Just Thinking Out Loud

You know today is just one of them there days. The kind where all you do is get lost within yourself! Your thoughts are running rampant within your head and you realize that you are starting to "Think Out Loud!" Well that is what has been happening with me ever since late last night and all day today! Not sure if it has to do with the weather or what. But it appears that my friends seem to know when this is happening to me! Yep, cause my e-mail box is getting flooded with tons of e-mail! LOL

So I got these two e-mails that I wanted to share with everyone. It seems that these two really hit me hard when I read them. They set my mind to rocking and a rolling in every direction you can imagine.... That the first one brought tears a flowing that I have not cried in a very long time. It made me stop and realize just how true this is for so many people in our world today. Seems to me that we all should be able to learn a lesson from this one.

WHY ARE WE HERE?

When I drove up in my taxi cab at 2:30 a.m., the building was
dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
Under these circumstances, many taxi drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, and then drive away.

But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on
taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of
danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself..

So I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a
minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged
across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's
stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil
pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie.

By her side was a small nylon
suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the
furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no
knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box
filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she
said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated'.

'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said. When we
got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through
downtown?

''It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.

'Oh, I don't mind,'
she said.

'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice'.

I looked in the
rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she
continued. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and
shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next
two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had
once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she
and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone
dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular
building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired.
Let's go now.

'We drove in silence to the address she had given me.It was a low
building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a
portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were
solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting
her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was
already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into
her purse.'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,'
she said.'Thank you.

'I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning
light. Behind me, a door shut.. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in
thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had
gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?

What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID,
~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you send this to ten people. But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by sending it on.

Thank you, my friend...

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might
as well dance.

Well, what do you think ? Sure is something powerful I will say! That for me personally I try to do more for others than for myself. Or at least that is what everyone tells me that I do.. That life is a journey to be treasured. It is one that we should all enjoy to the fullest. To make sure that we are not in a rush or hurry. In other words "SLOW DOWN!" Srop and smell the roses, breath in that fresh air! Notice the small things as well as the big ones too... Like the fresh grass that has just been cut, or a field of hay that has just been mowed, seeing the sun rise or watching it set across the land at night! Or better yet how the scent of "Midnight Blooming Jasmine" smells at night! My how I love that smell! :0) Plus the others fragrances of honeysuckle, roses, and any and all kind of flowers blooming! Really I truly love it! And let us not forget the smells that delight our noses when we walk into someones house and can smell food cooking!!!!!! Oh my the memories that flow through my mind of family get togethers at my Moms & Dads.... Plus my sister Brendas! What fun we all have had! I guess what I am trying to say is "Take Time" to see, hear, feel, smell, and taste all of the wonderous things that life has to offer you. Make memories that will forever be in your heart as well as the hearts of others!

Though these thoughts are still running like crazy through my mind. I mean like the question asked above, "Why are we here?" Does anyone truly know the correct answer to it? For me there is no right or wrong answer. Just that we are here to help one another in some small or big way. Be it through a random act of kindness, generousity, love, to comfort each other, lending a hand, listening or whatever ! We are here not to let time pass us by. Rather to use our time as best we can! And to use it up to the fullest! One day at a time. No more and no less!

So now on t the other e-mail I recieved. It too was from another friend. He seems to know just when I need a helping hand to guide me along. Especially when I feel life is getting me down. So here is what he sent to me.

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Beers

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there IS no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'

The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.'

Please share this with someone you care about.. I JUST DID

In closing this out all I can say is that "Mama said that would be days like these!" And she sure was telling me the truth. That these two e-mails that my dearest of friends sent me, I will print and save in my book of memories that I have. It is one full of all kinds of things. I guess you could say it is something that I am leaving behind for my son to one day have. As well as my grandson and future grandkids to enjoy reading! Now you all go and have yourself a beautiful & fun filled, enjoyable day! Live your life to the fullest! And THANK YOU for stopping by to read this. Though it was awful long.....

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