Thought For Today

Thought for Friday, Mar 12, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Normally tftd goes for a shorter entry. This is an exception.
Jim Berry is fighting the good fight against the big C.
Saturday March 13th 3pm he goes 'out with the old' in getting
rid of the remaining cancer cells and 'in with the new'
(actually harvested stem cells) at 1pm Monday March 15th.

Thank God for Warm Blankets

When a doctor looks you straight in the eye and says,
"You have cancer," time stops. In that instant you know
that things will never again be the same. From then on
there will be the "before" and the "now".

In my "now" there have been many changes, among them
a heightened awareness of the little things I am
thankful for on a daily basis. Today I am thankful
for warm blankets!

This phase of my treatment is called "stem cell collection"
and entails about four hours a day on a blood machine. It's
totally painless, you just lie on a bed all plumbed up and
watch tv, read, or nap. The machine pumps all of the blood
in your body through it three times during the treatment,
and in the process the blood going back in your body is
cooler so you tend to get cold. Hence the wonderful,
warm blankets they bring you.

You can have as many as you want, and they feel
indescribably good.

I guess blankets must be some sort of natural comfort in
life. My four-year-old grandson has a great blanket
called his "Elmo" after the character printed on the
fabric. Well, actually, he has several Elmos, because
when we saw how attached he was to it, doting
grandparents bought three or four of them and stashed
them around so he would never be without one. Elmo is
a fixture in the extended family, and I realize now how
important our Elmos are.

The warm blankets at the hospital are certainly nice,
but what is more important is the statement they made
when offered the first time without my asking.

It said to me, "We understand what you're going through.
We really do, and we want to do everything we can to make
you as comfortable as possible."

Which led me to think about the other blankets I comfort
myself with, and wrapped in which I feel secure: the
love of family and friends, the encouragement of
co-workers, the well-wishes that come by phone and
internet each day, and the smiles of understanding
from those you encounter at the hospital.

I will never again take for granted the phrases "I'm
thinking about you" or "I'm praying for you." People
really mean it when they say it. You can feel
it when it's your time of need, the positive force
field around you that helps you through the next step
of the journey. An invisible cloak, which despite
being unseen is far from unfelt and shelters you from
the coldness life sometimes brings.

Thank God for warm blankets. Of every type. At every age.

-Jim Berry
Friend Extraordinaire

Thought for Thursday, Mar 11, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Golden Oldie

If ignorance is bliss,
why aren't there more happy people?

Thought for Wednesday, Mar 10, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:15:00 +0000

We have no right to ask when sorrow comes,
"Why did this happen to me?"
unless we ask the same question for every
moment of happiness that comes our way.

-Author Unknown
Beliefnet
Chicken Soup for the Soul
9 March 2010

Thought for Tuesday, Mar 9, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Golden Oldie

The society which scorns excellence
in plumbing as a humble activity and
tolerates shoddiness in philosophy
because it is an exalted activity
will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy ...
neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.

-John W. Gardner

Thought for Monday, Mar 8, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Golden Oldie

He that promises most will perform least.

-Gaelic Proverb
DailyInbox:
PAX Proverbs Plus - 05-23-01

Thought for Friday, Mar 5, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:15:00 +0000

*
Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Two. One to hold the giraffe and the other to fill the bathtub
with brightly colored machine tools.

Thought for Thursday, Mar 4, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:15:00 +0000

I'm a scalar person in a vector world.
I have magnitude, but no direction.

Tag line seen on the internet.

Thought for Wednesday, Mar 3, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:15:00 +0000

*
A diplomat is a man who can convince his wife she'd look stout in a fur
coat.

Thought for Tuesday, Mar 2, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:15:00 +0000

*
"When you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut."

Thought for Monday, Mar 1, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Golden Oldie

There are three kinds of memory--
good, bad, and convenient.

-Author unknown
Bits and Pieces
On the Lighter Side
Daily Inbox 28 Jan 2005

Thought for Friday, Feb 26, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Golden Oldie

I know that there are people in this world
who do not love their fellow man,
and I hate people like that!

-Tom Lehrer

Thought for Thursday, Feb 25, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

*
Join the march to save individuality!

Thought for Wednesday, Feb 24, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

tftd believes this is
a Golden Oldie but
'who knows?'

There's a new virus going around. It is called C-Nile. Even
the most advanced programs from Norton or McAfee cannot
take care of it so be warned. It appears to affect mostly
those of us who were born before 1960.

Symptoms of C-Nile Virus:
1. Causes you to send the same e-mail twice
2. Causes you to send a blank e-mail
3. Causes you to send it to the wrong person
4. Causes you to send it back to the person who sent it to
you
5. Causes you to forget to attach the attachment
6. Causes you to hit "SEND" before you've finished the

Received from Bette Tolnai.
The Good, Clean Funnies List
2005/01/31
http://www.gcfl.net/

Thought for Tuesday, Feb 23, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Feeling gratitude and not
expressing it
is like wrapping a present
and not giving it.

-William Arthur Ward
Bits and Pieces
March 2010

Thought for Monday, Feb 22, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Golden Oldie

The warning message we sent the Russians
was a calculated ambiguity that would be
clearly understood.

-Alexander Haig

Thought for Friday, Feb 19, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

*
Ah, but the choice of dreams to live,
there's the rub.

For all dreams are not equal,
some exit to nightmare
most end with the dreamer

But at least one must be lived ... and died.

Thought for Thursday, Feb 18, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

*
If the odds are a million to one against something occurring, chances
are 50-50 it will.

Thought for Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

*
"When in doubt, tell the truth."
-- Mark Twain

Thought for Tuesday, Feb 16, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Golden Oldie

One reason why George Washington
Is held in such veneration
He never blamed his problems
On the former Administration.

Thought for Monday, Feb 15, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Golden Oldie

George Washington was first in war,
first in peace -- and the first to have
his birthday juggled to make a long weekend.

-Ashley Cooper

Thought for Friday, Feb 12, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

*
Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you
lose your job. These economic downturns are very difficult to predict,
but sophisticated econometric modeling houses like Data Resources and
Chase Econometrics have successfully predicted 14 of the last 3
recessions.

Thought for Thursday, Feb 11, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

*
To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
-- Thomas Edison

Thought for Wednesday, Feb 10, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Golden Oldie

I never wanted to see anybody die
but there are a few obituary notices
I have read with pleasure.

-Clarence Darrow

Thought for Tuesday, Feb 9, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

All the beautiful sentiments in the world
weigh less than a single lovely action.

-James Russell Lowell
OK, even though Famous Quotes & Authors
http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com/authors/charles_kingsley_quotes.html
say both Friday's and Monday's tftd
is by Charles Kingsley, "Charmain" says that
Friday's tftd is by Charles Kingsley and
Monday's tftd is James Russell Lowell
Until I receive a correction from "Charmain"
We will say today's tftd is by
James Russell Lowell.

Thought for Monday, Feb 8, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Jian) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:15:00 +0000

Thank God every morning when you get up
that you have something to do which
must be done, whether you like it or not.

-Charles Kingsley
(1819 - 1875)
Also the author of
Friday's tftd as
reported by "Charmain"