Wish I Had Said That!

The purpose of this section of my blog is to post some things that I've read, seen or heard that were kind of "ah-ha moments",  or common-sense moments. You know, those things that you read that seem to be just good common sense. Hope you enjoy reading them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage giver. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.  You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. You cannot help man permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves."               -Abraham Lincoln

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ideal Time

If you wait for the ideal situation, it will never come.  If you create the ideal situation, it will always be, whenever you choose for it to be.

There are plenty of excuses you can make for why this is not the time to act. And while you're busy making those excuses, someone else is busy taking those same actions that you are merely considering.

The time is right when you make it right.  Waiting and hoping for things to get better will usually just allow things to get worse.

If it's important to you, figure out a way to get started on it now. The more you delay, the more you are telling yourself that it really is not that important.

Why would you want to spend your time setting yourself up for disappointment? Instead, you can spend that time marching steadily toward your goals.

The ideal time is when you make it, and what you make it.  Make it now, and make it great. -------Ralph Marston via Kimberly Crutcher-Williams

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following letter was written by me to the Editor of the Huntsville Times in Huntsville, AL after becoming aware of the new dress code for the county school system.  It was posted in the Huntsville Times on July 24, 2010. This post isn't really a "Wish I had said that!" because I did say it.  Just didn't know where else to post it.

School Dress Code

As a parent of four children who have attended school in the Madison County School System for grades K-12, I have observed in shock the way students have been allowed to dress while attending our county school system.  Totally inappropriate  would be a good way to describe some of the clothing and accessories that have graced the hallways of our schools. Exposed cleavage, sagging pants, body piercings, vulgar and sexually suggestive T-shirts are just a few of the ways that our kids have been allowed to "express themselves".

Everyone does not want to see your cleavage, girls, but when you wear a spaghetti-strap sundress or top so low that your breasts are barely covered, you leave others no choice when they glance your way but to see your cleavage.  Everyone doesn't want to see your boxers or briefs, guys, but when you not only sag your pants but sag them so low that you can hardly walk, and at the same time expose your boxers, you leave others no choice but to see them when they glance your way.  The same goes for the filthy, suggestive language that can be found on some T-shirts. 

Shame on us for teaching our children that how they present themselves to others doesn't matter. It does matter.

Although I am sorry for the added work to enforce it, I am thrilled to see the Madison county School Dress Code for 2010-2011.  Thank you, Superintendent Terry Davis, and Madison County Board of Education.

Beverly Smith
35806
--------------------------------------------------------------------

How to Live a Happy Life

1. Throw out nonessential numbers.  This includes age, weight, and height.  Let the doctor worry about them.  That is why you pay him/her.
2. Make most of your friends the cheerful kind. the grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. An idle mind is the devil's workshop.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long, and loud.  Laugh so that others will know you by your laugh before they see your face..
6. Tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it is family, pets, keepsakes, music,plants,whatever.
8. Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Go to the mall, the next county, a foreign country, but not to "guilt country."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The quote below is from the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".

Gus Portokalos, father of Tula speaking at the reception following the marriage of his Greek daughter to a non-Greek says...

 "You know, the root of the word Miller is a Greek word. Miller come from the Greek word "milo," which is mean "apple," so there you go. As many of you know, our name,
Portokalos, is come from the Greek word "portokali," which mean"orange." So, okay? Here tonight, we have, ah, apple and orange. We all different, but in the end, we all fruit.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"God could not have paid a higher or greater tribute to woman than giving her the privilege of shaping the lives and souls of the next generation and for eternity."    - Betty Choate

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Life is 10% what happens and 90% how you handle it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

*Christianity isn't something that we "do on Sundays" . It's a way of life. It will affect every decision and every choice that we make. - Allen Dvorak

----------------------------------------------------------------------

In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity. - Albert Einstein

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The great man shows his greatness by the way he treats the little man.- H. Jackson Brown Jr.


--------------------------------------------------------------------
*No two ways about it...life does not always deal us a fair hand. It is not always easy. Sometimes it's just downright hard. But through it all, our job is to figure out how to come out on the flip side having grown from our experiences and not shrink back as a result of them. - me
--------------------------------------------------------------------