Home  >> Stories  >> The Tale Spinner #2018-09

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IN THIS ISSUE

• Darryll Sherman contributes his account of a kind gesture to Heroic Stories
• Shirley Conlon sends the seniors´ calendar for March
• Burke Dykes´ story illustrates the importance of special moments
• Irene Harvalias forwards reasons why men are happier people
• Marilyn Magid shares God´s plan for keeping seniors healthy
• Shirley Conlon also sends a fable about porcupines
• Here are some additions to Webster´s dictionary
• Sites are suggested by Shirley Coutts and Tom Telfer

Darryll Sherman of Washington writes about

THE COUNTY FAIR LESSON

My son, Christopher, is disabled. Although 21, he´s about the size of a six-year-old, with the functioning mind of a toddler. He can only walk with assistance, his main ride is a wheelchair, and he doesn´t feed himself. Thankfully he eats regular food, but we feed him everything. While he uses the toilet well, scheduling is important, so he wears diapers full-time. He doesn´t talk, but makes enough noises that we can tell if he´s happy, hungry, or not feeling well. We´re fortunate that for the most part, he is healthy.

Happiness in life for him is simple. He loves to eat, laugh, and play with toys. He loves to swim (kicking around hanging onto a "noodle" while being attended to), watch bright lights (perhaps fuzzy for him), and watch fireworks.

Being the parent of a disabled child causes me to see life differently. I´ve had to accept that people react inappropriately when they see him since he´s different. They make assumptions based on what they see and think.

In 2009 we took Christopher to a local County Fair. He likes the animals, loves to watch the lights and rides, and likes the bright, fun environment. Near the evening´s end my wife and I were pushing him through the games area to the exit.

We tried hard to avoid eye contact with all the carnies challenging us to knock over lead-laden pins or throw darts at balloons. As we kept our pace up and ignored them, we heard one guy calling after us. He continued to yell, "Hey! Wait a minute!" Glancing back, we saw he was actually coming after us with something in his hands.

He caught up to us.

Grinning widely, he said, "Here, I think your son dropped this." He held out a silly stuffed animal we´d never owned. We explained that another child must´ve dropped it. With twinkling eyes, he winked and said, "Here, I´m sure this belongs to your son," and pressed it into our son´s lap.

Still smiling, he walked away to our joint "Thank you." Time stood still as my eyes filled with tears and I realized what had just happened.

I´d been as guilty as anyone at stereotyping people who work carnivals, "the carnies," as unclean, sleazy, chain-smoking, etc. Perhaps there are elements of truth to those stereotypes; however, hundreds of people that evening had gawked at or ignored our son or tried to avoid us.

Yet this guy chased us down to give Christopher a gift. He didn´t have to. I´d never suspected "someone like him" would do such a thing. The simplest of gestures from one person showed me the error of my ways and reminded me to judge not, lest I be judged.

That ugly little stuffed orange orangutan sits in a prominent place in my son´s room. It poignantly reminds me to not judge someone from their outward appearance, and to not make assumptions based on who they are and what they do.

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Shirley Conlon forwards the seniors´ calendar for March:

Erna Rütt, 86, and Alfred Kelbch, 81

Burke Dykes forwards this philosophical thought:

BEING AND BREATHING

One warm evening many years ago...

After spending nearly every waking minute with Angel for eight straight days, I knew that I had to tell her just one thing. So late at night, just before she fell asleep, I whispered it in her ear. She smiled - the kind of smile that makes me smile back - and she said, "When I´m seventy-five and I think about my life and what it was like to be young, I hope that I can remember this very moment."

A few seconds later she closed her eyes and fell asleep. The room was peaceful - almost silent. All I could hear was the soft purr of her breathing. I stayed awake thinking about the time we´d spent together and all the choices in our lives that made this moment possible. And at some point, I realized that it didn´t matter what we´d done or where we´d gone. Nor did the future hold any significance.

All that mattered was the serenity of the moment.

Just being with her and breathing with her.

The moral: We must not allow the clock, the calendar, and external pressures to rule our lives and blind us to the fact that each individual moment of our lives is a beautiful mystery and a miracle - especially those moments we spend in the presence of a loved one.

Irene Harvalias sends these reasons why

MEN ARE JUST HAPPIER PEOPLE

What do you expect from such simple creatures?

Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park.

Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.

You don´t have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.

Wrinkles add character.

Wedding dress - $5,000. Tux rental - $100.

People never stare at your chest when you´re talking to them.

New shoes don´t cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks.

A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.

You can open all your own jars.

You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.

If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Two pairs of shoes are more than enough.

You almost never have strap problems in public.

You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color.The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life.

One wallet and one pair of shoes - one color for all seasons.

You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can ´"do" your nails with a pocket knife.

You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives onDecember 24in 25 minutes.

Marilyn Magic shares this suggestion:

GOD´S PLAN FOR AGING

Most seniors never get enough exercise. In His wisdom, God decreed that seniors become forgetful so they would have to search for their glasses, keys, and other things, thus doing more walking. And God looked down and saw that it was good.

Then God saw there was another need. In His wisdom, He made seniors lose coordination so they would drop things, requiring them to bend, reach, and stretch. And God looked down and saw that it was good.

Then God considered the function of bladders and decided seniors would have additional calls of nature, requiring more trips to the bathroom, thus providing more exercise. God looked down and saw that it was good.

So if you find, as you age, you are getting up and down more, remember it´s God´s will It is all in your best interest, even though you mutter under your breath.

Shirley Conlon shares

THE FABLE OF THE PORCUPINE

It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold.

The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions.

After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen.

So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the earth.

Wisely, they decided to go back to being together.

They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.

The moral of the story is this:

The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but that each individual should learn to live with the imperfections of others and be able to admire the other person´s good qualities.

In other words: You just have to learn to live with all the pricks in your life!

From the Sunday Family Humour com these

ADDITIONS TO WEBSTER´S DICTIONARY

1. ARBITRATOR: A cook that leaves Arby´s to work at McDonalds

2. AVOIDABLE: What a bullfighter tries to do.

3. BERNADETTE: The act of torching a mortgage.

4. BURGLARIZE: What a crook sees with.

5. CONTROL: A short, ugly inmate.

6. COUNTERFEITERS: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets.

7. ECLIPSE: What an English barber does for a living.

8. EYEDROPPER: A clumsy ophthalmologist.

9.HEROES: What a guy in a boat does.

10. LEFTBANK: What the robber did when his bag was full of money.

11. MISTY: How golfers create divots.

12. PARADOX: Two physicians.

13. PARASITES: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

14. PHARMACIST: A helper on the farm.

15. POLARIZE: What penguins see with.

16. PRIMATE: Removing your spouse from in front of the TV.

17. RELIEF: What trees do in the Spring.

18. RUBBERNECK: What you do to relax your wife.

19. SELFISH: What the owner of a seafood store does.

20. SUDAFED: Brought litigation against a government official.

SUGGESTED SITES

Shirley Coutts forwards this link to 10 of the greatest self-help books of all time:

Tom Telfer sends the URL for a video of a border collie, Jumpy, doing amazing tricks and having fun showing off his skills to his master:

Tom also forwards this link to a video of Jessica, a pet hippo, who has made herself a member of a South African family:

This Good News story is about a dog that was found tied to a tree with a note asking that he be found a new home:

More Good News: an exonerated man reunites with the puppy he raised in prison:

In this video, a gifted clairvoyant reveals the magic behind the magic, making people aware of the fact that their entire lives can be found online, and they need to be aware of the danger of scams:

In this America´s Got Talent show, two identical French twins dazzle the audience with their magic show:

A coalition of Bell and other major Canadian telecommunications companies, called FairPlay Canada, just submitted its proposal to the CRTC to censor the internet and force the end of net neutrality in Canada. To tell the CRTC to reject this dangerous plan and protect free and open internet, click on