Personal Stress Relief from Economic, Environmental Issues

Four Things You Can’t Recover

Four things you can’t recover:

The stone……..after the throw.

The word……..after it’s said.

The occasion………after it’s missed.

The time……..after it’s gone.

Posted in Poetry Jokes and Reflections | No Comments »

The Appreciated Gift

Four brothers left home for college, and they became successful doctors and lawyers and prospered.  Some years later, they chatted after having dinner together.  They discussed the gifts that they were able to give to their elderly mother who lived far away in another city.

The first said, “I had a big house built for Mama.”

The second said, “I had a hundred thousand dollar theater build in the house.”

The third said, “I had my Mercedes dealer deliver her an SL600.”

The fourth said, “Listen to this.  You know how Mama loved reading the Bible and you know she can’t read it anymore because she can’t see very well.  I met this priest who told me about a parrot that can recite the entire Bible.  It took twenty priests 12 years to teach him.  I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for  twenty years to the church, but it was worth it.  Mama just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it.”

The other brothers werer impressed.  After the holidays Mom sent out her thank you notes.

She wrote:  “Milton, the house you built is so huge.  I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.  Thanks anyway.”

“Michael, you gave me an expensive theater with Dolby sound, it could hold 50 people, but all my friends are dead, I’ve lost my hearing and I’m nearly blind. I’ll never use it.  Thank you for the gesture just the same.”

“Marvin, I am too old to travel.  I stay home, I have my groceries delivered, so I never use the Mercedes.  The thought was good.  Thanks.”

“Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to give a little thought to your gift.  The chicken was delicious.  Thank you.”

Posted in Poetry Jokes and Reflections | 2 Comments »

Realize

To realize the value of ten years…Ask a newly divorced couple.

To realize the value of four years… Ask a graduate.

To realize the value of one year…Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of nine months..Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn child.

To realize the value of one month…Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week…Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one hour…Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of one minute…Ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize the value of one-second…Ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of one millisecond…Ask a person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

To realize the value of a friend…Lose one.

Time waits for no one.  Treasure every moment you have, when you can share it with someone special.

Posted in Poetry Jokes and Reflections | No Comments »

Senior Citizen’s Corvette

A senior citizen bought a brand new Corvette convertible.  He took off down the road, flooring it to 80 mph and enjoying the wind blowing through what little hair he had left on his head.

“This is great,” he thought as he roared down the turnpike.

He pushed the pedal to the metal even more.  Then he looked in his rear view mirror and saw a highway patrol trooper behind him, blue lights flashing and siren blaring.

“I can get away from him with no problem” thought the man and he tromped it some more and flew down the road at over 100 mph.  Then 110, 120 mph.

Then he thought, “What am I doing?  I’m too old for this kind of thing.”  He pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the trooper to catch up with him.

The trooper pulled in behind the Corvette and walked up to the man.  “Sir,” he said, looking at his watch.  “My shift ends in 30 minutes and today is Friday.  If you can give me a reason why you were speeding that I’ve never herd before, I’ll let you go.”

The man looked at the trooper and said, “Years ago my wife ran off with a State Trooper, and I thought you were bringing her back.”

Have a good day, Sir,” said the trooper.

Posted in Poetry Jokes and Reflections | 2 Comments »

New Pledge of Allegiance

As they say, “out of the mouths of babes.”

Since the Pledge of Allegiance and The Lord’s Prayer are not allowed in most public schools anymore because the word ‘God’ is mentioned….A 15 yr old school kid in Arizona wrote the attached

NEW School prayer :

Gate River Run Jacksonville

Have you been watching the Olympics?  Is it making you feel as though you’d like to do something physical and athletic?  The Gate River Run 2010 is coming to Jacksonville in March.

The largest 15K race in the United States, the 33rd Annual Gate River Run 2010 is scheduled for Saturday,
March 13th.  Voted one of the top US Road Races for the last 20 years by Runner’s World Magazine there are three featured events.  The main event, the 15K had over 14,000 participants last year who were either running or walking.  The other two events are the Florida Times-Union 5K for Charity and the Adidas Junior River Run.

Beginning at Jacksonville’s Municipal Stadium, the 15K race runs through downtown Jacksonville, crosses the St. Johns River and then through historic San Marco.  It continues down Atlantic Boulevard and crosses over the river for the second time finishing on Duval Street back at the stadium.

The Florida Times-Union 5K for Charity is a wonderful event for the whole family.  This non-competitive event is not timed and participants can run, walk, push a stroller, or even pull a wagon.  Families, friends, churches, schools, or civic group can help us raise thousands of dollars for charities!

Limited to children under 13 years of age, the Adidas Junior River Run is a free one mile fun run for children.

Along the route live bands will be keeping the participants pumped up and water stations will be located at every mile.  This major event in Jacksonville brings a multitude of spectators who come out to cheer and indulge in parties all along the route.

The fun and excitement doesn’t end there.  Publix will be hosting a Publix Post Race Celebration at the
Fairgrounds which will include plenty of free food and drinks, a band, beer, clowns and entertainment and more.  It’s at this celebration that there will be an awards ceremony.  All 15K finishers receive a medal and $85,000 in prize money is awarded.

The closing date for registration is Monday, March 8th at 11:59 pm so don’t miss this event.  Register here.

Gate River Run 2010 starts at 8:30 am for the 15K and 8:15 for the 5K on Saturday,  March 13th.
The start of the race is at the Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, 1400 East Duval Street, Jacksonville, FL Map

Please visit the website here for more details.

Posted in Examiner.com | 5 Comments »

The Lady by Art Harris

I came across this poem while packing up for our eventual move.  I write poetry and have also saved every poem and slightly poetic piece that I have ever encountered.  I don’t know when I acquired this poem called “The Lady” by Art Harris, but it touched me as I’m sure it had when I first read it.  It very well might have been written in reference to 911.  Whatever the case may be, I thought I’d share with my readers as a tribute and a realization.

The Lady
by
Art Harris

I wonder what she thought as she stood there, strong and tall.
She couldn’t turn away, she was forced to watch it all.
Did she long to offer comfort as her country bled?
With her arm forever frozen high above her head.
She could not shield her eyes, she could not hid her face
She just stared across the water keeping Freedom’s place.
The smell of smoke and terror somehow reduced her size
So small within the harbor but still we recognized…
How dignified and beautiful on a day so many died
I wonder what she thought, and I know she must have cried.

Posted in Poetry Jokes and Reflections | 3 Comments »

Paying it Forward

This post is long overdue, this happened 2 days before Christmas.
As I’ve established previously, I shop in Wal-Mart. On this occasion I stopped to pick up a few things on the way home from work. As always and anxious to get home I rushed like a mad woman through the aisles and out the store.
Once home I unpacked and finally settled down to have a conversation on Skype with my son, Jason who is in Albany. We were talking and my house phone rang. As a general practice, I don’t answer the house phone because nine times out of ten it’s someone wanting money or a solicitation call. I ignored the call. A few minutes later the phone rang again. This time I heard the words, “your wife…..wallet…..Wal-Mart.” I cut my conversation short with Jason and ran to check the message.
The message was from a man who was calling my husband to tell him that I dropped my wallet in Wal-Mart and his wife picked it up. He was calling my husband because in case of emergency he is the contact. I feverishly went through my purse to find that indeed my wallet was missing. Needless to say, I called this man back immediately. It turned out that I dropped my wallet on the way out the door and his wife picked it up and took it home. He was calling to let me know so that we could come pick it up. Amazing!
I called Mike who was on his way home and told him the situation. I didn’t want to go alone so Mike picked me up and we headed over there. We arrived at their home and they handed me my wallet. I tried to give them money to say thank you but they wouldn’t take it. Their answer was that the same thing happened to them not too long ago. Their wallet was returned and they were so thankful that they vowed to “pay it forward.” They’re only request was that I too would “pay it forward” if the situation arises.
I thanked them for the best gift that I could have received for Christmas. When I returned home I wrote my heartfelt thanks in a Christmas card and sent it out. I look forward to someday “paying it forward.” It takes just one small gesture of kindness to make someone’s day. How wonderful it would be if we all performed an act of kindness every day!

Posted in One Good Turn | 5 Comments »

Employment Job Scam

Still unemployed since the beginning of January, I have everyone I know trying to assist me in finding employment. I also check Craigslist and Careerbuilder daily as well as the work at home sites. On Friday, my daughter emailed me an ad from Craigslist. I don’t know how I missed it, but in retrospect it must have been intuition. Regardless, it seemed like a great opportunity for a work at home position that required the skills that I possessed. I answered the ad and attached my resume.
By late in the day Friday I received a response through email. The email gave a company name, Boxx Technologies, with the complete address and website address. The email was to inform me that I had an online interview scheduled for Saturday morning with Mr. Wayne Bryant who was the Personnel Manager for the company. I was to meet Mr. Bryant on Yahoo IM at his ID boxxpersonnelsdesk1. I have to admit I was anxious for the interview after I had gone to the website and did some investigating and found that it was a real company.
Promptly at 10:00 Saturday morning I met Mr. Bryant online. He first introduced me to the company by giving me a wealth of information on the history and present day workings of the company. He then went through two question and answer sessions asking me questions about my understanding of petty cash, my compatibility with co-workers and my work ethics and availability. He also asked me my understanding of Excel as this was supposedly the method that I would need to utilize to submit my hours.
At the end of the question and answer session he announced that I had passed the interview process and that I qualified to work for the company and that I was now working for the company.
At that point I was given more information about my job, my hours and my rate of pay. I was told that the company required the use of various types of software and that I would be provided with the funds for my “mini-office” set up. Needed were UPS and other accounting software like the Quickbooks Pro 2010 and the Peachtree Pro 2010. RED FLAG. I didn’t understand the need for two completely different accounting programs. At this point I was to supply my bank information so that a deposit for $300 could be made to cover my costs.
Being extremely apprehensive at that point, I told this person that I was out of town and didn’t have my banking information available. I thought this would buy me time to investigate further. I also didn’t want to jeopardize what seemed to be the ideal work at home position. I was supposed to start training Monday morning at 10:00. I told him that I would give him the information at that time. He agreed.
Immediately after I signed off, I tried to reach someone at Boxx Technologies to find out the legitimacy of the interview and this person. I reached a voicemail system, left a message and then emailed someone at the company explaining the situation and requesting confirmation. At that point there was nothing else to do but wait until Monday.
After my interview I had time to think and a few things weren’t adding up. First and foremost it was bothering me about the accounting software. Not only did I not understand the need for both, but during the interview I was questioned as to whether I knew how to use Excel. No mention was made about either Quickbooks or Peachtree. In addition I called the company and searched through the employee directory and there was no Mr. Bryant listed. Finally, offering $20 an hour working online, paid training and $100 sign on bonus seemed a bit much. I was pretty sure this was a scam.
Being that I was to meet Mr. Bryant at ten o’clock on Monday I figured I had an hour to try to make contact with someone at Boxx Technologies. At nine o’clock I started calling, but had already realized that being that it’s in Texas and an hour behind my time zone I would probably not be able to reach anyone. Getting more frustrated I called the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) trying to get some kind of insight. Unfortunately, they weren’t much help. I filed a report giving them the particulars and received a case # in return.
Having some time to think, I came up with a plan and again not wanting to blow what could be a great job opportunity, I decided to meet this person online again. After the “hello”, “good morning” bit the first thing he asked me was if I had my bank information. Final RED FLAG. I replied that my husband’s business trip was extended and that I was still not at home to retrieve the information and that I would meet him Tuesday morning at the same time with what he needed. He agreed.
I immediately called Boxx again and actually spoke to a person. She said that this situation was out of her league and she put me through to the president’s voice mail. I left a long message and waited for a reply knowing that I had till Tuesday morning. By late afternoon I hadn’t heard back. Not wanting to come up with another excuse to put Mr. Bryant off, I called Boxx again, this time reaching Mr. “K” the Senior Accountant.
I explained the entire situation to the gentlemen and inquired as to whether there was indeed a job opening and whether Mr. Bryant was employed by the company. Mr. “K” was completely surprised and in disbelief that someone would use the company and all its details as well as contact information. Boxx Technologies did not place an ad, there were no job openings and there was no Mr. Bryant employed at the company. I forwarded all the information I had to “Mr. “K” including a copy of the interview which I saved, just in case. He was going to forward all information to his IT and legal departments. I finally called the FTC to give them an update.
It’s really pretty sad that as difficult it is to find a job, with the economy in the state that it’s in, that in addition we have to be concerned as to whether a job offer is real or a scam. It’s very upsetting to know that there are people praying on those of us who obviously are in need of money or we wouldn’t be searching for a job. It’s horrible to think about all the people that are so desperate that they don’t recognize a scam and are taken for what little they have left. It’s ridiculous that with all the money thrown around in government they can’t find a means to catch these low lives and punish them sufficiently enough that others will think twice before scamming innocent people.
I did not meet “Mr. Bryant” online Tuesday morning!

Posted in Do Unto Others | 9 Comments »