Re: interesting but OT

[Guest guest]

What a gem Kathy...thanks for sharing that one. I'm going to pass

that one on.

Suzanne

> I thought I would share this with 700+ of my closest friend.... it

kind of make

> you think...

>

> A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement

> with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the

> morning paper in the other. I turned the dial up into

> the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order

> to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the

> way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a

> tremendous signal and a golden voice. He was telling

> whoever he was talking with something about " a

> thousand marbles. "

>

> I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had

> to say. " Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy

> with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a

> shame you have to be away from home and your family so

> much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to

> work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet.

> Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital. " He

> continued, " Let me tell you something Tom, something

> that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own

> priorities. " And that's when he began to explain his

> theory of a " thousand marbles. " " You see, I sat down

> one day and did a little arithmetic. The average

> person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some

> live more and some live less, but on average, folks

> live about seventy-five years. Now then, I multiplied

> 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the

> number of Saturdays that the average person has in

> their entire lifetime.

>

> Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important

> part. It took me until I was fifty-five years old to

> think about all this in any detail, " he went on, " and

> by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight

> hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived

> to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of

> them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and

> bought every single marble they had. I ended up having

> to visit three toy stores to roundup 1000 marbles. I

> took them home and put them inside of a large, clear

> plastic container right here in the shack next to my

> gear.

>

> Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out

> and thrown it away. I found that by watching the

> marbles diminish, I focused more on the really

> important things in life. There is nothing like

> watching your time here on this earth run out to help

> get your priorities straight.

>

> Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off

> with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast.

> This morning, I took the very last marble out of the

> container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday

> then I have been given a little extra time. And the

> one thing we can all use is a little more time. It was

> nice to meet you

>

>

> Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and

> I hope to meet you again here on the band. 75 year Old

> Man, this is K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good

> morning! "

>

> You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this

> fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to

> think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that

> morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few

> hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I

> went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.

> " C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to

> breakfast. " " What brought this on? " she asked with a

> smile. " Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long

> time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids.

> Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out?

> I need to buy some marbles. "

>

>

>

>

> HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND MAY ALL SATURDAYS BE SPECIAL!

>

>

>

>

> =====

> Kathy

>

> __________________________________________________

>