Happy Soul Food Friday!
“To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.”
“OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A VETERAN DIED TODAY.”
He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.
And ‘tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.
But we’ll hear his tales no longer,
For ol’ Joe has passed away,
And the world’s a little poorer
For a Veteran died today.
He won’t be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.
He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won’t note his passing,
‘Tho a Veteran died today.
When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young,
But the passing of a Veteran
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some one who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?
The politician’s stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.
While the ordinary Veteran,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.
It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some handy cop-out,
With his ever-waffling stand?
Or would you want a Veteran
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Veteran,
Who would fight until the end.
He was just a common Veteran,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his likes again.
For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Veteran’s part,
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honor
While he’s here to hear the praise,
Then at least let’s give him homage
At the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
“OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A VETERAN DIED TODAY.”
This Week:
Humor: Best of the Best with Steven Wright
Think Differently
Universality: He For She
A New UN project on Gender Equality“
What you tolerate you teach.”
Teaching: Student Athletes Competence AND Character
Pitch It Forward or Risk a Run Back for “What you tolerate you teach.”
Music: Peter and the Wolf
A Classic for Kids
Photos: Rarely Seen Moments in US History
Best of the Best with Steven Wright
If you’re not familiar with the work of Steven Wright, he’s the famous erudite (comic) scientist who once said:
“I woke up one morning, and all of my stuff had been stolen and replaced by exact duplicates.”
… He sees things differently than most of us.
Here are some of his gems:
1 – I’d kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
2 – Borrow money from pessimists – they don’t expect it back.
3 – Half the people you know are below average.
4 – 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
6 – A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.
7 – A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
8 – If you want the rainbow, you have got to put up with the rain.
9 – All those who believe in psycho kinesis, raise my hand.
10 – The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
11 – I almost had a psychic girlfriend … But she left me before we met.
12 – OK, so what’s the speed of dark?
13 – How do you tell when you’re out of invisible ink?
14 – If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
15 – Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
16 – When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
17 – Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
18 -Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now.
19 – I intend to live forever… So far, so good.
21 – Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines.
22 – What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
23 – My mechanic told me, “I couldn’t repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.”
24 – Why do psychics have to ask you for your name.
25 – If at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
26 – A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
27 – Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.
28 – The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.
29 – To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
30 – The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard
31 – The sooner you fall behind, the more time you’ll have to catch up.
32 – The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.
33 – Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don’t have film.
34 – If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.
And the all-time favorite
35 – If your car could travel at the speed of light would your headlights work?
He For She
HeForShe videos are part of a new UN project on gender equality:
Teaching Student Athletes Competence AND Character
I am privileged to serve on the Advisory Board of Pitch It Forward. Here was a great Motivational Monday post from this week with two compelling lessons for all of us…
As many of you begin CIF playoffs this week, I want to share with you a link to something that occurred in the Oregon-Utah football game on Saturday. What you will observe is Kaelin Clay, a Utah player, prematurely celebrating a touchdown he had not yet scored, dropping the ball a yard outside the end-zone, from which point the University of Oregon Ducks returned Clay’s fumble 99 yards for at least a 12-point scoring swing. Leaders recognize that every play counts and every play demands your full effort. Leadership has no room for celebrating before the game is over. Continue to work hard, play hard, demand the most of yourselves and your teammates, and listen to and respect your coaches. You will all be leaders if you follow that approach.
On an entirely different note, the UT San Diego published the attached very powerful editorial in Sunday’s paper entitled “The sad rise of casual partisan hatred.” While politically oriented, this editorial is applicable to virtually any situation you encounter today. It references a study conducted by Stanford University and Princeton University professors and states that “Americans increasingly dislike people and groups on the other side of the political divide and face no social repercussions for the open expression of these attitudes.” Where this article applies to you is in the second to last paragraph where the editorial board states “And too many people who should know better don’t push back and accept this casual hatred as the new behavioral norm.” I place everyone in Pitch it Forward in the category of those who know better. Let’s not let casual hatred into our lives. Remember the lesson from session one: “What you tolerate you teach.”
The sad rise of casual partisan hatred _ UTSanDiego
Peter and the Wolf
If you are local, do enjoy this classic with your family
Thanksgiving
Rarely Seen special Moments of US History:
Rarely Seen Photos
Thanks this week go to Peter S, Larry H, Anne L, Anurag T, Tricia L, Dan E and Pitch It Forward.
Pitch it Forward or risk a Run Back!
Love,
Neville
“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”
Happy Soul Food Friday! 
Love it Neville, thank you!