Ray’s Daily
July 14, 2020
To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart and a free mind.
Pearl S. Buck
These days I spend some of my time thinking back over my life and the people I have met who have made a difference in our world. There were those like Eunice Kennedy Shriver who was recognized as a great leader and philanthropist. There were others who had achieved success in their fields and who have been recognized for their good works. I have appreciated the opportunity to meet these folks and even to work with some of them.
I also have met lots of unrecognized good people, the kind of folks who make our world a better place. These are not chronic complainers but people who do the best they can every day, and then some.
Here is a story that offers us ideas on how we too can do better.
Three Simple Words that Change Everything
How wonderful it would be if there were a simple formula for success.‘Follow these steps and you will be successful in business, as a parent, as a student, in your vocation or in any Endeavor you attempt.’ Only if it were that easy.
I think of the man who was honored as ‘Businessperson of the Year.’ At the presentation dinner, a newspaper reporter asked him . . . ‘To what do you owe your great success and prosperity?’
‘Five things contributed to my success’ . . . said the man.
‘First, I always treated people fairly. Second, I always offered a fair price. Third, I was always honest. Fourth, I was always generous to my employees. And fifth, my Aunt Edna died a few years back and left me two and a half million dollars.’
Certainly, the top four items on his list are well worth following – fairness, sound business principles, honesty and generosity. Each contributes toward success and Aunt Edna’s infusion of money certainly helped.
But there is one behaviour that will almost always guarantee that we will succeed at most everything we do. And it is especially important if we want to build whole and happy lives.
Professor Richard Weaver, who taught at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, points us to that behaviour. He sums it up in three simple words . . . ‘and then some.’
Most people do what is expected of them. But some do what is expected and then some.
- They meet their obligations and responsibilities fairly and then some.
- They are good friends to their friends and then some.
- They build bridges; they mend fences and then some.
- They can be counted on in an emergency and then some.
- They are considerate and kind and then some.
- They donate money, expertise and time and then some.
There are many paths to getting what you want out of life and becoming the kind of person you want to be in life. But the surest way of succeeding is to remember those three words . . . ‘and then some.’
They are only three simple words, but they change everything.
Written by Steve Goodier
~~~
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. “
Winston Churchill
~~~
Sam and Morris were both fanatics about deep sea fishing. Each would come back from fishing trips, and tell the other big lies about the number, and sizes of the fish they caught.
So Sam comes back from his latest fishing trip, and tells Morris, “You wouldn’t believe, but in da Bahamas I caught a 500 pound herring. ”
Morris says….A 500 pound herring? Well that’s nothing, last time I fished in da Bahamas, I pulled up an old lantern from a sunken Spanish ship . . . and da candle was still burning! ”
They both looked at each other, knowing that the other was lying.
Finally, Morris said to Sam….” Look Sam, if you take 450 pounds from off your herring I’ll blow out my candle! ”
~~~
Hypochondriac’s headstone epitaph: “See?”
~~~
A friend of mine is a deputy with the sheriff’s department canine (K9) unit. One evening, the deputy was dispatched to the scene of a possible burglary, where he discovered the back door of a building ajar. He let the dog out his patrol car and commanded it to enter and seek. Jumping from the back seat, the dog headed for the building. After lunging through the doorway, the dog froze and backed out. My friend was puzzled until he investigated further. Then he noticed the sign on the building: “Veterinarian’s Office.”
~~~
If your wife parks the car, don’t sit there and insist she do it properly.
Walking the rest of the way to the curb is good exercise.
~~~
At the Henry Street Hebrew School, Goldblatt, the new teacher, finished the day’s lesson. It was now time for the usual question period.
“Mr. Goldblatt,” announced little Joey, “there’s somethin’ I can’t figger out.”
“What’s that Joey?” asked Goldblatt.
“Well accordin’ to the Bible, the Children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, right?”
“Right.”
“An’ the Children of Israel beat up the Philistines, right?”
“Er–right.”
“An’ the Children of Israel built the Temple, right?”
“Again you’re right.”
“An’ the Children of Israel fought the ‘gyptians, an’ the Children of Israel fought the Romans, an’ the Children of Israel wuz always doin’ somethin’ important, right?”
“All that is right, too,” agreed Goldblatt. “So what’s your question?”
“What I wanna know is this,” demanded Joey. “What wuz all the grown-ups doin”?
~~~
In my lifetime, I’ve learned two great truths. Sometimes love just isn’t enough, and sometimes shipping and handling is too much.
~~~
An old farmer in Indiana had owned a small farm for several years. He had a large pond in the back, fixed up nice; picnic tables, horseshoe courts, basketball court, etc. The pond was properly shaped and fixed up for swimming when it was built.
One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the pond, as he hadn’t been there for a while, and look it over. As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer he saw it was a bunch of young women skinny dipping in his pond.
He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end of the pond. One of the women shouted to him, “We’re not coming out until you leave!” The old man replied, “I didn’t come down here to watch you ladies swim or make you get out of the pond naked.”
“I’m here to feed the alligator.”
~~~
Dogs believe they are human. Cats believe they are God.
~~~
After months of negotiation with the authorities, a Talmudist from Odessa was granted permission to visit Moscow. He boarded the train and found an empty seat. At the next stop a young man got on and sat next to him. The scholar looked at the young man and thought: This fellow doesn’t look like a peasant, and if he isn’t a peasant he probably comes from this district.
If he comes from this district, then he must be Jewish because this is, after all, a Jewish district. On the other hand, if he is a Jew, where could he be going? I’m the only Jew in our district who has permission to travel to Moscow. Ahh? But just outside Moscow there is a little village called Samvet, and Jews don’t need special permission to go there. But why would he be going to Samvet?
He’s probably going to visit one of the Jewish families there, but how many Jewish families are there in Samvet? Only two – the Bernsteins and the Steinbergs. The Bernsteins are a terrible family, and a nice looking fellow like him must be visiting the Steinbergs. But why is he going? The Steinbergs have only daughters, so maybe he’s their son-in-law.
But if he is, then which daughter did he marry? They say that Sarah married a nice lawyer from Budapest, and Esther married a businessman from Zhitomer, so it must be Sarah’s husband. Which means that his name is Alexander Cohen, if I’m not mistaken. But if he comes from Budapest, with all the anti-Semitism they have there, he must have changed his name.
What’s the Hungarian equivalent of Cohen? Kovacs. But if they allowed him to change his name, he must have some special status. What could it be? A doctorate from the University.
At this point the scholar turns to the young man and says, “How do you do, Dr. Kovacs?”
“Very well, thank you, sir,” answered the startled passenger. “But how is it that you know my name?”
“Oh,” replied the Talmudist, “it was obvious.”
~~~
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
~~~
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 twenty 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.
Ray's Daily 
Leave a Reply