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WITandWISDOM(tm) - May 27, 2002 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. - Dale Carnegie Source: The Funnies, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/andychaps_the-funnies ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: STOP TO SALUTE ON MEMORIAL DAY By Capt. John Rasmussen Eagle Base, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Army News Service, May 22, 2002) It was raining "cats and dogs" and I was late for physical training. Traffic was backed up at Fort Campbell, Ky., and was moving way too slowly. I was probably going to be late and I was growing more and more impatient. The pace slowed almost to a standstill as I passed Memorial Grove, the site built to honor the soldiers who died in the Gander airplane crash, the worst redeployment accident in the history of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). Because it was close to Memorial Day, a small American flag had been placed in the ground next to each soldier's memorial plaque. My concern at the time, however, was getting past the bottleneck, getting out of the rain and getting to PT on time. All of a sudden, infuriatingly, just as the traffic was getting started again, the car in front of me stopped. A soldier, a private of course, jumped out in the pouring rain and ran over toward the grove. I couldn't believe it! This knucklehead was holding up everyone for who knows what kind of prank. Horns were honking. I waited to see the butt-chewing that I wanted him to get for making me late. He was getting soaked to the skin. His BDUs were plastered to his frame. I watched-as he ran up to one of the memorial plaques, picked up the small American flag that had fallen to the ground in the wind and the rain, and set it upright again. Then, slowly, he came to attention, saluted, ran back to his car, and drove off. I'll never forget that incident. That soldier, whose name I will never know, taught me more about duty, honor, and respect than a hundred books or a thousand lectures. That simple salute -- that single act of honoring his fallen brother and his flag — encapsulated all the Army values in one gesture for me. It said, "I will never forget. I will keep the faith. I will finish the mission. I am an American soldier." I thank God for examples like that. And on this Memorial Day, I will remember all those who paid the ultimate price for my freedom, and one private, soaked to the skin, who honored them. (Editor's note: The president has called for a "National Moment of Remembrance" at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day with a one-minute pause to remember those fallen in service to the country.) Capt. John Rasmussen is now a chaplain with Multinational Division North in Bosnia. Source: http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/news/May2002/a20020522chaplaincomm.html Submitted by Rindi Patterson ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: BURMA SHAVE Part 2 of 2 [May 17, 27] For those of you who never saw the Burma Shave signs, here is a quick lesson in USA history of the 1930's and '40's. Before the interstates, when everyone drove the old two lane roads, Burma Shave signs would be posted along the road in the countryside. They were small red signs with white letters. Five signs, about 100 feet apart, each containing one line of a four line couplet . . . and the obligatory 5th sign advertising Burma Shave, a popular shaving cream. A Guy Who Drives A Car Wide Open Is Not Thinkin' He's Just Hopin' BURMA SHAVE At Intersections Look Each Way A Harp Sounds Nice But Its Hard to Play BURMA SHAVE Both Hands on The Wheel Eyes on The Road That's The Skillful Driver's Code BURMA SHAVE The One Who Drives When He's Been Drinking Depends on You To Do His Thinking BURMA SHAVE Car in Ditch Driver in Tree The Moon Was Full And So Was He. BURMA SHAVE Passing School Zone Take it Slow Let Our Little Shavers Grow BURMA SHAVE Submitted by Don Henry For more Burma Shave couplets visit: http://witandwisdom.org/archive/19981230.htm#TT http://witandwisdom.org/archive/19990720.htm#TT http://witandwisdom.org/archive/19990730.htm#TT http://witandwisdom.org/archive/19990810.htm#TT ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: A friend was taking his young son riding in the country one day and the boy noticed the mail boxes on the side of the road and asked what they were. He explained that was how people who lived in the houses got their mail. On down the road they came upon a gang of mail boxes at a driveway that led to an out-of-sight mobile home park. The four-year old exclaimed, "Who are they fooling, Dad, no one gets that much mail!" Source: Just for Grins, http://www.coolnewsletters.com ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: Go Nuts! A Harvard study of 86,000 women reports that those eating at least five ounces of nuts per day have a 32 per-cent lower risk of having a nonfatal heart attack. Research from Loma Linda University reporting on 34,000 men and women shows that nut eaters are half as likely to suffer a heart attack. The type of fat in the nuts makes the difference. From: British Medical Journal & Archives of Internal Medicine. Source: Vibrant Life, http://vibrantlife.com/ Submitted by Nancy Simpson |