“The Talking Bird”

There is an old story about a fellow who lived alone and went to a pet store to buy a parrot. He thought the bird might fill some of his lonely hours. The very next day, however, he came back to complain, "That bird doesn't talk." The store owner asked if he had a mirror in its cage, and the man said he didn't. "Oh, parrots love mirrors," he explained. "When he sees his reflection in the mirror, he'll just start talking away." So he sold him a birdcage mirror. The bird owner was back the next day to gripe that his parrot still hadn't said a word. "That's very peculiar," allowed the pet expert. “How about a swing? Birds really love these little swings, and a happy parrot is a talkative parrot." So the man bought a swing, took it home, and installed it in the cage. But he was back the next day with the same story. "Does he have a ladder to climb?" the salesman asked. "That just has to be the problem. Once he has a ladder, he'll probably talk your ear off!" So the fellow bought a ladder. The man was back at the pet store when it opened the next day. From the look on his face, the owner knew something was wrong. "Didn't your parrot like the ladder?" he asked. His repeat customer looked up and said, "The parrot died." "I'm so sorry," the stunned businessman said. "Did he ever say anything?" "Well, yes. He finally talked just before he died. In a weak little voice, he asked me, "don’t they sell any bird seed at that pet store?'" Some of us have mistakenly thought that happiness consists of lining our cages with toys, gadgets, and other stuff. Excessive consumption has become the hallmark of our life. "Whoever has the most toys wins" seems to be the likely candidate to be the bumper sticker for an entire culture. But is it so? There is a spiritual hunger in the human heart that can't be satisfied by seeing one's own image reflected back in vanity mirrors, playing with our grown-up toys, or climbing the corporate ladder. Our hearts need real nourishment. The love of family and friends, relationships over the pursuit of more things, personal integrity, a secure connection to God --these are the things that feed the soul. Have you chosen a life course that leads to a destination that matters?

The Paddle Wheel Boat

More than a hundred years ago, two boys were fishing in a small river. They sat in a heavy flat-bottomed boat, each holding a long, crooked rod in his hands and eagerly waiting for "a bite."
When they wanted to move the boat from one place to another they had to pole it; that is, they pushed against a long pole, the lower end of which reached the bottom of the stream. "This is slow work, Robert," said the older of the boys as they were poling up the river to a new fishing place. "The old boat creeps over the water no faster than a snail."
"Yes, Christopher; and it is hard work, too," answered Robert. "I think there ought to be some better way of moving a boat."
"Yes, there is a better way, and that is by rowing," said Christopher.
"But we have no oars."
"Well, I can make some oars," said Robert; "but I think there ought to be still another and a better way. I am going to find such a way if I can." The next day Robert's aunt heard a great pounding and sawing in her woodshed. The two boys were there, busily working with hammer and saw. "What are you making, Robert?" she asked.
"Oh, I have a plan for making a boat move without poling it or rowing it," he answered. His aunt laughed and said, "Well, I hope that you will succeed."
After a great deal of tinkering and trying, they did succeed in making two paddle wheels. They were very rough and crude, but strong and serviceable. They fastened each of these wheels to the end of an iron rod which they passed through the boat from side to side. The rod was bent in the middle so that it could be turned as with a crank. When the work was finished, the old fishing boat looked rather odd, with a paddle wheel on each side which dipped just a few inches into the water. The boys lost no time in trying it.
"She goes ahead all right," said Christopher, "but how shall we guide her?"
"Oh, I have thought of that," said Robert. He took something like an oarlock from his pocket and fastened it to the stern of the boat; then with a paddle which worked in this oarlock one of the boys could guide the boat while the other turned the paddle wheels.
"It is better than poling the boat," said Christopher.
"It is better than rowing, too," said Robert. "See how fast she goes!"
That night when Christopher went home he had a wonderful story to tell. "Bob Fulton planned the whole thing," he said, "and I helped him make the paddles and put them on the boat."
"I wonder why we didn't think of something like that long ago," said his father. "Almost anybody could rig up an old boat like that."
"Yes, I wonder, too," said Christopher. "It looks easy enough, now that Bob has shown how it is done."
When Robert Fulton became a man, he did not forget his experiment with the old fishing boat. He kept on, planning and thinking and working, until at last he succeeded in making a boat with paddle wheels that could be run by steam.
He is now remembered and honored as the inventor of the steamboat. He became famous because he was always thinking and studying and working. When he first introduced his unique and wonderful invention, the so-called steamboat skeptics arrived on the river bank ready with their vicious remarks. They started shouting “It will never start! It will never start!” When the steamboat actually started and made its way down the river, those loud-mouthed critics began shouting, “It’ll never stop! It’ll never stop!”

Never Say DIE Attitude

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge
connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world
thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done.
It was not practical. It had never been done before.
Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time
and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone
else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and
coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be
accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and
the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream
bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site
took the life of John Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain
damage, which resulted in him not being able to talk or walk.
“We told them so.” “Crazy men and their crazy dreams.” “It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the
Roebling’s were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built.
In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete
the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to
some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room,
with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart
and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.
It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do
was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a
code of communication with his wife. He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that
he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell
the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge
was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the
triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It
is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered
mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realized with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

Article: Attitude is Everything

- Old Man and His Son An old man lived alone in Minnesota. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation: Dear Son, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden because your mother always loved planting them. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren’t in prison. Love, Dad Shortly, the old man received this telegram: ‘For Heaven’s sake, Dad, don’t dig up the garden!! That’s where I buried the GUNS!!’ At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any guns. Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what had happened, and asked him what to do next. His son’s reply was: ‘Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad. It’s the best I could do for you, from here!!!!!.’ No matter where you are in the WORLD, if you have decided to do something deep from your HEART, you CAN DO IT. IT is the thought that matters, not where you are or where the person is.