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darwin hawkins you are a marvel i just loved your post but most especially the last three sentences i no longer work but loved my job passionately, l loved the money but was passionate about the job i will try to love as if i have never been hurt thats a bit hard but possible dancing is my other passion so i will have to pretend noone is watching as i like to show off in my old age you made my day judy >From: "Hawkins, Darwin" <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: NONPD: Saturday Morning Marbles >Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 07:48:21 -0500 > >I received the following this morning, and I want to share it. >Darwin > >- - - - - - - > >The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the >quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's >the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first >few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable. > >A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement shack with a >steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. > >What began as a typical Saturday morning, turned into one of those >lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell >you about it. > >I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio >in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I >came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a >golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the >broadcasting business. He was telling whoever he was talking with >something about "a thousand marbles". > >I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say. "Well, >Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay >you >well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so >much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or >seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your >daughter's dance recital." > >He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped >me keep a good perspective on my own priorities." And that's when he >began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles." > >"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average >person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some >live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years." >"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the >number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire >lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part." > >"It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in >any detail", he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over >twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be >seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy." > >"So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I >ended up having to visit three toy stores to round-up 1000 marbles. I >took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container >right here in the shack next to my gear. Every Saturday since then, I >have taken one marble out and thrown it away." > >"I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the >really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your >time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight." > >"Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take >my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last >marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday >then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can >all use is a little more time." > >"It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your >family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. 75 year Old >Man, this is K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!" > >You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed >off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to >work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with >a few hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs >and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the >kids to breakfast." > >"What brought this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special, >it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the >kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy >some marbles." > >Work like you don't need the money... >Love like you've never been hurt... >Dance like nobody's watching... ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com