Posted: under "LOVE is LOVELY", Inspirationals.
Tags: age, anxiety, appreciation, bank, beauty, belief, blessings, bliss, blossom, blossoms, body, breakfast, bridge, burden, bus, cancer, care, check, children, clinic, color, colors, compassion, concern, courage, cross, delight, depression, dinner, doctor, duty, elderly, era, exam, example, exercise, eyes, faith, family, favor, feeling, feelings, fish, fishing, flowers, food, friends, funds, garden, gift, God, granny, gratitude, grown ups, gynecologist, happiness, health, heart, Heaven, highway, home, hospital, House, humanity, husband, imagination, inspiration, job, journey, joy, knowledge, labor, language, laughter, learning, letter, life, lifestyle, lifetime, love, mail, man, memories, mind, moment, money, morning, mountain, movement, neighbor, noise, nurse, office, others, pain, passenger, path, patient, perception, period, physician, plant, plants, present, quiz, relaxation, rest, road, role model, seniors, size, skin, sleep, smiles, snack, snacks, son-in-law, soul, sound, specialist, spirit, strength, stress, success, sugar, summer, sunshine, support, surgeon, surprise, task, test, thankfulness, thought, time, token, travel, treatment, trials, trip, vegetable, vegetables, veggie, veggies, vehicle, voice, weight, wife, woman, wonder, words, work, worries, worry

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The Rented Room
================
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Our house was directly across the street from the clinic
entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived
downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to outpatients at the
clinic.
.
One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at
the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man.
.
“Why, he’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old,” I thought as I
stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing
was his face, lopsided from swelling, red and raw.
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Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, “Good evening. I’ve come
to see if you’ve a room for just one night. I came for a
treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no
bus ’til morning.”
.
He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no
success, no one seemed to have a room. “I guess it’s my face…
I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more
treatments…”
.
For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me,
“I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus
leaves early in the morning.”
.
I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch.
I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready,
I asked the old man if he would join us. “No thank you.
I have plenty.” And he held up a brown paper bag.
.
When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk
with him a few minutes. It didn’t take a long time to see that
this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body.
.
He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her
five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from
a back injury.
.
He didn’t tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other
sentence was prefaced with a thanks to God for a blessing.
.
He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was
apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him
the strength to keep going.
.
At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children’s room for him.
When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded
and the little man was out on the porch.
.
He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus,
haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said,
.
“Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a
treatment? I won’t put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a
chair.” He paused a moment and then added, “Your children made
me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children
don’t seem to mind.”
.
I told him he was welcome to come again.
.
And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the
morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the
largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them
that morning before he left so that they’d be nice and fresh.
.
I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m., and I wondered what time he
had to get up in order to do this for us.
.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us, there was never
a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables
from his garden.
.
Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special
delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young
spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed.
.
Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these and knowing
how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.
.
When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a
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Mar 25 2012
Posted: under Nasty and Rude Jokes.
Tags: accident, age, beauty, bliss, check, cheer, classic, color, colors, destination, duty, election, era, funds, funny, government, happiness, highway, hilarious, history, humor, job, jokes, journey, joy, labor, language, laughter, light, loan, mind, model, money, music, musician, nation, noise, office, path, period, politics, pride, radio, road, salesman, singer, smiles, sound, support, supporter, task, time, tour, tourist, traffic, travel, trip, truck, vehicle, voice, vote, voter, words, work

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I bought a new Chevy Avalanche
.
And returned to the dealer yesterday
Because I couldn’t get the radio to work.
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The salesman explained that the radio was voice Activated.
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‘Nelson,’ the salesman said to the radio.
The radio replied, ‘Ricky or Willie?’
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‘Willie!’ he continued and ‘On The Road Again’
Came from The speakers.
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Then he said, ‘Ray Charles!’, and in an instant ‘
Georgia On My Mind’ replaced Willie Nelson.
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I drove away happy, and for the next few days, Every
Time I’d say, ‘Beethoven,’
.
I’d get beautiful classical music, and if I said,
Beatles,’ I’d get one of their awesome songs.
.
Yesterday, some guy ran a red light
And nearly creamed my new truck,
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Feb 23 2012
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", "DID YOU KNOW", Inspirationals.
Tags: Africa, African-American, age, aim, America, American, anniversary, arm, arms, army, beauty, black, blacks, bliss, body, bracelet, Brazil, Britain, British, campaign, caring, celebrity, ceremony, challenge, check, children, Chinese, college, community, companion, computer, couple, culture, designer, diamonds, diet, duty, earrings, earth, effort, election, England, era, Europe, example, exercise, family, fashion, finger, fingers, first lady, flag, food, funds, game, garden, global, globe, goal, gold, government, hair, hairdo, hairstyle, hand, hands, happiness, health, home, honor, House, hug, hugs, husband, icon, inspiration, internet, interview, jewelry, job, joy, kisses, labor, language, leader, life, London, love, magazine, man, Mathematics, military, money, moral, morning, mother, nation, navy, necklace, neighborhood, New York, online, partner, performance, period, photos, politics, power, president, project, recipe, ring, role model, school, service, sharing, show, smiles, soldier, soldiers, South Africa, sport, spouse, style, support, task, television, time, tour, universe, updo, values, veggie, veggies, veteran, veterans, voter, White House, wife, woman, words, work, world, youth

***
As the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama has become a role model in the awareness arena for healthy eating, sharing her homegrown recipes via her cookbook. Next celebrity chef? She has also become a fashion icon and has been named by Forbes Magazine as the eighth most powerful woman in the world.
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First lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Leadership Forum in Washington….
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First lady Michelle Obama speaks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 17, 2011, during an event to honor schools that met the first lady’s goal to double the number of participants in the HealthierUS School Challenge in year.
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Michelle Obama attends cultural performances in Brasilia, Brazil….
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Michelle Obama introduces President Barack Obama at a DNC fundraiser at Gotham Hall, New York-
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Michelle Obama gestures before introducing her husband President Barack Obama at a DNC fundraiser at Gotham Hall in New York. She’s mingled barefoot among Aspen’s elite, stirred a Vermont utility executive to tears and bucked up disenchanted New Yorkers. The 2012 presidential campaign is well under way for Michelle Obama, and the first lady is promising to put herself into the election effort like never before. More than a year from Election Day, she is hauling in millions in campaign cash and sketching a portrait of her husband drawn with an intimacy that no one else could duplicate.
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Michelle Obama speaks to children at Christ Church College in Oxford, England.-
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Michelle Obama speaks to children from Elizabeth Garrett Anderson school in London as they visit Christ Church College in Oxford, England.
***
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Dec 18 2011
Posted: under "DID YOU KNOW", Advice & Tips.
Tags: advice, authentic, chemistry, comfort, communication, compatibility, emotion, encouragement, energy, enrichment, experience, genuine, heart, honesty, honor, inspiration, interaction, interest, life, listening, love, partner, qualities, relationship, spirit, success, support, tips, traits, trust, understanding
5 essential traits to look for….
.

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Think your Mr. Next has the potential to be Mr. Right? Before you leap without looking, take an honest inventory. See how many of the following five essential traits he possesses.
..
Dating Trait #1: He listens to you
..
The best way to know if Mr. Next is interested in (and worthy of) being a candidate for Mr. Right? He listens to you. You’ll know he’s listening when he shows genuine concern, consistently remembers things you’ve told him (your birthday, favorite food, best friend’s name, etc.), and offers emotional support in honest and thoughtful ways.
..
Dating Trait #2: He connects with you easily
..
We’ve all been in those relationships that take W-O-R-K (and suck the life force out of us in the process). When a relationship works on its own, it feels effortless, easy, and fluid. You don’t have to force anything, forgive anyone, or turn a blind eye to red flags or gut-twisters. Instead, you communicate and collaborate with comfort, compatibility, and undeniable chemistry. If and when you experience this kind of interaction, you are on to something really special.
..
Dating Trait #3: He wants the real you
..
So often, women feel the need to sacrifice some part of themselves to make a relationship work. In the right relationship, there’s no need. You don’t have to hide, tone down, or apologize for any aspect of you or your fabulous life. With the right partner, you’re not only able to be yourself, but you’re better able to be the best version of your most authentic self — no compromises needed.
..
Dating Trait #4: He’s trustworthy
..
A relationship without trust is doomed from the start. But a relationship with abundant trust? A fabulous foundation for real
Posted: under "A Slice Of Life", Inspirationals.
Tags: abilities, achievement, choice, desire, difference, dream, family, friends, hope, influence, inspiration, life, parents, principle, sacrifice, success, support, wishes

A man had an operation, and the doctor, by mistake, left a sponge in
him. A friend asked him if he had any pain because of it. “No,” said
the man, “but I sure do get thirsty.”
.
Isn’t it wonderful when we get thirsty - not for water, but thirsty
to chase a dream or to do something different? I think it is those
people who crave something with an unquenchable thirst who, in the
end, are likely to be most satisfied with their lives.
.
Author Napoleon Hill said, “Desire is the starting point of all
achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire
Posted: under "DID YOU KNOW", Inspirationals.
Tags: 'King of Pop', achievement, actor, actress, America, appearance, awards, celebration, celebrity, choice, entertainer, family, fans, flowers, genius, glove, history, Hollywood, humanity, icon, legacy, letter, life, love, mega-stars, memory, Michael Jackson, moment, music, musician, performer, pop star, quotes, recording artist, respects, singer, smiles, superstar, support, tribute, winner, wishes, world
Singers Ne-Yo (L) and host Jamie Foxx pay tribute to the late singer Michael Jackson to close the 2009 BET Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.
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Posted Sun Jun 28, 2009 9:02pm PDT
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It can’t come as a surprise to anyone that the 2009 BET Awards will go down in history as being all about the legacy of one entertainer.
Guess which entertainer? Yes, you guessed correctly.
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Jun 29 2009