Smile4me-4ever...

Choices     The Hospital Window     3 Yellow Roses    

7 Wonders of the World    Act of Kindness     True Love...      

Am I a Fireman Yet?      Pennies from Heaven

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When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to
this address.  If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of
how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so
much would get.

 A Great Idea!!!  When you are making out your Christmas
card list this year, please include the following:

Xerox is helping us send our troops post cards to say thank you. It is FREE!!! Please click on the link below and in 3 easy steps you can help a soldier smile by sending him/her a thank you post card to show you care!! It's the small things we can do that make a difference!

http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home.html  

If anyone has any other sites that support our troops, I would greatly appreciate you leaving a comment with the web address or even an email to me @ smiles2u@comcast.net . Together we can support our troops. I would be happy to give a link to your support page, so if you have one, contact me please! I know our hearts share the fact they go out to our troops. They are in our thought's often and like you, I want them all home soon!

In the days, when an ice cream sundae cost much less,

 a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table.

A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?"

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket

and studied a number of coins in it.

"How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired.

Some people were now waiting for a table

and the waitress was a bit impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely.

The little boy again counted the coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream,

put the bill on the table and walked away.

The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed.

When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table

and then swallowed hard at what she saw.

There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,

were two nickels and five pennies...

~ her tip~

     ~  Awesome Video  ~   

Choices

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"
Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.
"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."
I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.
I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him
how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"
I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his
mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.
Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.
"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them,

 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'"
Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

The Hospital Window

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his room-mate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Then unexpectedly, a sinister thought entered his mind. Why should the other man alone experience all the pleasures of seeing everything while he himself never got to see anything? It didn't seem fair. At first thought the man felt ashamed. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He began to brood and he found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window - that thought, and only that thought now controlled his life.

Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running in. In less than five minutes the coughing and choking stopped, along with that the sound of breathing. Now there was only silence-deathly silence.

The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

---

You can interpret the story in any way you like. But one moral stands out: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy.

---

but even grocery shopping was different since he had passed on.
 
Shopping for one took time, a little more thought than it had for two.

Standing by the meat, I searched for the perfect small steak

and remembered how he had loved his steak.
 
Suddenly a woman came beside me.

She was blonde, slim and lovely in a soft green pantsuit.

I watched as she picked up a large package of T-bones,

dropped them in her basket..

Hesitated, and then put them back.

She turned to go and once again reached for the pack of steaks.
 
She saw me watching her and she smiled..

'My husband loves T-bones, but honestly, at these prices, I don't know.'
 
I swallowed the emotion down my throat and met her pale blue eyes.
 
'My husband passed away eight days ago,' I told her.

Glancing at the package in her hands,

I fought to control the tremble in my voice.

'Buy him the steaks. And cherish every moment you have together'
 
 She shook her head and I saw the emotion in her eyes

as she placed the package in her basket and wheeled away.
 
I turned and pushed my cart

across the length of the store to the dairy products.

There I stood, trying to decide which size milk I should buy.

A Quart, I finally decided and moved on to the ice cream.

If nothing else, I could always fix myself an ice cream cone.
 
I placed the ice cream in my cart and looked down the aisle toward the front.

I saw first the green suit,

then recognized the pretty lady coming towards me.

In her arms she carried a package.

On her face was the brightest smile!

I had ever seen.

I would swear a soft halo encircled her blonde hair

as she kept walking toward me,

her eyes holding mine.
 
As she came closer, I saw what she held

and tears began misting in my eyes..

'These are for you,' she said

and placed three beautiful long stemmed yellow roses in my arms.

'When you go through the line,

they will know these are Paid for.'

She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek, then smiled again.

I wanted to tell her what she'd done,

what the roses meant, but still unable to speak,

I watched as she walked away as tears clouded my vision.
 
I looked down at the beautiful roses

nestled in the green tissue wrapping and found it almost unreal.

How did she know?

Suddenly the answer seemed so clear. I wasn't alone.
 
Oh, you haven't forgotten me, have you?

I whispered, with tears in my eyes. .

He was still with me, and she was his angel. 

"Love is putting someone else's needs before your own."

Am I a Fireman Yet??

10-13-2007

In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year old son, who was dying of terminal leukaemia.

But she still wanted her son’s dream to come true.  She took her son’s hand and asked, “Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?”

Mommy, “I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up.”

Mom smiled back and said, “Let’s see if we can make your wish come true.”

Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix.  She explained her son’s final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her 6 year old son a ride around the block on a fire engine.

Fireman Bob said, “Look, we can do better than that. If you’ll have your son ready at seven o’clock Wednesday morning, we’ll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day.We can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards!

And if you’ll give us his sizes, we’ll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat - not a toy –one-with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots.They’re all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast.”

Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck.  Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station.

He was in heaven. There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls.  He rode in the different fire engines, the paramedic’s van, and even the fire chief’s car.

He was also videotaped for the local news program.

Having his dream come true, with all the Love and attention that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Billy, that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible.

One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept -that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital.

Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition.

The chief replied, “We can do better than that. We’ll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favour? When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system, that there is not a fire? It’s the department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room?

About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck  arrived at the hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy’s third floor open window– 16 fire-fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy’s room.

With his mother’s permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they LOVED him. 

With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said,

"Chief, am I really a fireman now?”

“Billy, you are, and the Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand,” the chief said.

With those words, Billy smiled and said, “I know, He’s been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been singing..”

He closed his eyes one last time.

This is one of the kindest things I've ever read.

I have no way to know who sent it, but there is a kind soul working

in the dead letter office of the U.S. postal service. 

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words: 

  Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you n heaven. I miss her so very much.  I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending you a picture of her so when you see her you will that she is my dog. I really miss her. Love Merideth.  

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven.  We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven from the post office.  That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box . A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, "To Meredith"  in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, "When a Pet Dies." Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note: 

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.  Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart.  Abbey loved being your dog.  Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm wherever there is love.

Love, God

"To give without any reward .

has a special quality of its own."

This is what Love is All About

10-12-2007

A Penny From Heaven

This was one of my Dad's favorites.

I found a penny today
Just laying on the ground
But it's not just a penny
This little coin I've found.



Found pennies come from Heaven
That's what my Grandpa told me,
He said, "Angels toss them down."
Oh, how I loved that story.



He said, "When an angel misses you
They toss a penny down,
Sometimes just to cheer you up
To make a smile out of your frown."



So don't pass by that penny
When you're feeling blue,
It may be a penny from Heaven
That an Angel tossed to you.