Character

The Mousetrap

mouse on a piece of cheese in a trap

-- Author Unknown

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?”

He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”

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Worse than a Bad Decision

Andrew Carnegie quote

--Author Unknown

Do you know why 95% of people out there never “have enough” of anything and find themselves lost, confused, and constantly searching for the reason WHY?

The answer is simple…

"Most people will loose more to indecision than they will to a bad decision."
-- Andrew Carnegie

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Feel Good About Who You Are

woman carrying 2 pots on a pole

-- Author Unknown


An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

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Sleeping Through The Storm

farm in a storm

A Parable-like Story -- Author Unknown

A young man applied for a job as a farmhand.  When the farmer asked for his qualifications, he said, "I can sleep through a storm."

This puzzled the farmer... but he liked the young man.  So he hired him.

A few weeks later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a violent storm ripping through the valley.  He leapt out of bed and called for his new hired hand, but the young man was sleeping soundly.

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President Bush “Now:” Our Christian Leader

Serious photo of G.W. Bush

Author Unknown

This was the same man who came within a hair's breadth of losing an election in November, who withstood the political chicanery of the Florida Democratic machine to fix the vote count.

This was the same man who admitted to having a drinking problem in younger years, and whose happy-go-lucky lifestyle led him to mediocre grades in college and an ill-fated oil venture.

This was the same man who mangled syntax even more than his father, and whose speaking missteps became known as "Bushisms."

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Play “Stardust,” Hoagy

young man playiing piano

By Joe Edwards

That first afternoon, when I came downstairs from my third floor classroom and put my hand in my mailbox, I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

The check I expected and badly needed wasn't there.

When I turned around and asked the school secretary what happened, she informed me that the teachers weren't paid until the end of the month. This was a problem. I had four dollars in my wallet, and the end of the month was a whole month away.

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Ice Cream “Comb” Story

Ice cream cone with 2 scoops

By Rick Beneteau

She was three. Just released from a far-away hospital after life threatening brain surgery, ready to take on the world again. I was happy just to have her back. My little "Mr. Clean" (shaven head and hoop earrings) and me driving along to our local mall. Hanging out with dad day. I recall her words as if it were yesterday.

"Daddy, can I get a treat?"

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These Things I Wish For You

young girl using a slingshot

This essay is attributed to Paul Harvey, as it has circled the Internet for some time now. But Paul Harvey did not write it. The true author, Lee Pitts, published the nostalgic essay in 2000 in the book "Chicken Soup for the Golden Soul." Paul Harvey does use material written by Lee Pitts from time to time, and he did read this particular essay (crediting Pitts, of course) during his September 6, 1997 broadcast.

-----

By Lee Pitts

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse.

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Late For Dinner

man gets ticket from cop

Author Unknown

Jack took a long look at his speedometer before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone. Fourth time in as many months. How could a guy get caught so often?

When his car had slowed to 10 miles an hour, Jack pulled over, but only partially. Let the cop worry about the potential traffic hazard. Maybe some other car will tweak his backside with a mirror. The cop was stepping out of his car, the big pad in hand.

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A True Story of Tragedy and Triumph

stealing bag of chips

*Author Unknown

Brothers Michael and Chris were both born in the early 1960s and grew up in a mostly black neighborhood in Richmond, California, right outside of San Francisco.

Both boys were well behaved in school and brought home mostly A's on their report cards all through grade school.

But coming from a working-class family with eight children, money was always tight, so the boys often had to go without. In fact, things were so tight, the two growing boys were often hungry.

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