SpinnerBait_Nut
Honorary Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2002
- Messages
- 17,651
Re: Feeling old and I'm not
Just a little something for your week end.<br />_________________________________________________<br />1000 Saturdays ... <br /> <br /><br /> <br />The older I get,<br />the more I enjoy Saturday mornings.<br />Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes<br /> with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the <br />unbounded joy of not having to be at work.<br />Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning<br />are most enjoyable. <br /><br /> A few weeks ago, <br />I was shuffling toward the kitchen with a steaming cup<br /> of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other.<br />What began as a typical Saturday morning <br />turned into one of those lessons that life seems<br /> to hand you from time to time.<br />Let me tell you about it.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> I turned the volume up on my radio<br />in order to listen to a Saturday morning talk show.<br />I heard an older sounding chap with a golden voice.<br /> You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business himself.<br /><br /> He was talking about "a thousand marbles"<br />to someone named "Tom." I was intrigued<br />and sat down to listen to what he had to say.<br /> <br /><br /> <br /> "Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job.<br />I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame<br />you have to be away from home and your Family so much.<br />Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty<br /> or seventy hours a week to make ends meet.<br />Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital."<br /><br /> He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom,<br />something that has helped me keep<br />a good perspective on my own priorities."<br /><br /> And that's when he began to explain his theory of a <br />"thousand marbles."<br /> <br /><br /> <br /> "You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic.<br />The average person lives about seventy-five years.<br />I know, some live more and some live less,<br />but on average, folks live about seventy-five years."<br /><br /> "Now then, <br />I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900<br />which is the number of Saturdays that the average person<br />has in their entire lifetime.<br /> Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part."<br /><br /> "It took me until I was fifty-five years old<br />to think about all this in any detail," he went on,<br />"and by that time I had lived through over<br />twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.<br />I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five,<br />I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy."<br /><br /> <br /><br /> "So I went to a toy store and <br />bought every single marble they had.<br />I ended up having to visit three toy stores to roundup <br />1000 marbles.<br />I took them home and put them inside of a large,<br />clear plastic container right here in my workshop<br />next to the radio. Every Saturday since then,<br />I have taken one marble out and thrown it away."<br /> <br /> "I found that by watching the marbles diminish,<br />I focused more on the really important things in life.<br />There is nothing like watching your time<br /> here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight."<br /><br /> <br /><br /> "Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you<br />and take my lovely wife out for breakfast.<br />This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container.<br />I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me<br />with a little extra time to be with my loved ones......<br /><br /> "It was nice to talk to you Tom,<br />I hope you spend more time with your loved ones,<br />and I hope to meet you again someday.<br />Have a good morning!"<br /> <br /><br /> <br /> You could have heard a pin drop when he finished.<br />Even the show's moderator didn't<br />have anything to say for a few moments.<br />I guess he gave us all a lot to think about.<br />I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym.<br />Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.<br />"C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."<br /><br /> "What brought this on?" she asked with a smile.<br />"Oh, nothing special," I said. <br />" It has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together<br /> with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out?<br />I need to buy some marbles."<br /><br /> HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND MAY ALL SATURDAYS BE<br /> SPECIAL AND MAY YOU HAVE MANY HAPPY YEARS AFTER<br /> YOU LOSE ALL YOUR MARBLES.<br /><br />May God bless you in all you do
Just a little something for your week end.<br />_________________________________________________<br />1000 Saturdays ... <br /> <br /><br /> <br />The older I get,<br />the more I enjoy Saturday mornings.<br />Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes<br /> with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the <br />unbounded joy of not having to be at work.<br />Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning<br />are most enjoyable. <br /><br /> A few weeks ago, <br />I was shuffling toward the kitchen with a steaming cup<br /> of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other.<br />What began as a typical Saturday morning <br />turned into one of those lessons that life seems<br /> to hand you from time to time.<br />Let me tell you about it.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> I turned the volume up on my radio<br />in order to listen to a Saturday morning talk show.<br />I heard an older sounding chap with a golden voice.<br /> You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business himself.<br /><br /> He was talking about "a thousand marbles"<br />to someone named "Tom." I was intrigued<br />and sat down to listen to what he had to say.<br /> <br /><br /> <br /> "Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job.<br />I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame<br />you have to be away from home and your Family so much.<br />Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty<br /> or seventy hours a week to make ends meet.<br />Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital."<br /><br /> He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom,<br />something that has helped me keep<br />a good perspective on my own priorities."<br /><br /> And that's when he began to explain his theory of a <br />"thousand marbles."<br /> <br /><br /> <br /> "You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic.<br />The average person lives about seventy-five years.<br />I know, some live more and some live less,<br />but on average, folks live about seventy-five years."<br /><br /> "Now then, <br />I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900<br />which is the number of Saturdays that the average person<br />has in their entire lifetime.<br /> Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part."<br /><br /> "It took me until I was fifty-five years old<br />to think about all this in any detail," he went on,<br />"and by that time I had lived through over<br />twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.<br />I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five,<br />I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy."<br /><br /> <br /><br /> "So I went to a toy store and <br />bought every single marble they had.<br />I ended up having to visit three toy stores to roundup <br />1000 marbles.<br />I took them home and put them inside of a large,<br />clear plastic container right here in my workshop<br />next to the radio. Every Saturday since then,<br />I have taken one marble out and thrown it away."<br /> <br /> "I found that by watching the marbles diminish,<br />I focused more on the really important things in life.<br />There is nothing like watching your time<br /> here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight."<br /><br /> <br /><br /> "Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you<br />and take my lovely wife out for breakfast.<br />This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container.<br />I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me<br />with a little extra time to be with my loved ones......<br /><br /> "It was nice to talk to you Tom,<br />I hope you spend more time with your loved ones,<br />and I hope to meet you again someday.<br />Have a good morning!"<br /> <br /><br /> <br /> You could have heard a pin drop when he finished.<br />Even the show's moderator didn't<br />have anything to say for a few moments.<br />I guess he gave us all a lot to think about.<br />I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym.<br />Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.<br />"C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."<br /><br /> "What brought this on?" she asked with a smile.<br />"Oh, nothing special," I said. <br />" It has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together<br /> with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out?<br />I need to buy some marbles."<br /><br /> HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND MAY ALL SATURDAYS BE<br /> SPECIAL AND MAY YOU HAVE MANY HAPPY YEARS AFTER<br /> YOU LOSE ALL YOUR MARBLES.<br /><br />May God bless you in all you do
