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WITandWISDOM(tm) - October 11, 2004 ISSN 1538-8794 ~~~~~~~ THOUGHTS: One must be poor to know the luxury of giving. - George Eliot Source: DailyInBox Presents, http://dailyinbox.com ~~~~~~~ SPECIAL THOUGHTS: Alice, a circus elephant from India, could be depended on. For 110 years this faithful elephant did her circus jobs without being told. The circus always opened with the big parade. The band played lively music as the performers and animals marched around the arena. The elephants, wearing bright velvet or satin ornaments, each with a pretty girl perched on its head or riding in a saddle, kept time to the music with their slow, measured tread. In one town, during the pageantry of the big parade, the audience suddenly screamed. A tiny girl had slipped away from her parents into the circus ring. Running right into the path of the huge elephants, it looked as if nothing could save her from being crushed beneath their feet. Suddenly a large elephant reached forward, lifted the little girl with her trunk, and walked to the side of the ring. The frantic mother reached out and the animal laid the little one in her arms. That was Alice, the smartest, most dependable animal in the circus. The crowd cheered and marveled at what she had done, but the circus manager was not surprised. As the circus moved from place to place the huge animal cages had to be lifted onto railroad cars. These and the heavy wagons were loaded by the elephants. Alice never had to be told what to do. In fact, she directed the other elephants so they did their jobs correctly. One time the front wheels of a circus wagon rolled off a flatcar. The wagon hung precariously in the air, ready to fall at any moment. Alice, without a word from anyone, saw the problem and quickly lifted that heavy wagon, pushing it back onto the flatcar. Source: Stop, Look and Listen by Eileen E. and Jay H. Lantry, Copyright(c)1976 by Review and Herald Publishing Association, LCCN 75-32229 Submitted by Mary Thayne ~~~~~~~ THIS & THAT: When I was a magazine editor, a young man approached me about a staff-writer position. He had studied dramatic arts in college, had been a professional actor, and also sang and played the guitar at local restaurants. "How come," I asked, "with all that talent and experience, you want to switch to a nine-to-five writer's job?" He started explaining that he enjoyed the arts, and writing was an art he'd always wanted to try, and so on. Suddenly he stopped his spiel, looked me in the eye and grinned. "Let's face it," he said. "I'm starving, and I'm trying desperately to get into a rut." I hired him. Source: Top Greetings ~~~~~~~ KEEP SMILING: While driving through South Carolina, I kept having to slow down for road repair crews. To keep the workers safe, the highway department posted a series of signs that read, "Let 'em work. Let 'em live." On one of the signs an exasperated motorist had added, "Let 'em finish!" Contributed to "All In a Day's Work" by Joyce Burdett Copyright © 2004, The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Source: DailyInBox Presents, http://dailyinbox.com ~~~~~~~ TRIVIA: When couldn't you see the Constitution in Washington? During World War II, the original copies of the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were taken from the Library of Congress and kept at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Source: ArcaMax Trivia, http://www.arcamax.com/cgi-bin/reg |