Leon
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PerspectivePerspective
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to
the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be
considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the
trip?'
'It was great, Dad.'
'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.
'Oh yeah,' said the son.
'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father
The son answered:
'I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a
creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go
beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to
protect them.'
The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added , 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing?
'Let your daily exercise be your daily walk with God.'
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scribbler
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Really great post, Leon. It's a shame more folks in this world can't read it and get the message it hold..the world would be oh so much better for it.
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thebizman
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Leon,
Thats a great story. I have always said that children don't know rich from poor, white from black, pretty from homley, UNTIL some stupid, bigoted, narrow minded adult (?) tells them different. 
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cathyromine
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Leon I posted under the mass day section also how
good this is, thank you...I received this today from
Charlie Mook - hope you dont mind if I add it to
this section...
FOR THOSE BORN 1920-1979
READ TO THE BOTTOM FOR QUOTE OF THE MONTH BY JAY LENO. IF YOU DON'T READ ANYTHING ELSE READ THE QUOTE---VERY WELL STATED
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats , booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because,
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
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; and we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride 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 did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer' s, no Internet or chat rooms.......
WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
If YOU are one of them CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good .
While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:
'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'
For those that prefer to think that God is not watching over us...go ahead and delete this or Ignore if your reading elsewhere than an email.
For the rest of us...pass this ON!
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Leon
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Hi Cathy,
Some more things that can be added...
We respected our elders and things that belonged to other people.
Parents could spank their children without fear of being charged with child
abuse... and teachers and school principals could paddle children for
disciplinary purposes without parents claiming something was wrong with
the punishment. In fact when I got home from school after getting paddled,
I got some more from my parents!
The idea of respect has just about vanished from society all together. I was
taught that if it doesn't belong to you then leave it alone. There wasn't any
fear of stuff getting stolen because people respected others.
Much of the worlds problems could be solved by people practicing the
"Golden Rule". But yet, we allow a small sect in our country to control the
majority. Maybe one day, when America the home of the free and the
brave no longer exists, people will look back and see why it happened the
way it did. "In God We Trust", "One Nation under God" and the fact that
God is being denied on all levels in our society is the reason.
Peace,
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cathyromine
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Yeap Leon, My boys got spanked and by
me because I was a single parent...I had
a home day care for about 5 years so I could
be home through the teen age years of my
boys to keep a close eye on them, a sacrifice
that most parents won't do anymore...
Of course with day care also, its against the
law to spank children...Its called "time Out"
although you have to abide by the rules you don't
have to agree with them in your heart...Sad, so sad
and we wonder why children now rule their parents and
have no respect.
"Spare the Rod - Spoil The Child" And of course
people don't even agree with that -
Another one - People will get so intelligent they are
ignorant! We are in that time...
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thebizman
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And some people thought Rome would last forever.
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Leon
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Hi Bizman,
I honestly believe that the predictions of Stalin or Hitler (I don't remember
which one) who said that the United States will fall to Communism without
firing a single shot.
We are headed that way right now... with everyone talking about socialized
medicine along with the fact that we are headed towards bankruptcy with the
foreign policy that we have right now.
I think it it time that we started over... and follow the founding fathers
suggestions a little better this time.
Peace,
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thebizman
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Leon,
That quote came from Nikita Kruchev (sp) in 1959. He said that just before he came to the US and went to DisneyLand.
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Leon
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Thanks for that Lee.
I forgot who said it, yet I fear that it still holds true.
Peace,
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