We Have Come A Long Way!

Photo Credit: Dzz via morguefile.com

Happy Moon Day!!!

It was 44 years ago today, July 20, 1969, that one of the biggest accomplishments of mankind happened…it was the day that man first walked on the moon. The astronauts, Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. became instant worldwide heroes It had only been a short 22 years earlier that the Soviet Union had become the first nation to ever launch an artificial satellite out of the earth’s atmosphere and enter space.

Upon landing at the moon base, “Tranquility Base”, Neil Armstrong announced from the space module “Eagle”, “the Eagle has landed.” Hours later, Neil Armstrong, stepped off of the Eagle’s ladder, put his foot upon the moon’s surface and declared: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”.

Well, since then, our world has grown, discovered and developed things faster than anyone could imagine.

It is hard to believe how far we have come as a world in forty years. Consider what been invented and developed since then…here are a few examples….

The development of the home computer

Flat screen and plasma TV’s

Cell Phones

The internet (for public use)

Digital Cameras

The Space Shuttle

The Space Station

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in 1999

Face Book, Twitter, Instagram, and eBay

GPS (Global Tracking Systems)

Video Game Consoles (Play Station, Xbox, Nintendo)

Digital music and cameras

MRI’s

ATM’s

Hybrid Cars

Doppler Radar

Camcorders

Smart Phones

Google (and other Search Engines)

Electronic Word Processing

Caller ID

Blog Pages

And much, much more!

Today’s world is a fascinating place. Technology and life styles are developing at incredible rates. It is mind-boggling to think about what things may be around in another 40 years from now. Some things, such as cell phones which screens will be able to be rolled up like scrolls (while still being able to read the screen), totally transparent cell phones, or planes such as the FAXX Concept fighter which has no vertical tail fins and will have “skin” that will be able to repair itself….and maybe…someday soon…trips to the moon and Mars!

It is an exciting time in the world’s history to live. We need to enjoy every minute that we experience here on this earth and appreciate all the awesome technology and information that we have at our fingertips. Some day in 40, 50 or 100 years from now, people will look back at our time and say… wow…we have come a long way!

Cranky Old Man

Photo Credit: chilombianovia morguefile.com

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.
 

Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

One nurse took her copy to Melbourne. The old man’s sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this ‘anonymous’ poem winging across the Internet.
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CRANKY OLD MAN

What do you see nurses…What do you see?
What are you thinking…when you’re looking at me?

A cranky old man…not very wise,
Uncertain of habit…with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food and makes no reply,
When you say in a loud voice…’I do wish you’d try!’

Who seems not to notice…the things that you do.
And forever is losing…A sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not…lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding…The long day to fill?

Is that what you’re thinking? Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse…you’re not looking at me.

I’ll tell you who I am…As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding…as I eat at your will.

I’m a small child of Ten…with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters…who love one another

A young boy of Sixteen…with wings on his feet,
Dreaming that soon now…a lover he’ll meet.

A groom soon at Twenty…my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows…that I promised to keep.

At Twenty-Five, now…I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide…And a secure happy home.

A man of Thirty…My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other…With ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons…have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me…to see I don’t mourn.

At Fifty, once more…Babies play ’round my knee,
Again, we know children…My loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me…My wife is now dead.
I look at the future…I shudder with dread.

For my young are all rearing…young of their own.
And I think of the years…And the love that I’ve known.

I’m now an old man…and nature is cruel.
It’s jest to make old age…look like a fool.

The body, it crumbles…grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone…where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass…A young man still dwells,
And now and again…my battered heart swells

I remember the joys…I remember the pain.
And I’m loving and living…life over again.

I think of the years, all too few…gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact…that nothing can last.

So open your eyes, people…open and see.
Not a cranky old man .
Look closer…see…ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within. We will all, one day, be there, too!

Short Heartwarming Stories of Love

Grandpa's Daisies via DyanDiamond.net

Generally speaking, today’s world is becoming a more and more depressing, discouraging, and sad place to live. People seem to be more selfish than they were years ago and the most important focus in a person’s life is the all-important “me.”
I thought that it would be a good idea to create a blog that focused on people GIVING things to other individuals rather than trying to GET things.  So, I decided to collect and share some short stories of love that I found from around the web, family, friends, and other people who contributed stories. It is my hope that these stories will inspire you, touch your heart, and in some small way, brighten your day.  Enjoy!
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There was a song my grandparents loved called, “I’ll give you a daisy a day.” (By Jud Strunk)  It is about a husband and wife who enjoyed life, love and one another.  It is a beautiful tribute to romantic love.  In the song, the husband brings the wife a daisy a day – even after she passes on.
After my grandfather first heard this song he began to bring my grandmother daisies every day.  Years later, when he became ill, he brought some wild daisies from their farm and planted them in their yard.  He wanted her to always have daisies, even after he was gone.  They had a beautiful relationship.  They left nothing unsaid.
A friend of mine lost her best friend very recently.  It was sudden and tragic.  She was comforted by the fact that they had said everything to one another, they never held anything in.  They gave each other daisies every day.
Never leave love unspoken.  Be sure to give everyone you love a daisy a day.  You never know how important a little daisy, a little love, can be.
Note: The photograph on top of this blog is the actual daisies my grandfather brought from the farm.  They still grow in their yard.
Submitted by: Dyan – htttp://DyanDiamond.NET
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It was a busy morning in a hospital, when an elderly gentleman, came in to have stitches removed from his thumb.
He stated that he was in a hurry and he had an appointment, 30 minutes from now. Then one of nurses came into the room, examined his wound and started to re-dress it.
While taking care of his wound, that nurse engaged him in a conversation with the old man. During the conversation, the nurse ask from the old man,  “Where do you have to be 30 minutes from now?”
The gentleman told her that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.
As they were talking, the nurse inquired about the health of his wife. He told that she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
After nurse finished dressing his wound, the nurse asked “if you are late, will she worry about it?”
He replied “no because she no longer knows who I am and she hasn’t recognized me for last five years.”
Surprised, the nurse asked him, “And you are still going every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?”
He smiled and patted nurse’s hand and said.
“She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.”
Source: http://love-tenderly.blogspot.com
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Today, my 8-year-old son hugged me and said, “You are the best mom in the whole entire world!” I smiled and sarcastically replied, “How do you know that? You haven’t met every mom in the whole entire world.” My son squeezed me tighter and said, “Yes I have. You are my world.”
Source: http://www.marcandangel.com/
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One day an 11 year old girl asked her daddy, “what are you going to get me for my 15th birthday?”
Her father replied,” Please wait, there is much time left.”
When the girl was 14 years old, she fainted and was rushed to the hospital. The doctor came out and told her dad that she had a bad heart and that she was probably going to die.
When she was lying in the hospital bed, she said softly, “daddy… have they told you that I am going to die?” The father replied; “no, you are going to live” as he left her room weeping.
She asked, “how can you be so sure daddy?” He turned around from the door and said” because…I know.”
A short time later she turned 15. After she was released from the hospital and recovering she came home to find a letter on her bed which read…”My dearest daughter, if you are reading this letter it means that everything went well, just as I told you it would. A little while ago you asked me what I was going to give you for your 15^th birthday. I didn’t know then, but my present to you was MY HEART.”
Source: http://soup-heart.blogspot.com
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10th Grade
As I sat there in English class, I stared at the girl next to me. She was my so called ‘best friend’. I stared at her long, silky hair, and wished she was mine. But she didn’t notice me like that, and I knew it. After class, she walked up to me and asked me for the notes she had missed the day before. I handed them to her.
She said ‘thanks’ and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.
11th grade
The phone rang. On the other end, it was her. She was in tears, mumbling on and on about how her love had broken her heart. She asked me to come over because she didn’t want to be alone, so I did. As I sat next to her on the sofa, I stared at her soft eyes, wishing she was mine. After 2 hours, one Drew Barrymore movie, and three bags of chips, she decided to go home.
She looked at me, said ‘thanks’ and gave me a kiss on the cheek…I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.
Senior year
One day she walked to my locker. “My date is sick” she said, ”he’s not going to go” and I didn’t have a date, and in 7th grade, we made a promise that if neither of us had dates, we would go together just as ‘best friends’.
So we did. That night, after everything was over, I was standing at her front door step. I stared at her as she smiled at me and stared at me with her crystal eyes.
Then she said- “I had the best time, thanks!” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.
Graduation
A day passed, then a week, then a month. Before I could blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated like an angel up on stage to get her diploma. I wanted her to be mine-but she didn’t notice me like that, and I knew it.
Before everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and cried as I hugged her.
Then she lifted her head from my shoulder and said- ‘you’re my best friend, thanks’ and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.
Marriage
Now I sit in the pews of the church. That girl is getting married now and will drive off to her new life, married to another man. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn’t see me like that, and I knew it. But before she drove away, she came to me and said ‘you came!’.
She said ‘thanks’ and kissed me on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.
Death
Years passed, I looked down at the coffin of a girl who used to be my ‘best friend’.
At the service, they read a diary entry she had wrote in her high school years.
This is what it read:
‘I stare at him wishing he was mine, but he doesn’t notice me like that, and I know it. I want to tell him, I want him to know that I don’t want to be just friends,
I love him but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me!
Source: http://rishikajain.com
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Today, my grandpa keeps an old, candid photo on his nightstand of my grandma and him laughing together at some party in the 1960’s. My grandma passed away from cancer in 1999 when I was 7. This evening when I was at his house, my grandpa caught me staring at the photo. He walked up, hugged me from behind and said, “Remember, just because something doesn’t last forever, doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth your while.”
Source: http://makesmethink.com/
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Today, I walked up to the door of my office (I’m a florist) at 7AM to find a uniformed Army soldier standing out front waiting. He was on his way to the airport to go to Afghanistan for a year. He said, “I usually bring home a bouquet of flowers for my wife every Friday and I don’t want to let her down when I’m away.” He then placed an order for 52 Friday afternoon deliveries of flowers to his wife’s office and asked me to schedule one for each week until he returns. I gave him a 50% discount because it made my day to see something so sweet.
Source: http://makesmethink.com/
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I hope you enjoyed this blog and it brought a little sunshine to your life in some way. Find time each day to make your own story of love. Reach out and show how much you love and care for your “better half” whenever you can. I would love to create another blog of short love stories from collected from YOU! If you have a god story…share it!

The Power of Words

Photo Credit: Anna Langova via publicdomainpictures.net

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling. They found out that the new baby was going be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sang to his sister in mommy’s tummy.

He was building a bond of love with his little sister before he even met her.

The pregnancy progressed normally for Karen, an active member of the Panther Creek United Methodist Church in Morristown , Tennessee ! In time, the labor pains came. Soon it was every five minutes, every three, every minute. But serious complications arose during delivery and Karen found herself in hours of labor.

Would a C-section be required?

Finally, after a long struggle, Michael’s little sister was born. But she was in very serious condition. With a siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushed the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary’s Hospital, Knoxville.

Days inched by. The little girl got worse. The pediatrician had to tell the parents there is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst.

Karen and her husband contacted a local cemetery about a burial plot. They had fixed up a special room in their house for their new baby but now they found themselves having to plan for a funeral.

Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister. I want to sing to her, he kept saying.

Week two in intensive care looked as if a funeral would come before the week was over. Michael kept nagging about singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. Karen decided to take Michael whether they liked it or not. If he didn’t see his sister right then, he may never see her alive.

Karen dressed him in an oversized scrub suit and marched him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket. The head nurse recognized him as a child and bellowed, ‘Get that kid out of here now. No children allowed’.

The mother rose up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady glared steel-eyed right into the head nurse’s face, her lips a firm line.’He is not leaving until he sings to his sister’ she stated.

Then Karen towed Michael to his sister’s bedside. He gazed at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. After a moment, he began to sing.

In the pure-hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang:
‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray’.

Instantly, the baby girl seemed to respond. The pulse rate began to calm down and become steady.

‘Keep on singing, Michael,’ encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes.’You never know, dear, how much I love you, please don’t take my sunshine away.’
As Michael sang to his sister, the baby’s ragged, strained breathing became as smooth as a kitten’s purr.
‘Keep on singing, sweetheart.’ ‘The other night dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms’.

Michael’s little sister began to relax as rest, healing rest, seemed to sweep over her.

‘Keep on singing, Michael’. Tears had now conquered the face of the bossy head nurse. Karen glowed.

‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don’t take my sunshine away…

‘The next day…the very next day…the little girl was well enough to go home.

Woman’s Day Magazine called it The Miracle of a Brother’s Song .
The medical staff just called it a miracle.
Karen called it a miracle of God’s love.

LOVE IS SO INCREDIBLY POWERFUL.
NEVER GIVE UP ON THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE.
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Source: MumbaiiteAnu