Kalleh got me thinking about an inspirational story I read not long ago....

A friend of ours was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along, he began to see another man in the distance. As he grew nearer, he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things out into the ocean.

As our friend approached even closer, he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and one at a time, he as throwing them back into the water.

Our friend was puzzled. He approached the man and said, "Good evening, friend. I was wondering what you were doing."

"I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see it's low tide right now and all of these starfish have washed up onto the shore. If I don't throw them back into the sea, they'll die up here from lack of oxygen."

"I understand," my friend replied, "but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. You can't possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many. And don't you realize that this is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down the coast. Can't you see that you can't possibly make a difference?"

The local native smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied, "Made a difference to that one!"

Jack Canfield and Mark V. Hansen.

... I was wondering what you were doing on this topic ?"

"I'm throwing words back into the wordflood. You see it's low traffic right now and all of these words was cacographed onto my screen. If I don't throw them back into the wordflood, they'll die up here from lack of sense."

"I understand", "but there must be millions of words on this screen. You can't possibly send all of them. There are simply too many. And don't you realize that this is probably happening on millions of other screens all upstream and downstream wordfalls of the wordflood. Can't you see that you can't possibly make a difference ?"

Morgan smiled, cut, pasted and uploaded yet an other word, and as he uploaded it back into the wordflood, he replied ... "Made a sense for that one !"

What was that one Morgan ?

You'll read it tomorrow, and post a reply soon, among all other word lovers.

safi

A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read "Puppies For Sale." Signs like that have a way of attracting small children and sure enough, a little boy appeared under the store owner's sign. "How much are you going to sell the puppies for?" he asked.

The store owner replied, "Anywhere from $30 to $50."

The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out some change. "I have $2.37," he said. "Can I please look at them?"

The store smiled and whistled and out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his store followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur. One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said, "What's wrong with that little dog?"

The store owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered it didn't have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame. The little boy became excited. "That is the little puppy that I want to buy."

The store owner said, "No, you don't want to buy that little dog. If you really want him, I'll just give him to you."

The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the store owner's eyes, pointing his finger, and said, "I don't want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and I'll pay full price. In fact, I'll give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for."

The store owner countered, "You really don't want to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies."

To this, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the store owner and softly replied, "Well, I don't run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands!"

~~Dan Clark

"No, you really don't want to cacograph this fragile story. It is never going to be able to resist and to mean anything with your frenchy clumsinesses, like the others."

To this, I reached down and rolled up my last posts to reveal a badly twisted english, a crippled orthograhy supported by a pitiful literary culture. I looked up at the topic owner and softly replied, "Well, I don't write so well myself, and the little story will need someone who understands!"

Safi

Danial Webster's speech to the Senate on January 26, 1830:

quote:

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When my eyes shall be turned for the last time on the meridian sun, I hope I may see him shining brightly upon my united, free and happy Country. I hope I shall not live to see his beams falling upon the dispersed fragments of the structure of this once glorious Union. I hope that I may not see the flag of my Country, with its stars separated or obliterated, torn by commotion, smoking with the blood of civil war. I hope I may not see the standard raised of separate State rights, star against star, and stripe against stripe; but that the flag of the Union may keep its stars and its stripes corded and bound together in indissoluble ties. I hope I shall not see written, as its motto, first Liberty, and then Union. I hope I shall see no such delusion and deluded motto on the flag of that Country. I hope to see spread all over it, blazoned in letters of light, and proudly floating over Land and Sea that other sentiment, dear to my heart, "Union and Liberty, now and forever, one and inseparable!"

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See Master of the Senate by Robert Caro (¶¶ 5-9 in link). Mr. Caro's writing has won numerous high awards, and with his discussion of Webster's context one feels, in the gut, the full import and impact of Webster's words.

i sent it to my bud at nightline. they'll like that.

Thank you, wfc.

I can see that the Caro book may turn into a source of posts. The part I read today used a number of architectural terms I wasn't familar with (entablature; coffered panel; pilaster) and wfc, I see that you're an architect. How about filling us in here, or even take a turn as a guest wordcrafter and give us a week of architectural terms?

quote:

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(entablature; coffered panel; pilaster)

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Ooooooo, oooooo! I know one of those! For about 2 weeks I worked a temporary job at a company that, among other things, installed those wonderful dividers between the toilets in public restrooms. As I recall, the uprite that the door is hinged to and the wall is attached to, is a pilaster! Did I get it right? Do I win a prize? (I'm sure it also has a much grander usage, but, hey, that is where I heard it. )

Safi

Safi

All right. I give up! How did you do those wonderful icons, safi?

Hi Shuff, how are you ?

I insert them by "Image" instant UBBCode here in bottom right, when replying. Yes, an url is required, a complete one beginning by haitchtitidaboaldotslaslasch (want chtiti etymology ? no !). To change our favorite habit, problem is to find some animated smilies out of graemlins family, here, bottom left, when replying.

Key words on the web are "smileys", "smilies", "smyley faces" or so much better "emoticons" or "animated gifs emoticons" ...

Sometimes the graber life is hard and ungraceful, see my last http://www.dragon-warrior.com/Images/Emoticons.shtml ahrr !@".*!!

But sometimes, skimming the web with Google, Fast, Kartoo or others can give this http://www.go.to/emoticons. See that this one is in english and french : a smiling english/french online dictionary isn't it ?

When you've got THE ONE which fit your post context (one or many more of course, let's be smilapikoros !), you have few solutions :

- to grab the gif to publish it on your own url, a perso site ! Here the gif url is stable for the time you want, and give this stable url to UBB image replying popup.
- to grab the url where THE GIF is found (in the address zone of your browser) and copy it into UBB url popup. Very easy but potentialy unstable because not your object in your own site.

Have fun replies and don't forget that "A pint of plain is your only smile" : don't cacosmile on the boards !

Safi

when i lived in London, on my way to clapham junction every day i would see two men running together, whether it was cold or mild. both were in great shape, white hair, tee shirts and shorts. every once in a while the one sort of held on to the other's shirt sleeve. when they came to a crossing the other one held his arm out in front of the man. that man was blind and they ran together every day! i thought that they were just so excellent to do that. finally one day i worked up the courage to tell them that and they just beamed! it was just so cool and amazing and it'll stick in my mind forever.

quote:

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is this anything?

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That is perfect! What could be more inspirational than a true life story? Even I am looking at this thread in a whole new light! May your star keep shining brightly wild!