IJMC - A Really Good Message

I just read a book which contained a character who was a VIP in his 
world. But he had a conscience and cared for his employees. He believed 
that he was making a difference in the world. He hoped the world was a 
better place for what he did. I hope there are more of those people out 
there. So many people today seem to do what they do only for themselves. 
They forget that everyone else is here as well. We're all trying to make 
a life for ourselves, every one of us. When we forget about everyone 
else, the world gets a little colder, and tonight, my world is cold. Be 
nice to someone. Make this a place for my children to grow up, strong, 
and safe, and happy. That, is what I ask. Be good.                 -dave






When we were young, we thought the world could give us everything.

We weren't afraid of being ourselves and we knew who we were.

We stood together because we didn't know there was any other way to stand.

We never questioned our motives or our friends.

We thought our parents were heroes, and we loved spending Friday nights
in the family room, watching TV: Family Ties, The Cosby Show, The Wonder
Years.  And they were wonder years, for we lived on dreams and the 
hope they never failed to inspire.

We ate our three meals a day and went to bed by nine.

The best times of the week were those Saturday night slumber parties 
or the coed birthday parties, complete with "two minutes in the closet."

All fights between friends were forgotten within a week and caused no
personal damage.
 
Before bed, our favorite thing to do was listen to Daddy's bedtime 
stories.

School was actually liked at times; after all, grades didn't matter so
much and we got nap times and cookies and reading after lunch and 
recess.

And recess was always things like kickball and capture the flag, where 
you never had to dress out and it didn't matter how much you might sweat.

We used to dress up for book reports and pull props from a paper bag,
like in show and tell.

We got graded on things like handwriting and art.

We had spelling tests every Friday.

Our mothers called out the words each Thursday night, while fixing 
dinner.

It was okay to hug our teachers.

The notes we passed in class always had a box to check or a secret 
code.

We smiled a lot every day, and only cried over little things that went 
away in a matter of weeks at the most, because they were either petty or
easily resolved or else we didn't understand them yet.

We played recreational sports, where fun was never dependent on winning.

We never counted calories.

The ice cream man could bring a whole neighborhood running.

We never got embarrassed when our parents came to tuck us in at night,
complete with hugs and kisses.

We got our homework done in no time, and spent the afternoons running 
in the sunshine.

We played at each others' houses, unless it was to go to the skating
rink or the park, where the swings and merry-go-rounds fit us just 
right.

We told our mothers all our worries, and somehow she could solve them.

We never thought we looked bad in a photograph.

Freckles were cute.

Bad hair days were unheard of and we never worried about getting old 
too fast.

Instead, we wished we could grow up and be like the "big kids."

Then one day we grew up, and we were the big kids. Suddenly, dreams were
left by the roadside and stepped on by those we thought we trusted
(and sometimes stepped on those that trusted us).

School became something important, where we had to prove ourselves with
letters on a piece of light green paper.

And money entered into our everyday vocabularies,as we wrestled over 
matters of allowance.

We forgot how to have fun by ourselves or how to party innocently.

Our hearts were hurt every day,and the wounds never healed.

Our friends changed before our very eyes, and there was nothing we 
could do.

We learned hard lessons about life and love and fear a world not as
wonderful as we used to think.
 
Illusions fell.

We learned our parents weren't perfect.

We said and did things we'd grow to regret. 

Then we began to wish we could go back to the easier days, where we 
could be happy without doubting in the sincerity of the feeling.

At least we still have each other to lean on.

That's one thing that never changes.

At least we still like sunshine and movies and can still cry at 
Christmas.

And love still rules our hearts, for the most part.

"Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our 
hearts."

					 -O.W. Holmes


"I always knew I'd look back at the times I cried and laugh, but I 
never knew I'd look back at the times I laughed and cry" - Unknown

"You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to 
come to you.  You have to go to them sometimes."  - Winnie the Pooh

"After awhile you learn that what you really are is all the experiences 
and all the thoughts you've ever had and all the people who have touched 
your life, no matter how briefly."