Writing Village: Anecdotes

The Indian God Of Internet

2011-10-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

The internet suddenly conked out – one second I was in maya world and the next back to earth- reflex made me utter the words “ Hey Ram!” Mr Ram exclaims from a-land, “I am not to be called, I come in only if someone steals my data. I take the help of search engines to find where the data is hidden, get GPS coordinates , build a setu and get back the data. So call Mr Krishna”. Dutifully, I call out ‘ hey kirshna’, the blue hue guy pops out and says “hey there, my job is to only say wise things to the internet like : Karmani ave adhikars te --you have the power to act only ma phalesu kadachana --you do not have the power to influence the result ma karmaphal hetur bhoo --therefore you must act without the anticipation of the result ma sangostu akramani --without succumbing to inaction. And with all the wars here, I am busy, so try Mr Vishnu” Conjuring up the vision of Mr Vishnu, a supine image floating in the ocean , I call out ‘Mr Vishnu, please help”. He peeps at me, and sputters “look, my job is to keep this damn fiber cable in the sea afloat so that the Assanges & the Feds can churn the secrets out. Try Mrs Saraswathy”. Ok, exhausted with all this hopping, I call to Mrs Saraswathy. Draped in red, she floats in and says “wish I could help, but someone forgot to buy me an ipad and I have only a old notebook in my hand, so my knowledge is outdated…sorry, Try Mrs Lakshmi, maybe her wealth can help” Happy to say hello to Mrs Lakshmi, I knock at her locker, she peeps from the key hole to make sure that I am no thief, opens the locker and listens to my woes. Jingling a few coins in her purse, she explains “ I am only an investor in the internet, I take all the risk and then get to listen to customer woes like yours. It’s a risky business and I am sure to lose out even my pension on this investment. The person whose advice one can take, and who has no other monetary motives would be Mr Shiva. Try him, and let me know, I too want to know when I can disinvest in the internet”. Climbing a mountain, I come across Mr Shiva. He sounds his drum, and soulfully says “I am the person who can turn the internet to ashes as I gave it as a gift, I cannot revive it. I gave the internet as a gift to humans, and told them that with this power they can place a hand on any head and they will be able to read brains. I quit this business when they wanted to test it on my head!!!. Go, ask the guy who created the Ether & the bits/bytes, Mr Brahma”. Ok, with a resolve that I will get Mr Brahma to solve my issue, I approach him. I first hear a strange hum, which sounded like the internet hum…got my hopes up but as I drew near, it was Mr Brahma withering in pain emitting noises like ‘ohmmmmmm’. With great concern I ask him if he is OK, he whispers “I created a lot of things, but I am over stressed and ohmming is my body resistance to too much work, please get a new God for the internet”. So I come back empty handed, and now I am going to create the God of internet…two heads?, one?, what would this personification look like…… So friends…join me in this endeavor, help design a God of Internet. By Kavita Vemuri Part of Dream Weave Walk

Definition of success

2011-08-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

I was the last child of a small-time government servant, in a family of
five brothers. My earliest memory of my father is as that of a District
Employment Officer in Koraput, Orissa. It was and remains as back of beyond
as you can imagine. There was no electricity; no primary school nearby and
water did not flow out of a tap. As a result, I did not go to school until
the age of eight; I was home-schooled. My father used to get transferred
every year. The family belongings fit into the back of a jeep - so the
family moved from place to place and, without any trouble, my Mother would
set up an establishment and get us going. Raised by a widow who had come as
a refugee from the then East Bengal, she was a matriculate when she married
my Father. My parents set the foundation of my life and the value system
which makes me what I am today and largely defines what success means to me
today.

As District Employment Officer, my father was given a jeep by the
government. There was no garage in the Office, so the jeep was parked in our
house. My father refused to use it to commute to the office. He told us that
the jeep is an expensive resource given by the government - he reiterated to
us that it was not 'his jeep' but the government's jeep. Insisting that he
would use it only to tour the interiors, he would walk to his office on
normal days. He also made sure that we never sat in the government jeep - we
could sit in it only when it was stationary. That was our early childhood
lesson in governance - a lesson that corporate managers learn the hard way,
some never do.

The driver of the jeep was treated with respect due to any other member of
my Father's office. As small children, we were taught not to call him by his
name. We had to use the suffix 'dada' whenever we were to refer to him in
public or private. When I grew up to own a car and a driver by the name of
Raju was appointed - I repeated the lesson to my two small daughters. They
have, as a result, grown up to call Raju, 'Raju Uncle' - very different from
many of their friends who refer to their family drivers as 'my driver'. When
I hear that term from a school- or college-going person, I cringe. To me,
the lesson was significant - you treat small people with more respect than
how you treat big people. It is more important to respect your subordinates
than your superiors.

Our day used to start with the family huddling around my Mother's chulha -
an earthen fire place she would build at each place of posting where she
would cook for the family. There was no gas, nor electrical stoves. The
morning routine started with tea. As the brew was served, Father would ask
us to read aloud the editorial page of The Statesman's 'muffosil' edition -
delivered one day late. We did not understand much of what we were reading.
But the ritual was meant for us to know that the world was larger than
Koraput district and the English I speak today, despite having studied in an
Oriya medium school, has to do with that routine. After reading the
newspaper aloud, we were told to fold it neatly. Father taught us a simple
lesson. He used to say, "You should leave your newspaper and your toilet,
the way you expect to find it". That lesson was about showing consideration
to others. Business begins and ends with that simple precept.

Being small children, we were always enamored with advertisements in the
newspaper for transistor radios - we did not have one. We saw other people
having radios in their homes and each time there was an advertisement of
Philips, Murphy or Bush radios, we would ask Father when we could get one.
Each time, my Father would reply that we did not need one because he already
had five radios - alluding to his five sons. We also did not have a house of
our own and would occasionally ask Father as to when, like others, we would
live in our own house. He would give a similar reply, "We do not need a
house of our own. I already own five houses". His replies did not gladden
our hearts in that instant. Nonetheless, we learnt that it is important not
to measure personal success and sense of well being through material
possessions.

Government houses seldom came with fences. Mother and I collected twigs and
built a small fence. After lunch, my Mother would never sleep. She would
take her kitchen utensils and with those she and I would dig the rocky,
white ant infested surrounding. We planted flowering bushes. The white ants
destroyed them. My mother brought ash from her chulha and mixed it in the
earth and we planted the seedlings all over again. This time, they bloomed.
At that time, my father's transfer order came. A few neighbors told my
mother why she was taking so much pain to beautify a government house, why
she was planting seeds that would only benefit the next occupant. My mother
replied that it did not matter to her that she would not see the flowers in
full bloom. She said, "I have to create a bloom in a desert and whenever I
am given a new place, I must leave it more beautiful than what I had
inherited". That was my first lesson in success. It is not about what you
create for yourself, it is what you leave behind that defines success.

My mother began developing a cataract in her eyes when I was very small. At
that time, the eldest among my brothers got a teaching job at the University
in Bhubaneswar and had to prepare for the civil services examination. So, it
was decided that my Mother would move to cook for him and, as her appendage,
I had to move too. For the first time in my life, I saw electricity in homes
and water coming out of a tap. It was around 1965 and the country was going
to war with Pakistan. My mother was having problems reading and in any case,
being Bengali, she did not know the Oriya script. So, in addition to my
daily chores, my job was to read her the local newspaper - end to end. That
created in me a sense of connectedness with a larger world. I began taking
interest in many different things. While reading out news about the war, I
felt that I was fighting the war myself. She and I discussed the daily news
and built a bond with the larger universe. In it, we became part of a larger
reality. Till date, I measure my success in terms of that sense of larger
connectedness.

Meanwhile, the war raged and India was fighting on both fronts. Lal Bahadur
Shastri, the then Prime Minster, coined the term "Jai Jawan, Jai Kishan" and
galvanized the nation in to patriotic fervor. Other than reading out the
newspaper to my mother, I had no clue about how I could be part of the
action. So, after reading her the newspaper, every day I would land up near
the University's water tank, which served the community. I would spend hours
under it, imagining that there could be spies who would come to poison the
water and I had to watch for them. I would daydream about catching one and
how the next day, I would be featured in the newspaper. Unfortunately for
me, the spies at war ignored the sleepy town of Bhubaneswar and I never got
a chance to catch one in action. Yet, that act unlocked my imagination.
Imagination is everything. If we can imagine a future, we can create it, if
we can create that future, others will live in it. That is the essence of
success.

Over the next few years, my mother's eyesight dimmed but in me she created
a larger vision, a vision with which I continue to see the world and, I
sense, through my eyes, she was seeing too. As the next few years unfolded,
her vision deteriorated and she was operated for cataract. I remember, when
she returned after her operation and she saw my face clearly for the first
time, she was astonished. She said, "Oh my God, I did not know you were so
fair". I remain mighty pleased with that adulation even till date. Within
weeks of getting her sight back, she developed a corneal ulcer and,
overnight, became blind in both eyes. That was 1969. She died in 2002. In
all those 32 years of living with blindness, she never complained about her
fate even once. Curious to know what she saw with blind eyes, I asked her
once if she sees darkness. She replied, "No, I do not see darkness. I only
see light even with my eyes closed". Until she was eighty years of age, she
did her morning yoga everyday, swept her own room and washed her own
clothes. To me, success is about the sense of independence; it is about not
seeing the world but seeing the light.

Over the many intervening years, I grew up, studied, joined the industry
and began to carve my life's own journey. I began my life as a clerk in a
government office, went on to become a Management Trainee with the DCM group
and eventually found my life's calling with the IT industry when fourth
generation computers came to India in 1981. Life took me places - I worked
with outstanding people, challenging assignments and traveled all over the
world. In 1992, while I was posted in the US, I learnt that my father,
living a retired life with my eldest brother, had suffered a third degree
burn injury and was admitted in the Safderjung Hospital in Delhi. I flew
back to attend to him - he remained for a few days in critical stage,
bandaged from neck to toe. The Safderjung Hospital is a cockroach infested,
dirty, inhuman place. The overworked, under-resourced sisters in the burn
ward are both victims and perpetrators of dehumanized life at its worst. One
morning, while attending to my Father, I realized that the blood bottle was
empty and fearing that air would go into his vein, I asked the attending
nurse to change it. She bluntly told me to do it myself. In that horrible
theater of death, I was in pain and frustration and anger. Finally when she
relented and came, my Father opened his eyes and murmured to her, "Why have
you not gone home yet?" Here was a man on his deathbed but more concerned
about the overworked nurse than his own state. I was stunned at his stoic
self. There I learnt that there is no limit to how concerned you can be for
another human being and what is the limit of inclusion you can create. My
father died the next day.

He was a man whose success was defined by his principles, his frugality,
his universalism and his sense of inclusion. Above all, he taught me that
success is your ability to rise above your discomfort, whatever may be your
current state. You can, if you want, raise your consciousness above your
immediate surroundings. Success is not about building material comforts -
the transistor that he never could buy or the house that he never owned. His
success was about the legacy he left, the memetic continuity of his ideals
that grew beyond the smallness of an ill-paid, unrecognized government
servant's world.

My father was a fervent believer in the British Raj. He sincerely doubted
the capability of the post-independence Indian political parties to govern
the country. To him, the lowering of the Union Jack was a sad event. My
Mother was the exact opposite. When Subhash Bose quit the Indian National
Congress and came to Dacca, my mother, then a schoolgirl, garlanded him. She
learnt to spin khadi and joined an underground movement that trained her in
using daggers and swords. Consequently, our household saw diversity in the
political outlook of the two. On major issues concerning the world, the Old
Man and the Old Lady had differing opinions. In them, we learnt the power of
disagreements, of dialogue and the essence of living with diversity in
thinking. Success is not about the ability to create a definitive dogmatic
end state; it is about the unfolding of thought processes, of dialogue and
continuum.

Two years back, at the age of eighty-two, Mother had a paralytic stroke and
was lying in a government hospital in Bhubaneswar. I flew down from the US
where I was serving my second stint, to see her. I spent two weeks with her
in the hospital as she remained in a paralytic state. She was neither
getting better nor moving on. Eventually I had to return to work. While
leaving her behind, I kissed her face. In that paralytic state and a garbled
voice, she said, "Why are you kissing me, go kiss the world." Her river was
nearing its journey, at the confluence of life and death, this woman who
came to India as a refugee, raised by a widowed Mother, no more educated
than high school, married to an anonymous government servant whose last
salary was Rupees Three Hundred, robbed of her eyesight by fate and crowned
by adversity - was telling me to go and kiss the world!

Success to me is about Vision. It is the ability to rise above the
immediacy of pain. It is about imagination. It is about sensitivity to small
people. It is about building inclusion. It is about connectedness to a
larger world existence. It is about personal tenacity. It is about giving
back more to life than you take out of it. It is about creating
extra-ordinary success with ordinary lives.

Subroto Baghchi Mindtree Consulting
Part of Dream Weave Walk

The Tablecloth

2011-03-09T22:30:00.000-08:00

Understand that things happen for a reason

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls,painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church.His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home.

On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity, so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,
handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor,"
she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"
The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria .

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The woman explained that before the war she and
her husband were well-to-do people in Austria.

When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.Her husband was going to follow her the next week.He was captured, sent to prison and she never saw her usband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth;but she made the pastor keep it for the church.The pastor insisted on driving her home. That was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the
pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return.

One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he
wasn't leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike?

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and
put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor
had taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas
reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid who says God does work in mysterious ways

Part of Dream Weave Walk

Vanilla Ice Cream that puzzled General Motors!

2010-07-18T02:53:00.000-07:00

Never underestimate your Clients' Complaint, no matter how funny it might seem! This is a real story that happened between the customer of General Motors and its Customer-Care Executive.

A complaint was received by the Pontiac Division of General Motors:

'This is the second time I have written to you, and I don't blame you for not answering me, because I sounded crazy, but it is a fact that we have a tradition in our family of Ice-Cream for dessert after dinner each night,but the kind of ice cream varies so, every night, after we've eaten, the whole family votes on which kind of ice cream we should have and I drive down to the store to get it. It's also a fact that I recently purchased a new Pontiac and since then my trips to the store have created a problem....

You see, every time I buy a vanilla ice-cream, when I start back from the store my car won't start. If I get any other kind of ice cream, the car starts just fine. I want you to know I'm serious about this question, no matter how silly it sounds "What is there about a Pontiac that makes it not start when I get vanilla ice cream, and easy to start whenever I get any other kind?" The Pontiac President was understandably skeptical about the letter, but sent an Engineer to check it out anyway.

The latter was surprised to be greeted by a successful, obviously well educated man in a fine neighbour-hood. He had arranged to meet the man just after dinner time, so the two hopped into the car and drove to the ice cream store.

It was vanilla ice cream that night and, sure enough, after they came back to the car, it wouldn't start. The Engineer returned for three more nights. The first night, they got chocolate. The car started.

The second night, he got strawberry. The car started.

The third night he ordered vanilla. The car failed to start. Now the engineer, being a logical man, refused to believe that this man's car was allergic to vanilla ice cream. He arranged, therefore, to continue his visits for as long as it took to solve the problem. And toward this end he began to take notes: He jotted down all sorts of data: time of day, type of gas uses, time to drive back and forth etc.

In a short time, he had a clue: the man took less time to buy vanilla than any other flavour. Why? The answer was in the layout of the store. Vanilla, being the most popular flavour, was in a separate case at the front of the store for quick pickup.All the other flavours were kept in the back of the store at a different counter where it took considerably longer to check out the flavour.

Now, the question for the Engineer was why the car wouldn't start when it took less time. Eureka - Time was now the problem - not the vanilla ice cream!!!! The engineer quickly came up with the answer:

"vapour lock".

It was happening every night; but the extra time taken to get the other flavours allowed the engine to cool down sufficiently to start. When the man got vanilla, the engine was still too hot for the vapour lock to dissipate.

Even crazy looking problems are sometimes real and all problems seem to be
simple only when we find the solution, with cool thinking.

Part of Dream Weave Walk

Hand of Hope

2010-07-18T02:27:00.000-07:00

Please read before viewing the picture - it's worth it!

The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner.

The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb. Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta . She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt Univ Med Ctr in Nashville , he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb.

During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr. Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile.

The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, 'Hand of Hope.' The text explaining the picture begins, 'The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life.'
Little Samuel's mother said they 'wept for days' when they saw the picture. She said, 'The photo reminds us pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person.' Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100 percent successful.

Part of Dream Weave Walk

Two Managers

2010-07-18T02:24:00.000-07:00

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She reduced altitude and spotted a man below. She descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me Sir, can you help me? I promised a friend, I would meet him an hour ago but I don't know where I am."

The man below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."

''You must be an engineer," said the lady balloonist.

"I am", replied the man. 'How did you know?'

''Well", answered the lady in the balloon, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip even more."

The engineer below responded, "You must be in Top Management."

''I am", replied the lady balloonist, "but, how did you know?''
"Well," said the Engineer, "You don't know where you are, or where you're going. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you, to solve your problems."

Part of Dream Weave Walk

F A M I L Y

2010-02-14T22:43:00.001-08:00

I banged into a stranger as he passed by,'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.
He said, 'Please excuse me too;I couldn't see you coming.'
We were very polite, this stranger and I.We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told,How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,God's small voice came to me and said,'While dealing with a stranger,common courtesy you use,but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'
By this time, I felt very small,And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed;'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said.
'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'
He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'
I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.'
He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.I love you anyway.'
I said, 'Son, I love you too,and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.'

FAMILY

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days.But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family,an unwise investment indeed,don't you think?

So what is behind the story?
Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

Part of Dream Weave Walk

The Story of Sir Ramick

2010-02-11T03:18:00.000-08:00

A scientist who enjoyed considerable success during the first half of his life was eventually knighted. His name was Sir Ramick. Unfortunately, he developed a mental illness in his early fifties in which he had a split personality: he was a scientist most of the time and a murderer during brief "bad periods".
During his first "bad period", he got into an argument with a taxi driver over the amount of a fare and sliced the driver's throat. He went to jail, was prosecuted, found guilty and placed on death row. On the day of his electrocution, the executioner asked Sir Ramick if he had any last requests. He responded, "I would like to eat 10 bananas before I die." It seemed like a harmless request and so Sir Ramick was granted his wish. He promptly ate 10 bananas and said confidently, "Put me in the chair now." When the executioner flipped the switch, nothing happened. Now, in the country where Sir Ramick resided, there was an unusual law that said if the execution of a death-row inmate fails due to an act of God or any other reason then he should be set free. Sir Ramick happily left the execution facility and went home to work on a new science project.
A month later, he went for a walk during a beautiful evening lit by a full moon. Unfortunately, his bad personality emerged. He grabbed a teen-aged boy and threw him into a wide river. The boy was found dead the next day and Sir Ramick was again imprisoned. On the day of his execution, he again requested to eat ten bananas and again the electrocution apparatus failed to kill him. He exited the facility smiling.
Two months later, the scientist went to church and shot a nun. The community was in an uproar. How could such a violent man be allowed to roam the streets, the citizens complained. They signed a petition to repeal the execution loophole law but it would be at least six months before the government would be able to respond. In the execution facility, Sir Ramick met the executioner for a third time and requested to eat 10 bananas as before. Knowing that Sir Ramick was a superb scientist, the executioner suspected that the scientist somehow was using his scientific knowledge to escape death. After a discussion with other members at the execution facility, Sir Ramick was granted his wish to eat 10 bananas for a third time. And again, the machine failed to kill him when the switch was flipped.
Just before going out the facility's main entrance, the executioner approached Sir Ramick and asked him, "I need to know what's going on. Is it the bananas?" To which, the scientist replied, "No, I'm just a bad conductor."

Part of Dream Weave Walk

The New CEO

2009-12-18T23:35:00.000-08:00

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.

Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children,he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, 'It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO.I have decided to choose one of you. 'The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. 'I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.'

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.

By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however.
He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.

Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot.
But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful -- in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back. 'My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,' said the CEO. 'Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!'

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, 'The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!'

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, 'Behold your next Chief Executive Officer!

His name is Jim!' Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed.

'How could he be the new CEO?' the others said.

Then the CEO said, 'One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds;they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with
my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!'

* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends

* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness

* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective

* If you plant hard work, you will reap success

* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

So, be careful what you plant now;
it will determine what you will reap later..

'Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives You Back'

Part of Dream Weave Walk

The Tea Cup Story

2009-12-18T23:21:00.000-08:00

Love this story or not, you will not be able to have tea in a tea cup again without thinking of this.

There was a couple who took a trip to England to shop in a beautiful antique store to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They both liked antiques and pottery, and especially teacups. Spotting an exceptional cup, they asked "May we see that? We've never seen a cup quite so beautiful."

As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke, "You don't understand. I have not always been a teacup. There was a time when I was just a lump of red clay. My master took me and rolled me, pounded and patted me over and over and I yelled out, "Don't do that."

"I don't like it!" "Let me alone," but he only smiled, and gently said; "Not yet!"

Then WHAM! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly I was spun around and around and around. "Stop it! I'm getting so dizzy! I'm going to be sick!" I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, quietly; 'Not yet.'

He spun me and poked and prodded and bent me out of shape to suit himself and then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door. "Help! Get me out of here!" I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head from side to side, 'Not yet'.

When I thought I couldn't bear it another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. Oh, that felt so good! "Ah, this is much better," I thought.

But, after I cooled he picked me up and he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. ‘Oh, please, Stop it, Stop', I cried. He only shook his head and said. 'Not yet!'

Then suddenly he put me back in to the oven. Only it was not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I just knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. I was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up. Just then the door opened and he took me out and again placed me on the shelf, where I cooled and waited and waited, wondering "What's he going to do to me next?"

An hour later he handed me a mirror and said 'Look at yourself.' And I did. I said, ‘That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful!!!' Quietly he spoke: 'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurt to be rolled and pounded and patted, but had I just left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled.

I know it hurt and it was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened. You would not have had any color in your life.

If I hadn't put you back in that second oven, you wouldn't have survived for long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. Now you are what I had in mind when I first began with you.'

The moral of this story is this: God knows what He's doing for each of us. He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mould us and make us and expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect will. So when life seems hard, and you are being pounded and patted and pushed almost beyond endurance; when your world seems to be spinning out of control; when you feel like you are in a fiery furnace of trials; when life seems to "stink", try this.

Brew a cup of your favorite tea in your prettiest tea cup, sit down and reflect on this story and then, have a little talk with the 'Potter'. You'll be glad you did.Part of Dream Weave Walk

Speaking in French

2009-12-18T22:43:00.000-08:00

A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies.
At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries.Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks when a French admiral suddenly complained that,
whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.

He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied, 'Maybe it's because the Brit's, Canadians, Aussie's and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

Part of Dream Weave Walk

The Language of Freedom

2009-12-18T22:41:00.000-08:00

Veer Savarkar( the veteran freedom fighter) once started addressing a public meeting in Hindi at Bangalore.The crowd started shouting " Speak in Kannada. We will hear only in Kannada."

Veer Savarkar replied " Friends, I have spent 14 years of rigorous imprisonment in ill famous Andaman Jail where all freedom fighters were kept in jail. I have learned Bengali from the freedom fighters coming from Bengal, Hindi from those coming from Uttar Pradesh, even gujarati and punjabi. Unfortunately there was none from Karnataka from whom I could have learned Kannada."

Part of Dream Weave Walk

All US military out of France

2009-12-18T22:40:00.000-08:00

At a time when the US President and other US politicians tend to apologize for their country's prior actions, here's a refresher on how some former US personnel handled negative comments about the United States.

JFK'S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 60's when Charles DeGaule, the French President, decided to pull out of NATO.
DeGaule said he wanted all US military out of France as soon as possible.

Rusk responded "does that include those who are buried here?

DeGaule did not respond.

Part of Dream Weave Walk

Empire building

2009-12-18T22:39:00.000-08:00

When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if US plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders.
The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'

Part of Dream Weave Walk

Tsunami Relief

2009-12-18T22:38:00.000-08:00

There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American.
During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done?
He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?'

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'
Part of Dream Weave Walk

Passport in France

2009-12-18T22:36:00.000-08:00

Robert Whiting , an elderly US gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane.
At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready."

The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it."

"Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !"

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country,I couldn't find a single Frenchman to show a passport to."

Part of Dream Weave Walk

The Nandan Nilkeni Story

2009-12-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

From an INFOSCION to a POLITICION - Nandan's Chronicles ( Nanadan Nilkeni the Infosys Chief, on being elevated to a cabinet rank Minister in Govt. of India.)

My tryst with capturing the life and times of Nandan Nilekani in his new avatar as a Cabinet Minister, here is what he had penned after his first day in the Parliament.

The House was in pin drop silence. I was brimming with anticipation and excitement!!!! Manmohan had informed me that my introduction was one of the important
points of the agenda. I hoped that I will be able to make my speech properly.
After so many interviews and conferences, I was nervous today!!!! After the Speaker indicated that the proceedings of the House could begin, Manmohan formally introduced me to the entire House. He mentioned that as the head of the Unique Identification Authority of India, I was responsible to ensure that each and every Indian had a digital smart card as a proof of his existence.

Manmohan spoke about why I was selected and also some references to the various
projects executed by me in Infosys were mentioned. The House listened with rapt
attention. I was asked to say a few words and I did exactly the same!!! I thanked the
Government of India for having given me this opportunity and I assured the
House that I would strive to successfully deliver this project. The Speaker then formally inducted me into the House and before the proceedings could move any
forward, there was a small commotion on the other side of the hall.

It was Minister of Textiles who had a comment to make before the next point on the agenda. He made a request that I should be attired in a more austere way instead of a
flashy suit. It did not go well with the image of a minister who should live to
serve the common man and should be less ostentatious in his habits. I stood
up to reply. I offered my apologies to the Honourable Minister and assured that I shall be in a more acceptable dress next time. I felt that he was right. We also used to have corporate dress code in Infosys. So it's here as well!!!

I sat down and felt somebody nudging me. I turned around and to my surprise; it
was the former Indian skipper and one of my favourite batsman Mohd.Azharuddin. I remembered that he had recently won the elections. I smiled at him and mentioned to him that I used to like his game very much, shaking his hand. No Rolex, I noticed.

Azhar told me that he would “fix” me an appointment with an Italian designer who had designed his dapper Kurta suit. An Italian designer in Milan doing Kurtas!!!!! I made a note of this and reminded myself to give this example to Friedman for his next book,” The World Markets are flattened”.

Since there was no doubt about the “Fixational” capacities of Azhar, I told him to give me the details and I would consider. The proceedings of the House went on with
numerous bills being debated and passed as I sat as a passive audience waiting for my project’s turn to come up. After the lunch break, it was the moment for me!!!

MY PROJECT”S FIRST REVIEW CAME UP FOR PRESENTATION.

I was at sea. My laptop did not have any reserve power. I went to Manmohan and apprised him of the situation. I was sweating. He calmly replied that this would not be a cause of concern. I was flummoxed!!!! The Speaker asked me to explain to the House on what were my plans for the Unique Identity Project. I replied that I have a plan prepared for 30-60-90-120 days’ milestones and I have presentation to make for which I need a power socket, a projector and a screen. I had no idea what was going to happen after this.

The next couple of minutes were a complete jolt for me. I was completely in a tizzy.

Let me just summarize what happened. A Joint Cabinet Secretary Committee was set
up to judge the feasibility of my request. The Under Secretaries for the Ministries of Power, IT and Broadcasting will prepare a Viability Report after scrutinizing National Security threats to my request. This was because the power socket comes under Power, laptop comes under IT and projector comes under Broadcasting. I have also been told to reconsider my timelines of 30-60-90 days and start thinking in terms of years. Probably, they are right. I did not have the foresight in this matter.

The summary of the issue is that I need to come up with a more inclusive, democratic, comprehensive long term plan for this project to be executed over the next five years. I have also been given a presentation slot 3 months from now (by which the issues related to the power cord etc will also be resolved).
I am filled with mixed reactions.

I was planning for a quick resolution; the management wants a strategic solution.
I come out of the House and text Murthy.
“You won’t believe it but these guys work just like us. I am on a NATIONAL BENCH for the next three months!!!!!!!!”

Part of Dream Weave Walk

The Silent Treatment

2009-12-10T20:22:00.000-08:00

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment.

Suddenly, the man realized that the next day,he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight.

Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper,'Please wake me at 5:00 AM '

He left it where he knew she would find it.

The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight.

Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.

The paper said, 'It is 5:00 AM. Wake up.'

Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

Part of Dream Weave Walk

Jack and Jill nursery rhyme

2009-11-28T04:35:00.000-08:00

Two persons hurt in climbing mishap

Here’s how the 24/7 TV news channel would report the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme. All names (except those of Jack and Jill), are fictitious.

Prashant - TV Anchor
Two persons have been injured in a freak climbing accident. Jack and his companion Jill had gone up a hill to fetch a pail of water when Jack fell down and broke his crown. Jill came tumbling after. Live from the hill, our reporter, Amrita Shah, takes up the story.

Amrita Shah
Thank you Prashant. Well, as you say, two persons - Jack and Jill - had gone up a hill to fetch a pail of water. Suddenly, Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. Prashant.

Prashant
Thank you Amrita. What do we know about the hill?

Amrita
Not too much. Jack was going up the hill to fetch a pail of water when he fell down and broke his crown. Jill came tumbling after.

[Headline appears at the foot of the TV screen: “hill breaks crown of pail-boy Jack”]

Prashant
What news of Jack and Jill?

Amrita
Prashant, it seems that Jack had gone up the hill to fetch a pail of water. We know nothing about the pail, or how heavy it was but it seems that Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. I have here with me, an eyewitness to the accident, Mr Shahid Trivedi. Mr Shahid, tell us what you saw.

Shahid Trivedi
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.

[Headline appears at the foot of the TV screen: “Boy and girl tumble down hill. Water spilled”]

Amrita
Jack and Jill. What do we know about them? Are they brother and sister? Are they married? Just what were they doing on the hill together?

Shahid Trivedi
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail a water.

Amrita
And what happened next?

Shahid Trivedi
Jack fell down and broke his crown

Amrita
Go on.

Shahid Trivedi
And Jill came tumbling after.

Amrita
Prashant, there you have it. Two people innocently going about their business to fetch a pail of water when one of them falls down, breaks his crown, and the other comes tumbling after. Back to you in the studio Prashant.

[Headline appears at the foot of the TV screen: “Water errand ends in tragedy”]

Prashant
I have with me in the studio now, Professor Chandrashekar Belagare from the Indian Institute of Applied Hill Sciences. Professor: a hill; Jack; Jill; a pail of water. A tragedy waiting to happen?

Professor
Well that depends on the hill, the two persons, the object they were carrying and the conditions underfoot. Let us look at the evidence so far.

Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down
And broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.

Clearly, one would suspect that if Jack’s fall was severe enough to break his crown then the surface of the hill must have been slippery or unstable. But I think we’re overlooking something quite fundamental here. Who was carrying the pail? Jack fell down and broke his crown and – this is the key – Jill came tumbling after. If Jack and Jill had been carrying the pail together, would they not have fallen at the same time? The fact that Jill came tumbling after suggests that Jack lost his footing first and perhaps knocked Jill over as he slipped.

Prashant
Professor thank you very much. So there we have it, two persons – Jack and Jill – went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after. Later in the programme, Osama bin Laden captured in Afghanistan , President Bush says rent-boy menage-a-trois was "just a brief lapse of judgement", and Pakistan launches nuclear warheads against key Indian cities. But next up, join us after the break for a studio discussion about hills, boys and girls and whether water-fetching trips should be supervised. We’ll be right back...

Part of Dream Weave Walk

Is Hell exothermic or endothermic ?

2009-11-28T04:30:00.000-08:00

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid term.

The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well :

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.

As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.

Part of Dream Weave Walk

Are you being served?

2009-11-28T04:28:00.000-08:00

By the time you read through this YOU WILL UNDERSTAND
"TANJOOBERRYMUTTS"...and be ready for China .
In order to continue
getting-by in China , we need to learn English the way it is
spoken.......................
Practice by reading the following conversation until you are able to
understand the term "TANJOOBERRYMUTTS".

With a little patience, you'll be able to fit right in. Now, here goes...

The following is a telephonic exchange between maybe you as a hotel
guest and room-service...

Room Service : "Morrin. Roon sirbees."
Guest : "Sorry, I thought I dialed room-service."
Room Service: " Rye . Roon sirbees...morrin! Joowish to oddor
sunteen???"
Guest: "Uh..... Yes, I'd like to order bacon and eggs."
Room Service: "Ow ulai den?"
Guest: ".....What??"
Room Service: "Ow ulai den?!?... Pryed, boyud, pochd?"
Guest: "Oh, the eggs! How do I like them? Sorry.. Scrambled, please."
Room Service: "Ow ulai dee bayken ? Creepse?"
Guest: "Crisp will be fine."
Room Service: "Hokay. An sahn toes?"
Guest: "What?"
Room Service: "An toes. ulai sahn toes?"
Guest: "I.... Don't think so.."
RoomService: "No? Udo wan sahn toes???"
Guest: "I feel really bad about this, but I don't know what 'udo wan
sahn toes' means."
RoomService: "Toes! Toes!...Why Uoo don wan toes? Ow bow Anglish moppin
we botter?"
Guest: "Oh, English muffin! !! I've got it! You were saying 'toast'...
Fine...Yes, an English muffin will be fine."
RoomService: "We botter?"
Guest: "No, just put the botter on the side."
RoomService: "Wad?!?"
Guest: "I mean butter... Just put the butter on the side."
RoomService: "Copy?"
Guest: "Excuse me?"
RoomService: "Copy...tea..meel?"
Guest: "Yes. Coffee, please... And that's everything."
RoomService: "One Minnie. Scramah egg, creepse bayken , Anglish moppin,
we botter on sigh and copy ... Rye ??"
Guest: "Whatever you say."
RoomService: "Tanjooberrymutts."
Guest: "You're welcome"

Part of Dream Weave Walk

Anger and Love have no limits

2009-11-09T21:54:00.000-08:00

A Man was Polishing his new car, his 4 year old son picked up a stone & Scratched on the side of the car. In anger the furious man took his child's hand & hit it many times, not realising he was using a wrench.

At the Hospital, the child lost all his fingers due to multiple fractures.

When the child saw his father with pained eyes he asked, 'Dad, when will my fingers grow back?'

The man was so hurt and speechless.

He went back to the car and kicked it many times.

Devastated by his own actions, while sitting in front of the car he looked at the scratches.

His son had written 'LOVE YOU DAD'.

Next day that man committed suicide.

Anger and Love have no limits.

Always remember, "Things are to be used and people are to be loved"

But the problem in today's world is "People are being USED & THINGS are being LOVED".

Part of Dream Weave Walk

Catch the Bull by its tail

2009-10-30T03:22:00.000-07:00

A young man wished to marry the farmer's beautiful daughter.
He went to the farmer to ask his mission.
The farmer looked him over and said,
"Son, go stand out in that field. I'm going to release three bulls,one at a time. If you can catch the tail of any one of the three bulls,you can marry my daughter."

The young man stood in the pasture awaiting the first bull.
The barn door opened and out ran the biggest, meanest-looking bull he had ever seen.
He decided that one of the next bulls had to be a better choice than this one,
so he ran over to the side and let the bull pass through the pasture out the back gate.

The barn door opened again. Unbelievable.He had never seen anything so big and fierce in his life.

It stood pawing the ground, grunting, slinging slobber as it eyed him. Whatever the next bull was like, it had to be a better choice than this one. He ran to the fence and let the bull pass through the pasture,out the back gate.

The door opened a third time.A smile came across his face. This was the weakest, scrawniest little bull he had ever seen. This one was his bull. As the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and jumped at just the exact moment.

He grabbed...

but the bull had no tail!

Life is full of opportunities.
Some will be easy to take advantage of, some will be difficult.But once we let them pass (often in hopes of something better),those opportunities may never again be available.So always grab the first opportunity . . .

Part of Dream Weave Walk

That's what friends are for

2009-08-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

Horror gripped the heart of the World War 1 soldier as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle. Caught in a trench with continuous gunfire whizzing over his head, the soldier asked his lieutenant if he might go out into the "no man's land" between the trenches to bring his fallen comrade back.
"You can go," said the lieutenant, "but I don't think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your life away." The lieutenant's advice didn't matter, and the soldier went anyway. Miraculously he managed to reach his friend, hoist him onto his shoulder and bring him back to their company's trench. As the two of them tumbled in together to the bottom of the trench, the officer checked the wounded soldier, and then looked kindly at his friend.
"I told you it wouldn't be worth it," he said. "Your friend is dead and you are mortally wounded." "It was worth it, though, sir," said the soldier. "What do you mean; worth it?" responded the Lieutenant. "Your friend is dead" "YES, Sir" the private answered. "But it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive and I had the satisfaction of hearing him say, "JIM........, I KNEW YOU'D COME."

Part of Dream Weave Walk

Triple Filter Test

2009-07-30T05:08:00.000-07:00

In ancient Greece Socrates was widely lauded for his > wisdom.
One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?"
Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."
"Triple filter?"
"That's right," Socrates continued.
"Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what
you are about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"
"No, on the contrary..."
"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, even though you're not certain it's true?"
The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.
Socrates continued. "You may still pass the test though, because there is a third filter - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really..."
"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?"

Part of Dream Weave Walk