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Stories
and Inspirational Messages:
Song is "As Time Goes By"
by Ernesto Cortazar and can be found at
mp3.com
To play this song please stop the media player above first
and then start this one.
We
Never Told Him He Couldn't Do It:
My son Joey was born with club feet.
The doctors assured us that with treatment he would be able to walk normally
- but would never run very well. The first three years of his life were
spent in surgery, casts and braces. By the time he was eight, you wouldn't
know he had a problem when you saw him walk. The children in our neighborhood
ran around as most children do during play, and Joey would jump right in
and run and play, too. We never told him that he probably wouldn't be able
to run as well as the other children. So he didn't know.
In seventh grade he decided to go
out for the cross-country team. Every day he trained with the team. He
worked harder and ran more than any of the others - perhaps he sensed that
the abilities that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come
naturally to him. Although the entire team runs, only the top seven runners
have the potential to score points for the school. We didn't tell him he
probably would never make the team, so he didn't know.
He continued to run four to five
miles a day, every day - even the day he had a 103-degree fever. I was
worried, so I went to look for him after school. I found him running all
alone. I asked him how he felt. "Okay," he said. He had two more miles
to go. The sweat ran down his face and his eyes were glassy from his fever.
Yet he looked straight ahead and kept running. We never told him he couldn't
run four miles with a 103-degree fever. So he didn't know.
Two weeks later, the names of the
team runners were called. Joey was number six on the list. Joey had made
the team. He was in seventh grade - the other six team members were all
eighth-graders. We never told him he shouldn't expect to make the team.
We never told him he couldn't do it. We never told him he couldn't do it...so
he didn't know. He just did it.
By Kathy Lamancusa from Condensed
Chicken Soup for the Soul Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor
Hansen & Patty Hansen
(TOP)(Back to Stories Index)
For
All Of Us In A Hurry: Submitted by Dave Singer
Jack took a long look at his speedometer
before slowing down: 73 in a 55 zone. .. Fourth time in as many months.
How could a guy get caught so often? When his car had slowed to 10 miles
an hour, Jack pulled over, but only partially. Let the cop worry about
the potential traffic hazard. Maybe some other car will tweak his backside
with a mirror.
The cop was stepping out of his
car, the big pad in hand. Bob? Bob from church? Jack sunk farther into
his trench coat. This was worse than the coming ticket. A Christian cop
catching a guy from his own church. A guy who happened to be a little anxious
to get home after a long day at the office. A guy he was about to play
golf with tomorrow. Jumping out of the car, he approached a man he saw
every Sunday, a man he'd never seen in uniform.
"Hi, Bob. Fancy meeting you like
this."
"Hello, Jack." No smile.
"Guess you caught me red-handed
in a rush to see my wife and kids."
'Yeah, I guess." Bob seemed uncertain.
Good.
"I've seen some long days at the
office lately. I'm afraid I bent the rules a bit-just this once." Jack
toed at a pebble on the pavement. "Diane said something about roast beef
and potatoes tonight. Know what I mean?"
"I know what you mean. I also know
that you have a reputation in our precinct."
Ouch! This was not going in the
right direction. Time to change tactics.
"What'd you clock me at?"
"Seventy-one. Would you sit back
in your car, please?"
"Now wait a minute here, Bob. I
checked as soon as I saw you. I was barely nudging 65." The lie seemed
to come easier with every ticket.
"Please, Jack, in the car."
Flustered, Jack hunched himself
through the still-open door. Slamming it shut, he stared at the dashboard.
He was in no rush to open the window. The minutes ticked by. Bob scribbled
away on the pad. Why hadn't he asked for a driver's license? Whatever the
reason, it would be a month of Sundays before Jack ever sat near this cop
again. A tap on the door jerked his head to the left. There was Bob, a
folded paper in hand. Jack rolled down the window a mere two inches, just
enough room for Bob to pass him the slip.
"Thanks." Jack could not quite keep
the sneer out of his voice. Bob returned to his car without a word.
Jack watched his retreat in the
mirror. Jack unfolded the sheet of paper. How much was this one going to
cost? Wait a minute. What was this? Some kind of joke? Certainly not a
ticket. Jack began to read:
"Dear Jack, Once upon a time I had
a daughter. She was six when killed by a car. You guessed it - a speeding
driver. A fine and three months in jail, and the man was free. Free to
hug his daughters. All three of them. I only had one, and I'm going to
have to wait until heaven before I can ever hug her again. A thousand times
I've tried to forgive that man. A thousand times I thought I had. Maybe
I did, but I need to do it again. Even now. . . Pray for me. And be careful.
My son is all I have left." Bob
Jack...twisted around in time to
see Bob's car pull away and head down the road. Jack watched until it disappeared.
A full 15 minutes later, he too, pulled away and drove slowly home, praying
for forgiveness and hugging a surprised wife and kids when he arrived.
Life is precious. Handle with care.
(TOP)(Back to Stories Index)
Father's
Day:
When I was five, my biological father
committed suicide. It left me feeling as though I'd done something wrong;
that if I had been better somehow, maybe he'd have stayed around. My mother
remarried shortly thereafter, and this man was my dad until I was nineteen.
I called him Dad and used his name all through school. But, when he and
my mother divorced, he just walked away. Once again, I wondered what was
wrong with me that I couldn't keep a father.
Mother remarried again, and Bob
was a wonderful, kind man. I was twenty now and no longer living at home,
but I felt a great love and attachment for him. A few years later my mother
was diagnosed with cancer and was not given long to live. Shortly before
she died, Bob came over to my house alone one day. We talked about a lot
of things, and then he told me that he wanted me to know that he'd always
be there for me, even after Mother was gone. Then he asked if he could
adopt me.
I could hardly believe my ears.
Tears streamed down my face. He wanted me - me! This man had no obligation
to me, but he was reaching out from his heart, and I accepted. During the
adoption proceedings, the judge commented on all the undesirable duties
of his profession and then with a tear in his eye, thanked us for brightening
his day as he pronounced us father and daughter. I was twenty-five, but
I was his little girl.
Three short years later, Bob, too,
was diagnosed with cancer and was gone within the year. At first I was
hurt and angry at God for taking this father away too. But eventually the
love and acceptance that I felt from Dad came through again, and I became,
once more, grateful for the years we had.
On Father's Day I always reflect
on what I've learned about fatherhood. I've learned that it is not dependent
on biology or even on raising a child. Fatherhood is a matter of the heart.
Bob's gift from the heart will warm my soul for eternity.
By Sherry Lynn Blake Jensen Miller
from A 5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul Copyright1998 Jack Canfield
and Mark Victor Hansen (TOP)(Back to Stories Index)
Wisdom:
Three cowboys had been riding the
range since early in the morning. One of them was a member of the Navajo
Nation. Being busy with herding stray cattle all day, there had been no
time for the three of them to eat. Toward the end of the day, two of the
cowboys started talking about how hungry they were and about the huge meals
they were going to eat when they reached town. When one of the cowboys
asked the Navajo if he was also hungry, he just shrugged his shoulders
and said, "No."
Later that evening, after they had
arrived in town, all three ordered large steak dinners. As the Navajo proceeded
to eat everything in sight with great gusto, one of his friends reminded
him that less than an hour earlier he had told them that he was not hungry.
"Not wise to be hungry then," he replied. "No food." (TOP)(Back
to Stories Index)
Heart
Song:
Once upon a time there was a great
man who married the woman of his dreams. With their love, they created
a little girl. She was a bright and cheerful little girl and the great
man loved her very much.
When she was very little, he would
pick her up, hum a tune and dance with her around the room, and he would
tell her, "I love you, little girl!"
When the little girl was growing
up, the great man would hug her and tell her, "I love you, little girl.
"The little girl would pout and say, "I’m not a little girl anymore." Then
the man would laugh and say, "But to me, you’ll always be my little girl."
The little girl who-was-not-little-anymore
left her home and went into the world. As she learned more about herself,
she learned more about the man. She saw that he truly was great and strong,
for now she recognized his strengths. One of his strengths was his ability
to express his love to his family. It didn’t matter where she went in the
world, the man would call her and say, "I love you, little girl."
The day came when the little girl
who-was-not-little-anymore received a phone call. The great man was damaged.
He had had a stroke. He was aphasic, they explained to the girl. He couldn’t
talk anymore and they weren’t sure that he could understand the words spoken
to him. He could no longer smile, laugh, walk, hug, dance or tell the little
girl who-was-not-little-anymore that he loved her.
And so she went to the side of the
great man. When she walked into the room and saw him, he looked small and
not strong at all. He looked at her and tried to speak, but he could not.
The little girl did the only thing
she could do. She climbed up on the bed next to the great man. Tears ran
from both of their eyes and she drew her arms around the useless shoulders
of her father.
Her head on his chest, she thought
of many things. She remembered the wonderful times together and how she
had always felt protected and cherished by the great man. She felt grief
for the loss she was to endure, the words of love that had comforted her.
And then she heard from within the
man, the beat of his heart. The heart where the music and the words had
always lived. The heart beat on, steadily unconcerned about the damage
to the rest of the body. And while she rested there, the magic happened.
She heard what she needed to hear.
His heart beat out the words that
his mouth could no longer say ...
I love you
I love you
I love you
Little girl
Little girl
Little girl
And she was comforted.
By Patty Hansen from Chicken Soup
for the Soul Copyright 1993 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (TOP)(Back
to Stories Index)
Did
you know! Life in the 1500's: Submitted by Dave Singer
1) Most people got married in June
because they took their yearly bath in May and were still smelling pretty
good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a
bouquet of flowers to hide the b.o. 2) Baths equaled a big tub filled
with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean
water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the
children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could
actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out
with the bath water." 3) Houses had thatched roofs. Thick
straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals
to get warm, so all the pets. . . dogs, cats and other small animals, mice,
rats, bugs, lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes
the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining
cats and dogs." 4) There was nothing to stop things
from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where
bugs and other droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. So,
they found if they made beds with big posts and hung a sheet over the top,
it addressed that problem. Hence those beautiful big 4 poster beds with
canopies. 5) The floor was dirt. Only the
wealthy had something other than dirt, hence the saying "dirt poor". The
wealthy had slate floors which would get slippery in the winter when wet.
So they spread thresh on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter
wore on they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it
would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed at the entry
way, hence a "thresh hold." 6) They cooked in the kitchen in
a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire
and added things to the pot. They mostly ate vegetables and didn't get
much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner leaving leftovers in the
pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the
stew had food in it that had been in there for a month. Hence the rhyme:
"peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days
old." 7) Sometimes they could obtain
pork and would feel really special when that happened. When company came
over, they would bring out some bacon and hang it to show it off. It was
a sign of wealth and that a man "could really bring home the bacon." They
would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and
"chew the fat." 8) Those with money had plates
made of pewter. Food with a high acid content caused some of the lead to
leach onto the food. This happened most often with tomatoes, so they stopped
eating tomatoes . . . for 400 years. Most people didn't have pewter plates,
but had trenchers-a piece of wood with the middle scooped out like a bowl.
Trenchers were never washed and a lot of times worms got into the wood.
After eating off wormy trenchers, they would get "trench mouth." 9) Bread was divided according
to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the
middle, and guests got the top, or the "upper crust." 10) Lead cups were used to drink
ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple
of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare
them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of
days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and
see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake." 11) England is old and small and
they started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up
coffins and would take their bones to a house and re-use the grave. In
reopening these coffins, one out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch
marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive.
So they thought they would tie a string on their wrist and lead it through
the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would
have to sit out in the graveyard all night to listen for the bell. Hence
on the "graveyard shift" they would know that someone was "saved by the
bell" or he was a "dead ringer". (TOP)(Back to Stories Index)
IS
YOUR HUT BURNING? Submitted by Dave Singer
The only survivor of a shipwreck
was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for
God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none
seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little
hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his
few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived
home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.
The worst had happened; Everything was lost. He was stunned with grief
and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried. Early the next
day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship, which was approaching
the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked
the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.
It is easy to get discouraged, when
things are going bad. But, we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work
in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time
your little hut is burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal
that summons the grace of God. (TOP)(Back to Stories Index)
Incredible
Future: Submitted By Dave Singer
Everything you know is based on
what has already happened in your life. And yet, your only influence right
now is over things that have not yet happened. The things that have already
happened have gotten you to where you are right now...What you need to
be concerned with, however, is where to go from here....
Because you're so intimately familiar
with your own past, it may seen that you have no choices but to continue
moving in the same direction as before. But that is not true. Your future
does not equal your past. Right now, there are an infinite number of paths
which you can take. The one you're currently on is only one of them. Any
of the rest are available to you.
If you're completely satisfied with
where you're going, then by all means keep going that way. But there is
no reason in the world why you have to keep following the same path if
it is not bringing you full and lasting fulfillment.
Every moment you have a choice,
regardless of what has happened before. Choose right now to move forward,
positively and confidently into your incredible future.....
A Mind Not Comparing, Judging, Evaluating
can SEE: Many eyes go through the meadow but few see the flowers in it.
-- Emerson (1800's) Our senses do not deceive us, our
judgement does. -- Goethe (1600's) A fact never exists only as it
is in itself, but also as we see it. -- Carl Jung (1900's) Tomorrows life is too late. Live
today. -- Marcial (100's) A great many people think they
are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. -- William
James (1900's) Good and ill are one... To God
all things are fair and good and right, but men hold things wrong and some
right. -- Heraclitus (500 BC) The wisest judging of heaven is
not to judge of it at all. -- Socrates (300 BC) Of the "real" universe we know
nothing, except that there exist as many versions of it as there are perceptive
minds. Each man lives alone in his private universe. -- Gerald Bullett
(1900's) But when a mind is no longer comparing,
judging, evaluating, and is therefore capable of seeing what is from moment
to moment without wanting to change it - in that perception is the eternal.
-- Krishnamurti (1900's) (TOP)(Back to Stories Index)
Judge
Me By The Footprints I Leave Behind Submitted By Dave Singer
A story is told about a soldier
who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his
parents from San Francisco. "Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've got
a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring with me." "Sure," they
replied, "we'd love to meet him." "There's something you should know" the
son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on
a land mined and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and
I want him to come live with us." "I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we
can help him find somewhere to live." "No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live
with us." "Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone
with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own
lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our
lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll
find a way to live on his own." At that point, the son hung up the phone.
The parents heard nothing more from
him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco
police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told.
The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to
San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of
their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered
something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.
The parents in this story are like
many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to
have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel
uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy,
beautiful, or smart as we are. Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat
us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes
us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.
Tonight, before you tuck yourself
in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength
you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all be more understanding
of those who are different from us!!!
There's a miracle called "Friendship"
that dwells in the heart. You don't know how it happens or when it gets
started. But you know the special lift. It always brings and you realize
that Friendship is God's most precious gift!
Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed.
They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they
share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. (TOP)(Back
to Stories Index)
Now
As I Sit: Submitted by mowman
WRITTEN BY A 12 YEAR-OLD-GIRL in
Boston Now I sit me down in school Where praying is against the rule. For this great nation under God Finds mention of Him very odd. If Scripture now the class recites It violates the Bill of Rights. Anytime my head I bow Becomes a federal matter now. The law is specific; the law is
precise. Praying out loud is no longer nice. Praying aloud in a public hall Upsets those who believe in nothing
at all. In silence alone we can meditate And if God should get the credit-great! They are bringing their guns; I don't dare bring my Bible, To do so, might make me liable. So, now Oh Lord, this plea I make; Should I be shot in school, My soul please take.
VIRUS WARNING: This one's for real!
Send to everyone you know! Alert! This is a notice to inform
you of THE CURSE. The most devastating catastrophe known to humanity. Infection status: You are already
infected! (The CURSE was downloaded by Adam and Eve and we all are born
into it.) Damage: Every component of your
life is affected. We have been brought under the wrath of God (Eph 2:3);
made liable to all miseries in this life, to death itself, and even to
the pains of hell forever! (Rom 6:23; Matt 25:41) Remedy: The only remedy is complete
forensic reconfiguration of all component parts. This is called Justification.
(Eph 1:7; 2Cor 5:21) This is followed by a radical lifetime software purge
called Sanctification. (2Thess 3:13; Eph 4:24) The only means of rescue
from the power and results of THE CURSE is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Acts 4:12) Cost: You cannot purchase this
remedy. It is not so simple. The cost is the eternal wrath of God. Access:
You may acquire justification free of charge. The price was already paid
on the cross of Christ. But you must beg for it on your knees. (many perish
maintaining their "dignity" i.e. pride) "Being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom we have access by
faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the
glory of God."(Rom 5:1,2) For more information and validation, consult
the only User's Manual - The Holy Bible. WARNING - THIS IS NOT A HOAX: Please
do not disregard this warning. Do not delay! The CURSE impairs logical
functions, input and output, processing and communication, linkup with
other systems, and corrupts all disks. The final result will be a total
crash. The time of the crash cannot be ascertained, but the fate is worse
than mere termination. Jesus Christ is the Lord of all things, every system,
every user... and is your only hope. The good news is that He is available
by 24hr access. No hardware necessary. Simply cry out to Him to take your
sin and give you His righteousness. Understanding your plight, you have
no options: The buttons are not OK or CANCEL. They are REPENT or PERISH
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (TOP)(Back
to Stories Index)
From
the Heart of a Joyous Child:
Dear Mommy and Daddy,
I write this letter to you in hopes
that you will consider your approach to parenting me before I arrive. I
am a joyous child. I thrive on love and respect, order and consistency.
When I arrive, I will seem very small to you. Even though I don't look
like an adult, please understand that I am a human being.
Even though I will not speak words
to you, I will know you with my heart. I will feel all your feelings, absorb
your thoughts. I will come to know you more than you may know yourself.
Do not be misled by my silence. I am open, growing and learning more rapidly
than you can imagine.
I will make imprints of all that
I see, so please give me beauty to rest my eyes upon. I will record all
that I hear, so please give me sweet music and language that tells me how
much I am loved. Give me silence to rest my ears. I will absorb all that
I feel, so please wrap our life in love.
I am waiting patiently to be with
you. I am so happy to have the opportunity to be alive. Maybe when you
see me you will remember how precious life is too!
Your joyous child
By Donna McDermott from A Cup of
Chicken Soup for the Soul Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor
Hansen & Barry Spilchuk (TOP)(Back to Stories Index)
Blessed
Are the Pure in Heart
Blessed are the pure in heart. So often we are told Of saints whose names and daily
deeds Inscribed in books of gold Are certain to be seeing God In well-rewarding joy - But when I see the pure in heart I see a little boy. He shins up trees and barks his
knees, Has lizards in a box; He loves to read of dinosaurs, Collects bright-colored rocks. His grubby hands are gentle On the coats of dogs and birds, And he has a quiet wisdom in naivete
of words. I listen to his little prayers At night with quiet joy - And when I hear the pure in heart I hear a little boy. He hasn't reached the age as yet To question and to doubt; He gravely takes his mother's words, And that's what life's about. Each day is gold, a shining thing Without a wrong alloy - And when I hold the pure in heart I hold a little boy.
By Gwen Belson Taylor from A 5th
Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul Copyright1998 Jack Canfield and Mark
Victor Hansen
(TOP)(Back to Stories Index)
Shoes:
As Gandhi stepped aboard a train one
day, one of his shoes slipped off and landed on the track. He was unable
to retrieve it as the train was moving. To the amazement of his companions,
Gandhi calmly took off his other shoe and threw it back along the track
to land close to the first. Asked by a fellow passenger why he did so,
Gandhi smiled. "The poor man who finds the shoes lying on the track," he
replied, "will now have a pair he can use."
First quoted in The Little Brown
Book of Anecdotes from Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul Copyright
1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Patty Hansen (TOP)(Back
to Stories Index)
Willing
To Pay The Price:
When my wife Maryanne and I were
building our Greenspoint Mall hair salon 13 years ago, a Vietnamese fellow
would stop by each day to sell us doughnuts. He spoke hardly any English,
but he was always friendly and through smiles and sign language we got
to know each other. His name was Le Van Vu.
During the day Le worked in a bakery
and at night he and his wife listened to audio tapes to learn English.
I later learned that they slept on sacks full of sawdust on the floor of
the back room of the bakery.
In Vietnam the Van Vu family was
one of the wealthiest in Southeast Asia. They owned almost one-third of
North Vietnam, including huge holdings in industry and real estate. However,
after his father was brutally murdered, Le moved to South Vietnam with
his mother, where he went to school and eventually became a lawyer.
Like his father before him, Le prospered.
He saw an opportunity to construct buildings to accommodate the ever-expanding
American presence in South Vietnam and soon became one of the most successful
builders in the country.
On a trip to the North, however,
Le was captured by the North Vietnamese and thrown into prison for three
years. He escaped by killing five soldiers and made his way back to South
Vietnam where he was arrested again. The South Vietnamese government had
assumed he was a "plant" from the North.
After serving time in prison, Le
got out and started a fishing company, eventually becoming the largest
canner in South Vietnam.
When Le learned that the U.S. troops
and embassy personnel were about to pull out of his country, he made a
life-changing decision.
He took all of the gold he had hoarded,
loaded it aboard one of his fishing vessels and sailed with his wife out
to the American ships in the harbor. He then exchanged all his riches for
safe passage out of Vietnam to the Philippines, where he and his wife were
taken into a refugee camp.
After gaining access to the president
of the Philippines, Le convinced him to make one of his boats available
for fishing and Le was back in business again. Before he left the Philippines
two years later en route for America (his ultimate dream), Le had successfully
developed the entire fishing industry in the Philippines.
But en route to America, Le became
distraught and depressed about having to start over again with nothing.
His wife tells of how she found him near the railing of the ship, about
to jump overboard.
"Le," she told him, "If you do jump,
whatever will become of me? We’ve been together for so long and through
so much. We can do this together." It was all the encouragement that Le
Van Vu needed.
When he and his wife arrived in
Houston in 1972, they were flat broke and spoke no English. In Vietnam,
family takes care of family, and Le and his wife found themselves ensconced
in the back room of his cousin’s bakery in the Greenspoint Mall. We were
building our salon just a couple of hundred feet away.
Now, as they say, here comes the
"message" part of this story:
Le’s cousin offered both Le and
his wife jobs in the bakery. After taxes, Le would take home $175 per week,
his wife $125. Their total annual income, in other words, was $15,600.
Further, his cousin offered to sell them the bakery whenever they could
come up with a $30,000 down payment. The cousin would finance the remainder
with a note for $90,000.
Here’s what Le and his wife did:
Even with a weekly income of $300,
they decided to continue to live in the back room. They kept clean by taking
sponge baths for two years in the mall’s restrooms. For two years their
diet consisted almost entirely of bakery goods. Each year, for two years,
they lived on a total, that’s right, a total of $600, saving $30,000 for
the down payment.
Le later explained his reasoning,
"If we got ourselves an apartment, which we could afford on $300 per week,
we’d have to pay the rent. Then, of course, we’d have to buy furniture.
Then we’d have to have transportation to and from work, so that meant we’d
have to buy a car. Then we’d have to buy gasoline for the car as well as
insurance. Then we’d probably want to go places in the car, so that meant
we’d need to buy clothes and toiletries. So I knew that if we got that
apartment, we’d never get our $30,000 together."
Now, if you think you’ve heard everything
about Le, let me tell you, there’s more: After he and his wife had saved
the $30,000 and bought the bakery, Le once again sat down with his wife
for a serious chat. They still owed $90,000 to his cousin, he said, and
as difficult as the past two years had been, they had to remain living
in that back room for one more year.
I’m proud to tell you that in one
year, my friend and mentor Le Van Vu and his wife, saving virtually every
nickel of profit from the business, paid off the $90,000 note, and in just
three years, owned an extremely profitable business free and clear.
Then, and only then, the Van Vus
went out and got their first apartment. To this day, they continue to save
on a regular basis, live on an extremely small percentage of their income,
and, of course, always pay cash for any of their purchases.
Do you think that Le Van Vu is a
millionaire today? I am happy to tell you, many times over.
By John McCormack from Chicken
Soup for the Soul Copyright 1993 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (TOP)(Back
to Stories Index)
One
for the Team:
This story was told by an old priest
one Sunday. It is a true story of when he served in the military.
One day their drill sergeant came
out and threw a hand grenade into a group of young soldiers. The men all
ran away and took cover away from the grenade. Then the drill sergeant
told them that the grenade was not set to explode and he just did it to
see their reaction. The next day a newly recruited soldier joined the group.
The drill sergeant told the other soldiers not to tell the new soldier
what was going to happen. As the drill sergeant came out and threw the
grenade into the crowd of soldiers, the new soldier, not knowing it wasn't
going to explode, threw himself on top of the grenade to prevent it from
killing the other men. He was willing to die for his fellow soldiers.
That year the young man was awarded
the only medal for courage and bravery that had not been won during battle.
By Kim Noone from A Cup of Chicken
Soup for the Soul Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen
& Barry Spilchuk (TOP)(Back to Stories Index)
Who
You Are Makes a Difference:
One night a man came home to his 14-year-old
son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me
today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and
he told me that he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative
genius. Imagine. He thinks I am a creative genius. Then he put this blue
ribbon that says ‘Who I am makes a difference’ on my jacket above my heart.
Then he gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor.
As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor
with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you.
"My days are really hectic, and
when I come home, I don't pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream
at you for not getting enough good grades in school and for your bedroom
being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well,
just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother,
you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I
love you!"
The startled boy started to sob
and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook, and he looked
up at his father and said, through his broken tears, "I was planning on
committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, because I didn't think you loved me.
Now I don't need to do that."
By Helice Bridges from Condensed
Chicken Soup for the Soul Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor
Hansen & Patty Hansen (TOP)(Back to Stories Index)
Follow
Your Dream:
I have a friend named Monty Roberts
who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put
on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.
The last time I was there he introduced
me by saying, "I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes
back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse
trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm
to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy's high
school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was
asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.
"That night he wrote a seven-page
paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about
his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch,
showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then
he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would
sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.
"He put a great deal of his heart
into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days
later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with
a note that read, `See me after class.'
"The boy with the dream went to
see the teacher after class and asked, `Why did I receive an F?'
"The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic
dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant
family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money.
You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock
and later you'll have to pay large stud fees. There's no way you could
ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with
a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’
"The boy went home and thought about
it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said,
`Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think
it is a very important decision for you.’
"Finally, after sitting with it
for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.
He stated, `You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream.'"
Monty then turned to the assembled
group and said, "I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot
house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school
paper framed over the fireplace." He added, "The best part of the story
is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp
out on my ranch for a week." When the teacher was leaving, he said, `Look,
Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something
of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately
you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.’"
Don't let anyone steal your dreams.
Follow your heart, no matter what.
By Jack Canfield from Chicken Soup
for the Soul Copyright 1993 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (TOP)(Back
to Stories Index)
Last Revised July 22, 2006
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