An all time favourite

The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood,
and I--I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
- Robert Frost

Justathought

I would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't, and die to find out there is.

Sandcastles

Sand Castles.....by Max Lucado.

Hot sun. Salty air. Rhythmic waves.A little boy is on the beach.
On his knees he scoops and packs the sand with plastic shovels into a
bright red bucket. Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts
it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is
created.

All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls.
Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle sticks will be bridges. A
sandcastle will be built.

Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling traffic. A man is in his office.

At his desk he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments.
He cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with
his fingers. Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed and much to
the delight of the man, a profit is made.
All his life he will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the
future. Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges. An
empire will be built.

Two builders of two castles. They have much in common. They shape
granules into grandeurs. They see nothing and make something. They
are diligent and determined. And for both the tide will rise and the
end will come.

Yet, that is where the similarities cease. For the boy sees the end
while the man ignores it.

So, one is prepared and one isn't. One is peaceful while the other
panics.

As the waves near, the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to
clap. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would
happen. He is not surprised. And when the great breaker crashes into
his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into the sea, he smiles. Hesmiles, picks up his tools, takes his Father's hand, and goes home

A Woman's Secret

There was once a man and woman who had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one daythe little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would notrecover....In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box.

When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of moneytotaling $25,000. He asked her about the contents."When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if Iever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.

"The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears.
Only twoprecious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him twotimes in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst withhappiness......"Honey," he said, "that explains the dolls, but what about all of thismoney?

Where did it come from?""Oh," she said, "that's the money I made from selling all the dolls..."

Walk to Work

A young boy had just gotten his driver's permit and enquired of his father, if they could discuss his use of the car.
His father said, "I'll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, get your hair cut and we'll talk about the car."
Well, the boy thought about that for a moment, and settle for the offer, and they agreed on it. After about six weeks they went in to the study, where his father said, "Son, I've been real proud. You've brought your grades up, and I've observed that you have been studying your Bible, and participating a lot more in the Bible study groups.
But, I'm real disappointed, since you haven't gotten your hair cut."
The young man paused a moment, and then said, "You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I've noticed in my studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair and there's even a strong argument that Jesus had long hair also."

To this his father replied, "Did you also notice they all walked everywhere they went?"

Neither Victory nor Defeat

It is not the critic who counts,
nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled,
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly;who errs and comes short again and again;
who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those timid souls
who know neither victory nor defeat.

- Theodore Roosevelt

Dilbert at his best