"Impact forces excedded human tolerances."
-Nat Traffic Safety Board-
A FISHERMANS PRAYER
God, grant that I may live to fish until
my dying day---
and when it comes to my last cast, I then
most humbly pray---
when in the Lord's safe landing net and I'm
peacefully asleep---
that in His mercy I be judged big enough to
keep.
-St. Gregory Church-
-Northeast, PA-
"Uncommon valor was a common virtue."
-Iwo Jima-
"A great man never ignores the simplicity of
a child."
-Chinese fortune cookie-
"One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car
I
drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the
bank, nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be
a little
better because I was important in the life of a child."
"Christ died for all men--not just the ones
you know and like."
"This year will go down in history for the first time, a civilized
nation
has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our
police more
efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!
-Adolph Hitler 1935-
"People judge you by your actions, not
your intentions. You may
have a heart of gold, but so does a
hard boiled egg.
"Those we hold most dear never truly never leave us"
"Those who have given of themselves to others,
live forever in the
hearts of those they've touched"
-Off the headstone of Walter Grubbs, Pittsburgh
Paramedic-
"'I can forgive, but I cannot forget,' is only another way of saying,
'I
will not forgive.' Forgiveness ought to be like a canceled
note--torn in
two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one."
Henry Ward Beecher,
American clergyman
(1813-1887)
"If we can't save you, GOD wants you
dead!"
NYC Medic jacket 1995
"To understand another human being you must gain some insight into
the conditions which made him what he is."
Margaret Bourke-White
American photojournalist
1904-1971
"History is the ship carrying living memories
to the future."
Sir Stephen Spender
British poet and critic
If you love what you do, you will never work another day in your
life.
Confucious
"He who careth whence he came, careth little
whither he goeth"
Danial Webster
"Pride of ancestry is a natural and enabling sentiment and the man
who
does not feel it will contribute nothing of which posterity will
be able to boast"
Thomas Jefferson
"What would I give if I could say
"Hello Mom" in the same old way
To hear your voice and see your smile,
To sit with you and chat awhile;
Beside your grave I often stand
And try to understand.
No words can say, no flowers repay
How much I lost on that sad day,
Father in Heaven, hear my prayer,
Guard my Mom with tender care,
Be a good Shepherd, don't leave her alone'
Love her as I did when she was home."
From a newspaper clipping Betty Perdreauville
clipped to the back of her mothers photo.
"No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child."
Abraham Lincoln
Why a "20" Man gets along
Sooner or later, a man, if he
is wise, discovers that life is a mixture of good days and bad, victory
and defeat, give and take. He learns that it doesn't pay to be a
sensisitive soul; that he should let some things go over his head like
water off a ducks back. He learns that he who loses his temper usually
loses out. He learns that all men have burnt toast for breakfast
now and then, and that he shouldn't take the other fellow's grouch too
seriously. He learns that carrying a chip on his shoulder is the
easiest way to get into a fight.
He learns that the quickest way
to become unpopular is to carry tales and gossip about others. He
learns that buck-passing always turns out to be a boomerang and that it
never pays. He comes to realize that the business could run along
perfectly well without him. He learns that it doesn't matter so much
who gets credit so long as the business shows a profit. He learns
that even a janitor is human and that it doesn't do any harm to smile and
say " good morning," even if it is raining. He learns that most of
the other fellows are as ambitious as he is, that they have brains that
are as good or better, and that hard work and not cleverness is the secret
of success. He learns to sympathize with the youngster coming into
the business, because he remembers how bewildered he was when he first
started out. He learns not to worry when he loses an order, because
experience has shown that if he has always gives his best, his average
will break pretty well. He learns that no man ever got to first base
alone, and that it is only through cooperative effort that we move on to
better things. He learns that bosses are not monsters, trying to
get the last ounce of work out of him for the lest amount of pay, but that
they are usually fine men who have succeeded through hard work and who
want to do the right thing. He learns that folks are not any harder
to get along with in one place than another, and that the "getting along"
depends about ninety-eight percent on his own behavior.
May those who love us, Love us
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts;
And if He doesn't turn there hearts
May he turn their ankles
So we'll know by their limping
An old Gaelic Blessing
WE ARE NEVER ALONE!!!
This is a true story that occurred
in 1994 and is told by Lloyd Glen: Throughout our lives we are blessed
with spiritual experiences, some of which are very sacred and confidential,
and others, although sacred,are meant to be shared.
Last summer my family had a spiritual
experience that had a lasting and profound impact on us, one we feel must
be shared. It's a message of love. It's a message of regaining
perspective, and restoring proper balance and renewing priorities.
In humility, I pray that I might, in relating this story, give you a gift
my little son, Brian, gave our family one summer day last year. On July
22nd I was enroute to Washington DC for a business trip. It was all so
very ordinary, until we landed in Denver for a plane change. As I
collected my belongings from the overhead bin, an announcement was made
for Mr. Lloyd Glenn to see the United Customer Service Representative immediately.
I thought nothing of it until I reached the door to leave the plane and
I heard a gentleman asking every male if they were Mr. Glenn. At this point
I knew something was wrong and my heart sunk. When I got off
the plane a solemn-faced young man came toward me and said, "Mr. Glenn,
there is an emergency at your home. I do not know what the emergency
is, or who is involved, but I will take you to the phone so you can call
the hospital." My heart was now pounding, but the will to be calm took
over.Woodenly,I followed this stranger to the distant telephone
where I called the number he
gave me for the Mission Hospital. My call was put through to the trauma
center where I learned that my three-year-old son had been trapped underneath
the automatic garage door for several minutes, and that when my wife had
found him he was dead. CPR had been performed by a neighbor,
who is a doctor, and the paramedics had continued the treatment as Brian
was transported to the hospital. By the time of my call, Brian
was revived and they believed he would live, but they did not know how
much damage had been done to his brain, nor to his heart. They
explained that the door had
completely closed on his little sternum right
over his heart. He had been severely crushed. After speaking
with the medical staff, my wife sounded worried but not hysterical, and
I took comfort in her calmness.The return flight seemed to last forever,
but finally I arrived at the hospital six hours after the garage door had
come down. When I walked into the intensive care unit, nothing could
have prepared me to see my little son laying so still on a great big bed
with tubes and monitors everywhere. He was on a respirator.
I glanced at my wife who stood and tried
to give me a reassuring smile. It all seemed like a terrible dream.
I was filled-in with the details and given a guarded prognosis.
Brian was going to live, and the preliminary tests indicated
that his heart was OK, two miracles in and of themselves. But only
time would tell if his brain received any damage. Throughout the seemingly
endless hours, my wife was calm. She felt that Brian would eventually be
all right. I hung on to her words and faith like a lifeline. All
that night and the next day Brian remained unconscious. It seemed
like forever since I had left for my business trip the day
before. Finally at two o'clock that afternoon, our son regained
consciousness and sat up uttering the most beautiful words I have ever
heard spoken. He said, "Daddy hold me" and he reached for me
with his little arms. By the next day he was pronounced as having
no neurological or physical deficits, and the story of his miraculous
survival spread throughout the hospital. You cannot imagine our gratitude
and joy. As we took Brian home we felt a unique reverence for the life
and love
of our Heavenly Father that comes to those
who brush death so closely. In the days that followed there
was a special spirit about our home. Our two older children were much closer
to their little brother. My wife and I were much closer to each other,
and all of us were very close as a whole family. Life took on a less stressful
pace. Perspective seemed to be more focused, and balance much easier
to gain and maintain. We felt deeply blessed. Our gratitude
was truly profound.
The story is not over (smile)!
Almost a month later to the day of the accident,
Brian awoke from his afternoon nap and said, "Sit down mommy. I have something
to tell you." At this time in his life, Brian usually spoke in small
phrases, so to say a large sentence surprised my wife. She sat down
with him on his bed and he began his sacred and remarkable story."Do
you remember when I got stuck under the garage door? Well it was
so heavy and it hurt really bad. I called to you, but you couldn't
hear me. I started to cry, but then it hurt too bad. And then
the 'birdies' came."The birdies?" my wife asked puzzled. "Yes," he
replied. "The birdies made a whooshing sound and flew into the garage.
They took care of me." "They did?" "Yes" he said. "One
of the birdies came and got you. She came
to tell you I got stuck under the door."A sweet reverent
feeling filled the room. The spirit
was so strong and yet lighter than air. My wife realized that
a three-year-old had no concept of death and spirits, so he was referring
to the beings who came to him from beyond as "birdies" because they
were up in the air like birds that fly. "What did the birdies look like?"
she asked. Brian answered, "They were so beautiful. They were
dressed in white, all white. Some of them had green and white.
But some of them had on just white." "Did they say anything?" "Yes"
he answered. "They told me the baby would be all right." "The
baby?" my wife asked confused. Brian answered. "The baby laying
on the garage floor." He went on, "You came out and opened the
garage door and ran to the baby. You
told the baby to stay and not leave." My wife nearly collapsed upon
hearing this, for she had indeed gone and knelt beside Brian's body and
seeing his crushed chest and
recognizable features, knowing he was already
dead, she looked up around her and whispered, "Don't leave us Brian,
please stay if you can."
As she listened to Brian telling her the words
she had spoken, she realized that the spirit had left his body and was
looking down from above on this little lifeless form. "Then what
happened?" she asked.
"We went on a trip." He said, "far,
far away." He grew agitated trying to say the things he didn't
seem to have the words for. My wife tried to calm and comfort him,
and let him know it would be okay. He struggled with wanting to tell
something that obviously was very important to him, but finding the words
was difficult."We flew so fast up in the air. They're so pretty
Mommy." he added. "And there is lots and lots of birdies."
My wife was stunned. Into her mind the sweet comforting spirit enveloped
her more soundly, but with an urgency she had never before known. Brian
went on to tell her that the "birdies" had told him that he had to come
back and tell everyone about the "birdies". He said they brought him back
to the house and that a big fire truck, and an ambulance were there.
A man was bringing the baby out on a white bed and he tried to tell
the man that the baby would be okay, but the man couldn't hear him.
He said the birdies told him he had to go with the ambulance, but they
would be near him. He said, they were so pretty and so peaceful, and he
didn't want to come back.
Then the bright light came. He said
that the light was so bright and so warm, and he loved the bright light
so much. Someone was in the bright light and put their arms around
him, and told him, "I love you but you have to go back. You have
to play baseball, and tell everyone about the birdies." Then the person
in the bright light kissed him and waved bye-bye. Then whoosh, the
big sound came and they went into the clouds.
The story went on for an hour. He taught us that "birdies" were always with us, but we don't see them because we look with our eyes and we don't hear them because we listen with our ears. But they are always there, you can only see them in here (he put his hand over his heart). They whisper the things to Help us to do what is right because they love us so much.
Brian continued, stating, "I have a plan, Mommy. You have a plan. Daddy has a plan. Everyone has a plan. We must all live our plan and keep our promises. The birdies help us to do that cause they love us so much." In the weeks that followed, he often came to us and told all, or part of it again and again. Always the story remained the same. The details were never changed or out of order. A few times he added further bits of information and clarified the message he had already delivered. It never ceased to amaze us how he could tell such detail and speak beyond his ability when he spoke of his "birdies".
Everywhere he went, he told strangers about
the "birdies". Surprisingly, no one ever looked at him strangely when he
did this. Rather, they always got a softened look on their face and smiled.
Needless to say, we have not been the same ever since that day, and I pray
we never will be.
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have
trouble remembering how to fly."
anonymous.
The Watcher
She always leaned to watch for us,
Anxious if we were late,
In winter by the window,
In summer by the gate.
And though we mocked her tenderly,
Who had such foolish care,
The long way home would seem more safe,
Because she waited there.
Her thoughts were all so full of us,
She never could forget!
And so I think that where she is
She must be watching yet.
Waiting ‘til we come home to her,
Anxious if we are late,
Watching from Heaven's window,
Leaning on Heaven's gate.
Margaret Widdemer
I'm Free
Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free.
I'm following the path God laid for me.
I took his hand when I heard Him call.
I turned my back and left it all.
I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work or play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I found that peace at the close of day.
If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah yes, these things I too will miss.
Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My life's been full, I've savored much.
Good friends, good times, a loved ones touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don't lengthen it now with undo grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.
Author Unknown
An Angel Waiting
On a hill in the distance
A young boy quietly waits,
Patiently he watches
For his family at the gate.
His brown eyes shine so brightly
As hope swells within.
For soon he'll see his loved ones
And never part again.
How joyous will be the meeting
As mother holds her child,
And father kisses softly
The angel, his lost child.
Once more they'll hold each other,
And tears will be no more.
Forever they'll be together
As they pass through heavens door.
Author unknown
"A LEADER KNOWS
THE WAY, GOES THE WAY, AND SHOWS THE WAY!"
A child's love is like a whisper,
given in little ways we do not hear
but if you listen closely
it will be very clear.
They often do not say it loud
but in how they come to you...
Daddy will you play with me?
Mommy, tie my shoe?
The many ways they tell you
changes as they grow
Dad I made the team today!
Mom I've Got to go!
Pop I need some money
You see there's...
this girl at school...
Mama I met a boy today
and wow he is so cool...!
Dad I've got something to tell you...
I think she is the one.
Mom, He asked me to marry him.
Would you love him as your son?
Dad I've got some news for you...
It's gonna be a boy!
Mom I'm kind of scared of this,
yet I'm filled with joy!
A child's love is like a whisper,
given in little ways we do not hear
but if you listen closely
it will be very clear.
They often do not say it loud
but in how they come to you...
Grandpa will you play with me?
Grandma tie my shoe...
It is never ending
A blessing from above
Listen to the whispers
of a child's love
"The most valuable thing you can spend on your children is your time".