|
Hearts and Humor Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
| << June24, 2006 - Hearts and Humor - Kneading The Bread |
June27, 2006 - Hearts and Humor - Breat Cancer Warning >> |
|
Hello, everyone! It's a rainy weekend in New Jersey. Am I sad? Nope! Sawwy! (As my young grandson says) I'm not sad. I'm happy. I checked the statistics for the group today. I started this Ezine in February with 179 members. Today, I have almost 600 readers. I love you all. It's flattering to have so many who want to read my stories. How can I thank you? The only thing I can think of is to write more stories for you. In my folders, I have many wonderful story ideas. I will be working on them in the coming weeks. Some of them will be tossed out. Some of them will work for me. Hopefully, they will work for you too. We learn from others. We don't have the skills at birth to do it on our own. Someone has to pass their knowledge to us. Generations of passing knowledge on has us where we are today. Enjoy today's story. I am off to write more. Feel free to pass my stories on, but please include my links for people to sign up for my stories. And now: You Don't Have To Be Original I sat on my deck, enjoying the evening. Birds chirped and fluttered around the birdfeeder in the backyard. Finches clung to a bag of thistle hanging on a tree branch, only ten feet from me. They'd grown used to my presence and no longer flew away, when I stepped out for fresh air. I sat and watched them pull the thistle through the tiny openings in the fabric. Their feathers - red, purple and yellow - pleased my eye. From a distant tree, I heard the song of a cardinal - purdy, purdy, purdy. The song changed. It was a starling. Next, it was a version of the robin's evening song. A little later it was a song I couldn't identify. It was a mocking bird. For more than thirty minutes, he sang through his repertoire of songs. He was loud; his singing perfect. He didn't have a song of his own. He mocked the songs of other birds, pieced them together, and created a concert for my enjoyment. I was reminded of "American IdolŠ," a show my stepdaughter, Heather, has me addicted to. Hopeful singers competed against each other, singing the songs of others - judged by a panel of three. The top contestants went to Hollywood, where they competed against others. Each week they were faced with new challenges. One-by-one they were eliminated, until a winner was chosen. A carpenter built a house. He used skills, learned as a young man, to construct a basic house. Over time, the carpenter learned more. He added his personal touch to his work. He took the basics he learned from those before him and made it a creation of his own. The mocking bird, the winner of "American IdolŠ," and the carpenter have a common link. They took the ideas of others, copied, and learned from them. They added to what they learned and created their own works of art. We don't have to be original. We start with the building blocks placed in our path by those before us. We have a choice: we can continue to copy, or we can add our own blocks for the next to follow and learn from. I have to run. I think I hear my mocking bird outside. I want to hear what he has created for my enjoyment today. Michael T. Smith I love your comments. Please send them to mtsmith@qwestonline.com. To read more stories or to sign up for my ezine, got to: http://archives.zinester.com/86758 Please share my stories, but I ask that you include the links for new members to join. To unsubscribe, see: http://www.zinester.com/cgi/unsub.cgi?86758&0& Now some comments on my past stories: This comment was on an older story I wrote about helping a friend, who later asked me to be his best man: Hi, Michael That was a wonderful of you to be acting as a cyber dad to this young man dan and to invited to his wedding and be his best man. it's wonderful. you're experience had touch my heart. you're giving and a kind hearted cyber dad. i wish that there is more people like you in the world. you be an inspiration. I do wish you can continue what you are doing.we are all connected... There are lesson to learn everyday. kind regards.......... michelle *************** Diana sent me this comment about my story called, "The Color of Yogurt" Yes, Michael, you did make me laugh. I enjoyed the stories of your grandkids. I have a granddaughter (Angelina) 2 1/2 years old who I baby-sit for Monday through Friday. She keeps me very busy and always has cute and fun things to say. I am amazed at how much she has learned in this very short life of hers. Thanks for sharing your story. I also enjoyed the Parent's Wish. Diana ******************* This is from my long-time reader - Sandi She liked "The Color Of Yogurt" as well. Sandi, Ginny's finger wil have to stay in a brace for 6 weeks, and after that, another four weeks at night. Hi Mike, I love this story and the analogy you made between making/kneading bread and raising children. Oh, Mike, what a splendid comparison! It makes such good sense. You said the story is about two years old, but I must have missed it somehow, because it's brand new to me. After typing this little note, I plan to forward your story to several friends, including my only sister. She's going to relish and savor it just as I did. In fact, I plan to keep it and re-read it from time to time, because thus far, it's actually one of my favorite stories from you! One thing for certain, when your creative juices start flowing, you churn out some delightful 'bread'! Please tell Ginny that I'm so sincerely sorry about her injured finger. OUCH! Was my initial reaction when I read how it happened. Time will heal, but in the interim, you could kiss it and make her feel better. Have a peaceful, memory-making weekend, Sandi. |
|
| << June24, 2006 - Hearts and Humor - Kneading The Bread |
June27, 2006 - Hearts and Humor - Breat Cancer Warning >> |
|
Hearts and Humor Archives Index
|
Subscribe
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on Hearts and Humor |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |