A to Z about friendship
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Oct 232011
Apr 272011
This is a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he thought he was able to be so much more creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from others ?
He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor — a veritable sea of milk !
When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said, “Robert, I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up ?” Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, “You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that ? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer ?” He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilled milk.
His mother then said, “You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let’s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it.
What a wonderful lesson ! This renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about.
Even if the experiment “doesn’t work,” we usually learn something valuable from it. Make mistakes, you learn from them . . . . but never repeat mistakes.
Apr 192011
One day a young lady was driving along with her father.
They came upon a storm, and the young lady asked her father, What should I do?”
He said “keep driving”. Cars began to pull over to the side, the storm was Getting worse.
“What should I do.” The young lady asked? “Keep driving,” her father replied.
On up a few feet, she noticed that eighteen wheelers were also pulling over.
She told her dad, “I must pull over, I can barely see ahead. It is Terrible, and everyone is pulling over!”
Her father told her, “Don’t give up, just keep driving!” Now the storm was terrible, but she never stopped driving, and soon she Could see a little more clearly.
After a couple of miles she was again on Dry land, and the sun came out. Her father said, “Now you can pull over and get out.” She said “But why now?”
He said “When you get out, look back at all the people that gave up and are Still in the storm, because you never gave up your storm is now over.
This is a testimony for anyone who is going through “hard times”.
Just because everyone else, even the strongest, gives up. You don’t have To…if you keep going, soon your storm will be over and the sun will shine Upon your face again. This story touched me! Reply If it touched you, too
Feb 072011
A while ago, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From
the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and
soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly
accepted and was around from then on.
As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young
mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary
instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.
But the stranger…he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound
for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he
always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and
even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first
major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The
stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn’t seem to mind.
Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing
each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the
kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the
stranger to leave.)
Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the
stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example,
was not allowed in our home… Not from us, our friends or any visitors.
Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that
burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad
didn’t permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged
us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars
manly and pipes distinguished.
He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were
sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.
I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced
strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my
parents, yet he was seldom rebuked… And NEVER asked to leave.
More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our
family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he
was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents’ den today, you
would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone
to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. Categorically,
he destroyed all the moral values, ethics, love, time for each other
and other good qualities we had in our family…..whilst adding some
unnoticeable quantity of positive stuff also, which any way we would
have had even without him……
His name?…. .. .
.
,
,
.
We just call him ‘TV.’
He has a wife now….We call her ‘Computer.’
Their first child is “Cell Phone”.
Second child “I Pod”
Jan 282011
Ambam, the swaggering silverback gorilla who walks on two legs
Striding purposefully across the ape enclosure, he looks like a portly – and slightly grumpy – commuter in a hurry to catch a train.
While most gorillas are happy enough walking around on all fours, Ambam the silverback prefers a more human form of ambulation.
To the amusement of his keepers and fascinated onlookers, the agile ape has mastered the tricky art of walking upright on his hind legs for long distances.
A kind of man: Ambam has become an internet hit after teaching himself to swagger like a human
The feat has placed Ambam, a Western lowland gorilla at Port Lympne wild animal park in Kent, on the brink of international stardom.
An 18-second piece of footage showing the 21-year-old male walking like a man has become the latest YouTube sensation, viewed by 150,000 people over the last few days.
Gorillas usually prefer to get around by ‘knuckle walking’ – using the padded backs of their front hands to support their huge weights as they move around the floors of forests or zoo enclosures.
High and mighty: Ambam the gorilla stands up and strolls off…He sets off across his enclosure with purpose
However, they will also stand on two legs to reach branches or get a better view, and can walk upright, swinging their arms parallel to their opposite legs to counterbalance their weight.
But few gorillas are as good at it as Ambam. Keeper Ingrid Naisby, who has worked with him for 16 years, said: ‘It’s quite unusual in gorillas but Ambam does it quite often and he can balance very well. Other gorillas do it occasionally, but he will do it for a bit of a distance.
Long arms swinging he really gets into his stride…and a backward glance to see if anyone's following him
‘He’s always liked to stand up. It’s about getting his balance right and he’s well practised. He has perfected it.’ Ambam was born at Port Lympne’s sister park, Howletts, in 1990. He was moved to Port Lympne aged seven and is now the park’s largest gorilla at an impressive 34 stone. Standing upright, he is an impressive 6ft tall.
The footage of him was taken by animal researcher Johanna Watson while she was working for a project on great ape locomotion.
Hulk: Ambam is the park's biggest gorilla, weiging in at 220kg