The Golf Ball

In my hand I hold a ball,
White and dimpled, rather small.
Oh, how harmless it does appear,
The innocent little sphere.

But its size I could not guess,
The awesome power it does possess.
But since I fell beneath its spell,
I've been through the fire of hell.

My life hasn't been quite the same,
Since I chose to play this game.
It rules my mind for hours on end,
A fortune it has made me spend.

It has made me curse and cry,
And hate myself and want to die.
It promises me a thing called par,
If I can hit it straight and far.

To master such a tiny ball,
Should not be very hard at all.
But my desires the ball refuses,
And does exactly what it chooses.

It hooks and slices, dribbles and dies,
Or disappears before my eyes.
Often it will have a whim,
To hit a tree or take a swim.

With miles of grass on which to land,
It finds that tiny patch of sand.
Then has be offering up my soul,
It it first whould drop in the hold.

It's made me wimper like a pup,
And swear that I will give it up.
And take a drink to ease my sorrow,
But the ball knows...I'll be back for more

--Anonymous

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't quit.
Life is strange with it's twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about.
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you can never tell how close you are,
it may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit.
It's when things seem worst, That you must not quit.
--Author Unknown

To Thine Own Self Be True

If everyone practiced this idealogy the world would be a better place!

And these few precepts in thy memory
See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tounge,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.,
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar:
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatched, unfledged courage. Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in,
Bear 't that the opposed may beware of thee.
Giuve every man thine eear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgement.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,]
But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy:
For the apparel oft proclaims the man;
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are most select and generous in that.
Neither a borrower, nor a lender be;
]For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all, -to thine own self be true;
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewll; my blessing season this in thee!
--Hamlett Act 1 Scene 3

You cannot

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the page payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouragin class hatred. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.
-- Abraham Lincoln

Drum Major Instinct

Being that today is national holiday celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I felt it appropriate to share a little excerpt of one of my favorite speaches of this influential man. It is not only an excerpt but moreso a philosphy that I feel we all should take as our own. So without further ado here is an excerpt from "The Drum Major Instinct"

Every now and then I guess we all think realistically about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator—that something that we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?" And I leave the word to you this morning.

If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school.

I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others.

I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.

I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question.

I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry.

And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked.

I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison.

I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that's all I want to say.

Virus Alert

Beware! There is a dangerous virus being passed electronically, orally and by hand.

This virus is called Worm-Overload-Recreational-Killer (WORK). If you receive WORK from any of your colleagues, your boss or anyone else via any means DO NOT TOUCH IT. This virus will wipe out your private life completely.

If you should come into contact with WORK put your jacket on and take two good friends to the nearest pub. Purchase the antidote known as Work-Isolator-Neutralizer-Extractor (WINE). The quickest acting WINE type is called Swift-Hitting-Infiltrator-Remover-All-Zones (SHIRAZ) but this is only available for those who can afford it. The next best equivalent is Cheapest-Available-System-Killer (CASK). Take the antidote repeatedly until WORK has been completely eliminated from your system.

Forward this warning to 5 friends. If you do not have 5 friends, you have already been infected and WORK is controlling your life. This virus is DEADLY(Destroys-Every-Available-Decent-Living-Youngster).

Update 05-05-05: After extensive testing it has been concluded that Best-Equivalent-Extractor-Remedy (BEER) may be substituted for WINE but may require a more generous application

The Law Is The Law

So if the US government determines it is against the law for the words
"under God" to be on our money then SO BE IT.

And if the same government decides the "Ten Commandments" are not to be used in or on a government installation then SO BE IT.

And since they already have prohibited any prayer in the schools on
which they deem their authority then SO BE IT

I say, "SO BE IT," because (as God would have it) I would like to be a law
abiding US citizen.

I say, "SO BE IT," because I would like to think smarter people than I
are in positions to make good decisions.

I say, "SO BE IT," because I would like to think those people have the
American Publics' best interests at heart.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE?

Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and can't post His
commandments in Government buildings, I don't think the Government and
its employees should participate in the Easter and Christmas celebrations,
which honor the God that our government is eliminating from many facets of
American life.

I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. After all,
IT'S JUST ANOTHER DAY.

I'd like the US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas, Good
Friday and Easter as well as Sundays. After all, IT'S JUST ANOTHER DAY.

I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives not having to
worry about getting home for the "Christmas Break" After all, IT'S JUST
ANOTHER DAY.

I'm thinking that a lot of my taxpayer dollars could be saved, if all
government offices and services would work on Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. After all, IT'S JUST ANOTHER DAY.

It shouldn't cost any overtime since those would be just like any other day
of the week to a government that is trying to be "politically correct".

In fact, I think our government should work on Sundays (initially set aside
for worshiping God. . . .) because after all, OUR GOVERNMENT SAYS IT SHOULD BE JUST ANOTHER DAY.

What do you all think???? If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our
elected officials will stop giving in to minority opinions and begin, once
again, to represent the majority of ALL the American people.

SO BE IT!

Great Book

I just finished My Friend Leonard last night! Just as good if not better than the first one! I highly recommend both books (this is the sequel to A Million Little Pieces) to everyone! Especially those who are in recovery!

This book made me smile, made me laugh, made me cry. WHAT A BOOK!!!