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
6. Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die your Soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck there.

*******

 

*** 

TRIP TO HEAVEN, sent in by Karleen Sell

 

A guy dies and goes to heaven.  He's admitted, and he and St. Peter are walking beside a long wall of clocks.
     "What are these clocks for?" he asks the saint.
     St. Peter says, "Every person who's ever lived has a clock that records his or her lying time.”
     The man stops by a clock that is not even running.  "Whose clock is this?”
     St. Peter says, "That's George Washington's. It never moved.”
     The man stops by another clock. It seems to have recorded just a few
seconds. "Whose is this?”
     "Abraham Lincoln's.”
     The man pauses, then asks "Where's President Bush's clock?”
     St. Peter says, "Oh....Jesus has Bush's clock in his office.
He's using it as a ceiling fan."
***
 

ABBOT AND COSTELLO, COMPUTERIZED, sent in by Phil and Patty Goodman!
---------------------------------------------------
ABBOT: Super Duper computer store.  Can I help you?
COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den, and I'm thinking
about buying a computer.
ABBOT: Mac?
COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.
ABBOT: Your computer?
COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.
ABBOT: Mac?
COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.
ABBOT: What about Windows?
COSTELLO: Why?  Will it get stuffy in here?
ABBOT: Do you want a computer with Windows?
COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look in the windows?
ABBOT: Wallpaper.
COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.
ABBOT: Software for Windows?
COSTELLO: No, on the computer!  I need something I can use to write
proposals, track expenses and run my business.  What have you got?
ABBOT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?
ABBOT: I just did.
COSTELLO: You just did what?
ABBOT: Recommend something.
COSTELLO: You recommended something?
ABBOT: Yes.
COSTELLO: For my office?
ABBOT: Yes.
COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?
ABBOT: Office.
COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!
ABBOT: I recommend Office with Windows.
COSTELLO: I already have an office and it has windows!  OK, let's just
say, I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal.  What
do I need?
ABBOT: Word.
COSTELLO: What word?
ABBOT: The Word in Office.
COSTELLO: The only word in office is office!
ABBOT: The Word in Office for Windows.
COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?
ABBOT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W"
COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue w if you don't start with some
straight answers.  OK, forget that.  Can I watch movies on the
Internet?
ABBOT: Yes, you want Real One.
COSTELLO: Maybe a real one, maybe a cartoon.  What I watch is none of
your business.  Just tell me what I need!
ABBOT: Real One.
COSTELLO: If it's a long movie I also want to see reel 2, 3, and 4. 
Can I watch them?
ABBOT: Of course!
COSTELLO: Great, with what?
ABBOT: Real One.
COSTELLO: OK, I'm at my computer and I want to watch a movie.  What do
I do?
ABBOT: You click the blue '1'.
COSTELLO: I click the blue one what?
ABBOT: The blue '1'.
COSTELLO: Is that different from the blue w?
ABBOT: The blue '1' is Real One and the blue 'W' is Word.
COSTELLO: What word?
ABBOT: The Word in Office for Windows.
COSTELLO: But there's three words in 'office for windows'!
ABBOT: No, just one, but it's the most popular Word in the world!
COSTELLO: It is?
ABBOT: Yes, but to be fair, there aren't many other Words left.  It
pretty much wiped out all the other Words out there.
COSTELLO: And that word is real one?
ABBOT: Real One has nothing to do with Word.  Real One isn't even part
of Office.
COSTELLO: Stop!  Don't start that again!  What about financial
bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?
ABBOT: Money.
COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?
ABBOT: Money.
COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?
ABBOT: Yes, it comes bundled with your computer.
COSTELLO: What's bundled to my computer?
ABBOT: Money.
COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?
ABBOT: Yes. No extra charge.
COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer?  How much?
ABBOT: One copy.
COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money? ABBOT: Microsoft gave us a
license to copy Money.
COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?
ABBOT: Sure, why not?  They own it!

***

 

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED, sent in by Mary McLocklin 

 

1. Isn't making a smoking section in a restaurant like making a peeing section in a swimming pool? 

2. If people from Poland are Poles, why aren't people from Holland Holes?

3. If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

4. Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale bread to begin with?

 5. Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one?

 6. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

7. If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

8. If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her nose?

***

 

YOU MIGHT BE A REDNECK IF, sent in by Frank Tyrrell:

 

Your standard of living improves when you go camping.

Your prenuptial agreement mentions chickens.

You have jacked up your home to look for a dog.

You have a relative living in your garage.

Your neighbor has ever asked to borrow a quart of beer.

There is a belch on your answering machine greeting.

You have rebuilt a carburetor while sitting on the commode.

None of the tires on your van are the same size.

You hold the hood of your car with your head while you work on it.

Your idea of getting lucky is passing the emissions test.

Your town put the new garbage truck in the Christmas parade.

Your local beauty salon also fixes cars.

Your doghouse and your living room have the same shag carpet.

You've slow danced in the Waffle House.

Starting your car involves popping the hood.

Your garbage man is confused about what goes and what stays.

You whistle at women in church.

You actually wear shoes your dog brought home.

You've been in a fistfight at a yard sale.

You carry a fly swatter in the front seat of the car so you can reach the kids in the backseat.

***

THE PERFECT “MEN,” sent in by Frank Tyrrell:

  1. It is important that a man supports  you emotionally and has a career to pursue.
  2. It is important that a man makes you laugh.
  3. It is important to find a man you can count on and doesn't lie to you.
  4. It is important that a man loves you and spoils you.
  5. It is important that these four men don't know each other.

*******

 

THE PARADOX  by George Carlin, sent in by Larkin Sell

 

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

*******


HOW TO STAY YOUNG, sent in by Larkin Sell

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctor worry about them. That is why you pay him/her.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. " An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish and appreciate whatever health you have. Always talk about what you CAN do and what you DO have.  Enjoy the good days! 

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

11.  And always remember
life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
*******

THREE QUESTIONS THAT CAN SAVE A LIFE, sent in by Karleen Sell

 Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify.   Unfortunately,

the lack of awareness spells disaster.   The stroke victim may suffer

brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a

stroke.   Now doctors say any bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

* Ask the individual to smile.

* Ask him or her to raise both arms.

* Ask the person to speak a simple sentence.

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately

and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.   After discovering that a

group of nonmedical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm

weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to

learn the three questions.

They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's

annual meeting last February.   Widespread use of this test could result

in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage."

*******

 

 

COMMON SENSE OBITUARY, sent in by Karleen Sell


Today we mourn the passing
of a beloved old friend by the name of
Common Sense
who has been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old he was
since his birth records
were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered
as having cultivated such value lessons as
knowing when to come in out of the rain
and that the early bird gets the worm.

Common Sense
lived by simple, sound financial policies
(don't spend more than you earn)
and reliable parenting strategies
(adults, not kids, are in charge).

His health began to rapidly deteriorate
when well intentioned but overbearing regulations
were set in place.

Reports of a six-year-old boy
charged with sexual harassment
for kissing a classmate;
teens suspended from school
for using mouthwash after lunch;
and a teacher fired
for reprimanding an unruly student,
only worsened his condition.

It declined even further
when schools were required to get parental consent
to administer aspirin to a student;
but could not inform the parents
when a student became pregnant
and wanted to have an abortion.

Finally,
Common sense lost the will to live
when churches became businesses
and criminals received better treatment
than their victims.

Common Sense finally gave up the ghost
after a woman failed to realize
that a steaming cup of coffee was hot,
she spilled a bit in her lap,
and was awarded a huge settlement

Common Sense
was preceded in death
by his parents, Truth and Trust,
his wife, Discretion;
his daughter, Responsibility;
and his son, Reason

He is survived by two stepbrothers;
My Rights and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral
because so few realized he was gone.

 


 

 

 

 FRACTURED WISDOM, sent in by Frank Tyrrell, adapted for Lovelight magazine.
 

 A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So does stubbing your toe. 

Never say die.  It doesn't work!  

Advice from “dubya”:  Never underestimate your ability to misoverestimate yourself.

Laughter is great medicine, but others are often better. 

It takes a village to raise a child to love all the people in the next village.

 The key to someone's heart is never lost.  But he/she can change the lock. 

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you don't have to run around like a beheaded fowl. 

Aspire to greatness. But remember that no one ever assassinated a Maytag repair-person.
 A high tide lifts all boats, except those with immovable anchors. 

There are none so blind as those who have turned their backs on interior in-sight. 

You can run but you can't hide, except from your own selfevaluation. 
 You can do anything if you want it badly enough. That is why we see so many lottery-winners.