Ray’s Daily
October 22, 2019
Every day, nay every moment, try to do some good deed.
Abu Bakr
I think what I enjoy the most in my independent living community is how so many of my fellow resident’s care for each other. It is amazing what a smile, a greeting and even a hug can do for folks who are so often alone.
I watch how people respond to those who show an interest in them and their wellbeing and I appreciate the caring we share for each other. I wish the rest of society was as tolerant and understanding as are so many of the folks here.
We are all up in years and cannot do as much as we would like to do, but we still can do something to brighten the day of another, and you know what when we do our day shines as well. The following story is about someone who also cares.
Good deeds no matter how small can change the world for someone
Every Sunday morning, I take a light jog around a park near my home.There’s a lake located in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her.
This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap. There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush.
‘Hello,’ I said. ‘I see you here every Sunday morning. If you don’t mind my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.’
She smiled. ‘I’m cleaning off their shells,’ she replied. ‘Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle’s ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim. It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time.’
‘Wow! That’s really nice of you!’ I exclaimed.
She went on . . . ‘I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning, relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out. It’s my own strange way of making a difference.’
‘But don’t most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells?’ I asked.
‘Yep, sadly, they do,’ she replied.
I scratched my head.‘Well then, don’t you think your time could be better spent? I mean, I think your efforts are kind and all, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the world. And 99% of these turtles don’t have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells. So, no offense . . . but how exactly are your localized efforts here truly making a difference?’
The woman giggled aloud. She then looked down at the turtle in her lap, scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its shell, and said, ‘Sweetie, if this little guy could talk, he’d tell you I just made all the difference in the world.’
Author Unknown
~~~
Something that has always puzzled me all my life is why, when I am in special need of help, the good deed is usually done by somebody on whom I have no claim.
William Feather
~~~
Signs that your getting on in years (I may be repeating myself):
You buy a compass for the dash of your car.
If a young girl looks at you, you check to make sure you remembered to put on your pants.
You keep repeating yourself.
You discover bifocals are stylish!
When you do the “Hokey Pokey” you put your left hip out…and it stays out.
You enjoy hearing about other people’s operations.
Most women you know under 40 put you in the “Friend of my Father” class.
You get into a heated argument about pension plans.
The end of your tie doesn’t come anywhere near the top of your pants.
You have more hair in your ears and nose than on your head.
You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.
Relatives smile benignly rather than interrupt you as you retell the same story for the zillionth time.
You run out of breath walking DOWN a flight of stairs.
Neighbors borrow your tools.
You’re on a TV game show and you decide to risk it all and go for the rocker.
You are proud of your lawn mower.
Lawn care has become a big highlight of your life.
Your arms are almost too short to read the newspaper.
Your classmates at your reunion think you’re one of their former teachers.
Conversations with people your own age often turn into “dueling ailments.”
You keep repeating yourself.
Your relatives longingly refer to your things as your “estate”.
People don’t harass you any more when you take an afternoon nap.
~~~
Take heart, the only person who always got his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
~~~
They were married, but since the argument they had a few days earlier, they hadn’t been talking to each other.
Instead, they were giving each other written notes.
One evening he gave her a paper where it said:
“Wake me up tomorrow morning at 6 am.”
The next morning he woke up and saw that it was 9 o’clock.
Naturally he got very angry, but as he turned around he found a note on his pillow saying:
“Wake up, it’s 6 o’clock!”
~~~
Each one of us can do a good deed, every day and everywhere. In hospitals in desperate need of volunteers, in homes for the elderly where our parents and grandparents are longing for a smile, a listening ear, in the street, in our workplaces and especially at home.
Shari Arison
~~~
Ray Mitchell
Indianapolis, Indiana
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
Ray’s Daily has been sent for more than fifteen years to people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can request to be added by e-mailing me at raykiwsp@gmail.com. Back issues are posted at http://rays-daily,com/ currently there are more than 2000 readers from around the world.
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