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| Warren Zevon was recently diagnosed with
terminal lung cancer and has just a few months to live. David Letterman
apparently is a huge fan of his and devoted a whole show with just him. He
really looked old and weak. I really didn’t know what to expect. Would
he be able to sing a song? What does one say when they’re so close to
death?
I was truly amazed at his attitude. No complaining and no whining. He totally accepted his fate and blamed only himself for not going to a doctor for over 20 years. He was so calm and accepting of his situation. He said you make your decisions in life and then live with the consequences. He joked how ironic it was that his last three albums were, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, My Ride’s Here, and Life’ll Kill Ya.. |
In This Issue |
He told Letterman that he spends as much time as possible with his grown kids and he is working as much as possible writing and recording all the songs that he still has in him. He lives for his kids and his songs. He also finds himself savoring the little moments more often. He says he enjoys a sandwich just a little bit more.
That sandwich remark just stuck with me. I thought about all the things I spend my time on. I rush here and there trying to do so many things. I work to buy stuff and save for the future. Am I missing the important things? What would I do different if I only had a few months left to live? Who knows, this could be my last day. It’s been drilled in my head about planning for the future and postponing gratification. But if you’re always planning and preparing for the future, when can you just take it easy and enjoy life? Is life just making sure you’ll have enough stuff to be comfortable until you die? It really got me thinking.
Maybe life is really simple. Enjoy the beauty of life that is present in every moment. Find your purpose, something that fills you with joy and have faith that that is enough. Here’s a question that came to my mind that I’ve been pondering over. I don’t know if it’s an original thought or if I picked it up some place.
| Is one’s life a journey with a purpose or
is the journey the purpose of one’s life?
It’s a subtle distinction but it offers two different paths to how you might choose to live your life. As you might gather, I’m still searching for the answer. Wait a second. Is there an answer to the search or is the search really the answer? OK, I’ll stop my ramblings. Hope you enjoy what I put together this issue. Tim |
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"A house becomes a home when you can write "I love you" on the
furniture."
I can't tell you how many countless hours that I have spent CLEANING! I used to
spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect
-"in case someone came over". Then I realized one day that no one came
over; they were all out living life and having fun! Now, when people visit, I
find no need to explain the "condition" of my home. They are more
interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living
life and having fun. If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this
advice. Life is short. Enjoy it!
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Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better, to paint a
picture or write a letter, bake a cake or plant a seed, ponder the
difference between want and need? |
Welcome New Clients Here are some of the new clients who Steve Brightwell and Tom Rickert (past clients) Myan and Shmulick (referred by Yuron and Lemore Zurr) Jodi and Evan Rogoff (referred by Larry and Marsha Haber) We love giving recognition to our new
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John Leo | ©2002
Universal Press Syndicate November 18, 2002
There's a problem in Florida's Panhandle. Some residents think their area's name leaves the impression that panhandling is the major local activity. So they want their area to be known as "Florida's Great Northwest." Why not? Many accountants are unhappy with their name, too. They prefer "cognitors," even though this sounds like a herd at Jurassic Park. In football, some fans think a long and desperate last-second pass should not be called a "Hail Mary" play because of the religious reference. They think it should be called, well, a long and desperate last-second pass. |
Yes, America effortlessly churns out euphemisms and upscale name changes.
Here are some current ones:
· Comparative ads: attack ads
· Traffic-calming road insertions: speed bumps
· In-depth interrogation: torture
· Visual harassment: staring
· Unacknowledged repetitions: plagiarism
· Verbal abuse: criticism
· Assaultive expression: criticism
· Linguistic domestic violence: criticism of a wife
· Abductees (in Sudan): slaves
· Tribal chief: swarthy, non-English-speaking leader you admire
· Warlord: swarthy, non-English-speaking leader you do not admire
· Isolated reflection interval: time-out
· Mandatory discontinued attendance: suspension
· Cultural genocide: correcting a pupil's nonstandard English
· Multicultural issues editor: censor
· Psychological violence: disapproval
· Unpaid sex worker: wife
· Sexual service provider: paid sex worker, hooker
· Cosmetically saturated: wearing too much makeup
· Fragrance abuse: wearing too much perfume
· Nondiscretionary fragrance: body odor
· Robust peacekeeping: killing troublesome locals
· Mandatory motherhood: turned down for a late abortion
· Evacuate cranial contents: suck the baby's brains out
· Action figures: dolls for boys
· Spouse equivalent: lover
· Comprehensive sex education: sex-ed classes stressing the things your parents hope you will never do
· Post-verdict response: riot
· Uprising: a riot you approve of
· Occupant restraints: seat belts
· Race-sensitive programs: preferences, quotas
· Faith-based organizations: religious organizations
· Economic profiling:getting turned down for a loan because of a poor credit rating
· Made possible by: We don't take advertising, but here comes an ad anyway
· Relationship manager: salesperson
· Tactical pricing: panicky price cuts
· Intercommunal coexistence (from a program at Brandeis): getting along
· Mainstreaming (journalese): quoting one member of every race, gender, orientation and ethnic group in all news reports, even ones about ailing turtles, bad weather or Martha Stewart
· Involuntary normal attrition: laying off workers
· Managing down: laying off workers
· Rightsizing: laying off workers
· Job survivor: person not yet rightsized, attrited or managed down
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“Begin doing what you want to
do now. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand
melting like a snowflake.” – Marie Beyon Ray “A holiday gives one a chance to look backward and forward, to reset
oneself by an inner compass.” Mastery of a field is not accomplished by practicing 5000 techniques 5 times each. It’s accomplished by practicing 5 techniques 5000 times. -Heard it at a seminar “There is real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between
mediocrity and accomplishment.” You can’t force a carrot to grow. Awareness creates it’s own momentum. Skill gets rid of fear Don’t worry, just be. |
FREE! Home Seller’s Marketing Kit If you’re thinking of selling, now or in the future, get your free Home Seller’s Marketing Kit. This special kit has helped sellers save tens of thousands of dollars and countless headaches (and lawsuits!). The kit contains:
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| If you lived as a child in the 40's, 50's,
60's or 70's. Looking back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as
long as we have...
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. |
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(Not to mention hitchhiking to town as a young kid!)
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day.
No cell phones. Unthinkable. We played dodgeball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth, and there were no law suits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame, but us.
Remember accidents? We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.
We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank sugar soda but we were never overweight...we were always outside playing. We shared one grape soda with four friends, from one bottle and no one died from this.
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We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64,
X-Boxes, video games at all, 99 channels on cable, video tape movies,
surround sound, personal cell phones, Personal Computers, Internet chat
rooms ... we had friends.
We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Out there in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian. How did we do it? |
| We made up games with sticks and tennis balls
and ate worms and although we were told it would happen, we did not put
out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't, had to learn to deal with disappointment..... Some students weren't as smart as others so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade.....Horrors. Tests were not adjusted for any reason. |
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Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law, imagine that! This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years has been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. And you're one of them. Congratulations!
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George: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new
leader of China?
Condi: Yes.
George: I mean the fellow's name.Condi: Hu.
George: The guy in China.
Condi: Hu.
George: The new leader of China.
Condi: Hu.
George: The Chinaman!
Condi: Hu is leading China.
George: Now whaddya' asking me for?
Condi: I'm telling you Hu is leading China.
George: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China?
Condi: That's the man's name.
George: That's who's name?
Condi: Yes.
George: Will you or will you not tell me the name of the new leader of
China?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he was in the Middle
East.
Condi: That's correct.
George: Then who is in China?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir is in China?
Condi: No, sir.
George: Then who is?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir?
Condi: No, sir.
George: Look, Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China.
Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone.
Condi: Kofi?
George: No, thanks.
Condi: You want Kofi?
George: No.
Condi: You don't want Kofi.
George: No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And
then get me the U.N.
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N.
Condi: Kofi?
George: Milk! Will you please make the call?
Condi: And call who?
George: Who is the guy at the U.N?
Condi: Hu is the guy in China.
George: Will you stay out of China?!
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N.
Condi: Kofi.
George: All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone.
(Condi picks up the phone.)
Condi: Rice, here.
George: Rice? Good idea. And a couple of egg rolls, too. Maybe we should
send some to the guy in China. And the Middle East. Can you get Chinese
food in the Middle East?
Source unknown. Saw on a internet site.
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Opinionjournal.com/best: James Taranto’s “Best of the Web Today” is a quick and easy way to stay current on the news of the day. Every weekday his staff searches the internet for interesting and important stories. They provide a summary of the stories and add their own witty commentary and provide links to the whole story. In ten minutes I can be well informed about what’s going on in the world |
Beware of Some E-mail Christmas cards!!!
According to the hoax-busting site at www.snopes.com
, if you get an email from any of these firms:
http://www.friendgreetings.com
http://www.friend-greetings.com
http://www.laugh-mail.com
http://www.friend-cards.net
http://www.friend-cards.com
http://cool-downloads.net
http://friendgreetings.net
Do not open it!
If you visit the sender's site, you will be asked to install some software in
order to view the card. Do NOT do this or the software will send
pornography ads to everyone in your email address book.
The anti-Hoax site, TruthorFiction.com,
also discusses this virus at www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/e-card.htm and
says:
"A warning is circulating on the Internet about a "virus-like" program that says a friend has sent you an e-card, but if you respond to it, all the addresses in your Outlook address book will be sent to the greeting card company. The warning is true. What appears to be an invitation to read an e-card actually forwards your Outlook addresses to a Spammer who will be sending advertisements to your friends about pornography."
This is NOT a hoax according to the major hoax sites. Just delete the
email message as soon as you see it and you should be just fine.
By George! Who is this Religious Nut?
Read the following proclamation and try to imagine a president of the United States who would dare to make so many references to God. Many people might trust that the Constitution would never allow such a proclamation due to the “separation of church and state” clause that they learned about in school. I was really shocked when I read this and it made me go back and read the Constitution one more time. I highlighted the sentence that is really interesting.
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the
providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits,
and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of
Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the
people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be
observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of
Almighty God…
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign One day per year,
to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and
glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is,
or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere
and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country
...; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since
enjoyed; ... for our safety and happiness, and particularly for the civil and
religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring
and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various
favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and
supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and to enable us all, whether
in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties
properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the
people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws,
discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all
sovereigns and nations (especially such as have show kindness to us), and to
bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the
knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of
science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a
degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
This is none other than George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789, only two years after he presided over the constitutional convention. Did he forget about the “separation of church and state”? You know, I checked and “separation of church and state” is not to be found in the Constitution. Maybe “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” means exactly that and nothing more. Hmmm.
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Who doesn’t? We found someone who our kids just love. They can’t wait to have us go out and have Carolyn Martin come over and baby sit. They think it’s a great treat. Carolyn is a freshman at North Springs High School. We’ve used her several times this past year and have been very pleased. The kids love her. So if you need someone, I highly recommend you giving her a call. 770-396-7882 |
See An Interesting Home? No need to wonder about the price. No need to call a high-pressure sales agent who will just make you feel obligated. My computers can send you the information quickly and easily, for any house, listed or sold, anywhere in town. Just ask me! It’s all part of my free, no-obligation HomeFinder Service. Leave the address on my voicemail, 404-845-0265 anytime, 24 hours a day, and I’ll fax or mail you all the information on that listing within 24 hours.
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December Quiz Question
What are the names of all eight of Santa’s reindeer mentioned in the poem “T’was the Night Before Christmas”?
Everyone who faxes, e-mails or calls in the correct answer by the last day of January will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate to Home Depot. Everyone who responds correctly but doesn’t win the drawing will get a $5 gift card to Blockbuster Video.
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October Quiz Answer Question: What is the smallest populated nation?Answer: Vatican City, Population 770. (Click here for list)Nancy Record, Bill Geiger, and John and Ellen Gartland had the correct answer. We had a drawing and Nancy Record’s name was picked. She’ll receive a $50 gift certificate to Home Depot. All others will get a $5 gift certificate to Blockbuster’s.
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The Power of Now
| It’s funny how I come across books that are
relevant to some of my current thoughts. Synchronicity?
The Power of Now has such a simple message but oh how hard it is to carry out. Don’t let the past or future worry you. Concentrate on what you are doing NOW. Can anyone go back in time and change history? No. Can anyone go ahead and do anything tomorrow , today. No. The only time you can do anything is NOW. There’s nothing else if you really think about it. The past is gone. The future isn’t here yet. But here you are NOW. What do you choose to do? If it’s raining, you alone choose your attitude, happy or depressed. My kids choose to have fun and jump in puddles. Others might choose to depress and wait for sunny weather. Either way, it’s still raining. My kids accept reality and enjoy the moment. Others put their life on hold until the sun shines. When the sun shines, they’ll probably choose to depress about the rainfall deficit. They choose never to be happy in the moment. This book puts together many thoughts I’ve had for a long time. |
 Buy it at Amazon.com now! |
