Happiness

Attributed to George Carlin

We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less common sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

A TRUE Story -- Author Unknown

The 26-year-old mother stared down at her son who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent she wanted her son to grow upand fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible. The leukemia would see to that. But, she still wanted her son's dreams to come true. She took her son's hand and asked, "Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life? "

Author Unknown

Close your eyes and go back... Before the Internet, or the MAC...
Before semi automatics and crack...

Way back. I'm talkin' 'bout...

Hide and seek at dusk. Sittin' on the porch, The Good Humor Man, and Red Light, Green Light.

Chocolate milk, Lunch tickets, Penny candy in a brown paper bag.
Playin' Pinball at the corner store. Hopscotch, butterscotch, doubledutch, Jacks, kickball, dodgeball, Mother May I? Red Rover and Roly Poly.

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.

By Betty King

Had I stepped on the scales that morning, the needle would not quite have come to rest on 200 pounds. It would have settled though, way past my prime weight of 120. Cowboy boots were not part of my attire but I had managed to stuff my thighs into a pair of denim jeans.

I rode my three-wheel-motorized scooter over sand and past cacti to the front of the barn; there I waited my next mode of transportation.

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?"

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.

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By Lee Pitts

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

*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.

Author Unknown

I just had one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and wanted to share it with my family and dearest friends. Here it is:

I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and my car started to choke and sputter and died.

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
Anne Frank

"Look up and not down. Look forward and not back. Look out and not in, and lend a hand."
Edward Everett Hale

"When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die."
Eleanor Roosevelt

"If you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble."
Bob Hope