Ray’s Daily
June 3, 2021
“Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.”
Misty Copeland
I am having lunch today with a few folks who have become my close friends over the last few years. One friend moved away when the Covid epidemic shut is in many months ago. She joined us today just to renew our friendships.
When you reach my age you have to get use to the fact that friends will not be around forever. Here in my senior community there are many opportunities to earn new friends. I use the word earn because it is who we are and how we behave that allows us to develop new friendships. Here is a story that reminded me of how we should view our relationships.
Whose list are you on?
I had to say goodbye to someone. You know I hate goodbyes, so I struggled with what I needed to say to him. But at the same time I discovered something special about how I feel about people and myself.
The following is taken, in part, from the note I just emailed to him:
‘It’s the thing about caring for people. They get into your life, sometimes briefly, and manage to become a part of who you are. Not all people, but those special individuals who arrive unexpectedly and linger there.
How does it happen?
They are the ones who, the first time you meet them, touch you in such a way that they leave an imprint on your heart. They are the people you look for and hope to meet along the way. They make the journey easier. Some become close friends and share everyday happenings in your life. Others just pass through leaving behind bits and pieces of who they are.
Then there are those who are always there, but off in the distance somewhere within reach whenever you need them. You may only see them once in awhile, but when you do you are made better, lifted up, energized by the time you shared with them.’
After reading this I thought about the many people in my life who fit into this group. I realized how many people I depend on each day, sometimes just to get through it. I am blessed beyond measure.
It also brought up this question…’Am I one of those people?’ Wouldn’t it be great if we could become more like the people we personally depend on? Like the old, ‘If you want a good friend, be one.’ or, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’
Look at the people around you that you love and depend on daily. Make a list of all of the qualities they possess that you admire and value. Now, take that same list and ask yourself, ‘I am I as good a person?’ Do you reflect those same qualities in the lives of others? Now, ask yourself, ‘Whose list are you on?’
Written by Bob Perks
~~~
“Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.”
Elie Wiesel
~~~
AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE CLAIMS
- “The accident happened because I had one eye on the truck in front, one eye on the pedestrian and the other on the car behind.”
- “I started to slow down but the traffic was more stationary than I thought.”
- “I didn’t think the speed limit applied after midnight”
- “The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intention.”
- “I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way”
- “A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.”
- “An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished.”
- “Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don’t have.”
- “I had been driving for forty years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident.”
- “As I approached an intersection a sign suddenly appeared in a place where no stop sign had ever appeared before.”
- “The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.”
~~~
“The best way to cheer yourself up: Cheer everybody else up.”
Mark Twain
~~~
The day after a man lost his wife in a freak scuba diving accident, he was greeted by two grim-faced policemen at his door.
“We’re sorry to call on you at this hour, Mr Wilkins, but we have some information about your wife.”
“Well, tell me!” the man said.
One of the policemen says, “We have some bad news, some good news, and some really great news. Which do you want to hear first?”
Fearing the worst, Mr Wilkins says, “Go Ahead. Give me the bad news first.”
The policeman says, “I’m sorry to tell you, sir, but this morning we found your wife’s body in San Francisco Bay.”
“Oh, my gosh!” says Mr Wilkins, overcome by emotion. Then, remembering what the policeman had said, he asked, “So, what’s the good news?”
“Well,” the policeman says, “when we pulled her up she had two five-pound lobsters and a dozen good-size Dungeness crabs on her.”
“If that’s the good news, then what’s the great news?” Mr Wilkins demanded.
The policeman replies. . . “We’re going to pull her up again tomorrow morning!”
~~~
“Look to the future, because that is where you’ll spend the rest of your life.”
George Burns
~~~
At a pharmacy, a blonde woman asked to use the infant scale to weigh the baby she held in her arms. The clerk explained that the device was out for repairs, but said that she would figure the infant’s weight by weighing the woman and baby together on the adult scale, then weighing the mother alone and subtracting the second amount from the first.
“It won’t work,” countered the woman. “You see, I’m not the mother, I’m the aunt.”
~~~
Mr. Smith goes to see his supervisor.
“Boss,” he says, “we’re doing some heavy house-cleaning at home tomorrow, and my wife needs me to help with the attic and the garage; you know, moving and hauling stuff.”
“We’re short-handed, Smith,” the boss says. “I can’t give you the day off. No way.”
“Thanks, boss,” says Smith. “I knew I could count on you!”
~~~
“Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.”
Stephen Wright
~~~
Doug meets Bill at the bar after work and is once again looking down in the dumps. “What’s wrong now Doug,” asked Bill.
Doug replies, “They called in a management team and gave everyone in the office an aptitude test to see what they were best suited for.”
“Yeah, so what’s the problem with that?” asks Bill.
Doug sighs, “Well it seems that I am best suited for unemployment.”
~~~
Do not wait; the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.
Napoleon Hill
~~~
Early in their marriage, my Dad did something really stupid. My Mom chewed him out for it. He apologized, they made up.
However, from time to time, my mom mentions what he had done. “Honey,” my Dad finally said one day, “why do you keep bringing that up? I thought your policy was ‘forgive and forget.'”
“It is,” she said. “I just don’t want you to forget that I’ve forgiven and forgotten.”
~~~
Inside every older lady is a younger lady — wondering what the hell happened.
Cora Harvey Armstrong-
~~~
“The efficiency expert concluded his lecture with a note of caution.
“You don’t want to try these techniques at home.”.
“Why not?” asked somebody from the audience..
“I watched my wife”s routine at breakfast for years,” the expert explained.
“She made lots of trips between the refrigerator, stove, table and cabinets,often carrying a single item at a time. One day I told her, ‘Hon, why don’t you try carrying several things at once?'”
“Did it save time?” the guy in the audience asked.
“Actually, yes,” replied the expert. “It used to take her 20 minutes to make breakfast. Now I do it in seven.”
~~~
“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”
Albert Schweitzer
~~~
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@comcast.net. Back issues are posted at http://rays-daily,com/ currently there are hundreds of readers from around the world.
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