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An Act of Kindness
Original Source Unknown. Forwarded by BLA, of Schertz, Texas. One Friday, a teacher asked her students to each make a list of the names of the other students in the class, leaving a space between each name. Then she asked them to think of the nicest thing that they could say about each of their classmates and write it down in the space under that student's name. It took the students the remainder of the class period to finish the assignment. The students handed in their papers as they left the room. On Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper and listed the good qualities of each student that had been written by the other students. On Monday she handed out each list to the student whose name appeared on it. Before long, everyone in the class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much." She never heard anyone mention the papers in class again. She didn't know if the students discussed them after class, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and with one another. That group of students moved on. Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam. The teacher attended his funeral. She'd never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked handsome and mature. The church was packed with his friends. One by one, they all took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to visit the coffin. As she stood there, one of the soldiers who'd acted as pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's teacher?" he asked. She nodded, "Yes." He said, "Mark talked about you a lot." After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates, and the teacher, went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there. They obviously wanted to speak to the teacher. "We want to show you something," Mark's father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it." Opening the billfold, he carefully removed a worn piece of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded, and refolded many times. The teacher recognized it as the paper on which she'd listed all of the good things that each of Mark's classmates had written about him. "Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it." All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charley smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have mine. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home." Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album." "I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary." Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her purse and showed her frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me." Without batting an eyelash, she continued, "I think we all saved them." The teacher sat down and cried for Mark and for all of his friends who would never see him again. We forget, or we try to forget, that life will end one day. We don't know when that day will be and we try not to think about it but it will happen. Take the chance, while you still have it, to show courtesy and kindness toward the people that you know. Eventually, you'll see each one of them for the last time. Letter to the Editor
—Tom; Redwood City, California
Thank you for the contribution and for the encouragement. I appreciate them both. I wish you well in your situation. —editor
How to Have Some Fun Original Source Unknown. Forwarded by Jan, of Sulphur, Louisiana.
Please use the enclosed envelope to send a contribution. I prefer cash. For checks or money orders, please inquire. For PayPal payments, use editor@frontiersman.my3website.net.
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Revenge: a Two-Pointed Arrow
Jim Sullivan
Native Americans, misnamed Indians by Christopher Columbus, were previously Siberians who migrated to North America some 10,000 to 13,000 years ago. Those first human residents of the North American continent found it to be rich in animals, minerals, and plant life. When the Native Americans arrived on this continent, they had more food and space than they could ever use. Still, they treated the resources with care. Wouldn't you just know that someone would come along and take it away from them? That someone was the Palefaces. Over time, the Palefaces pushed the Native Americans out, squeezing them into tiny and often uninhabitable corners of the land. In recent years, Native Americans are finally getting their just rewards and, incidentally, sweet revenge. Instead of doing physical harm to the Palefaces, the Native Americans are using nonviolence. That is, they're exacting a financial reckoning. This is taking place at gambling emporiums established by the various Native American tribes throughout the United States. The Palefaces are taking the punishment without even realizing it. In fact, they seem to be enjoying the process of being relieved of their funds. They repeatedly come back for more of the same treatment. Like gambling facilities since time immemorial, the odds in the Native American wagering houses are stacked in favor of the houses. So, when the Palefaces play cards or bingo, spin the wheel, or drop cold wampum coins into the slots, the Native Americans come out ahead. It's about time! No longer do the Palefaces circle their wagons to protect themselves when they see Native Americans. Instead, they aim their wagons directly at the Native American gambling casinos, bingo halls, and betting joints. The Palefaces then fork over their hard earned funds to the gambling operators. After the wampum has changed hands, the Palefaces leave with their wallets empty but otherwise intact. Scalping is a thing of the past, too, for both groups1 and the only arrows employed nowadays are on the Native American roulette wheels. The aptly named one-arm bandit slot machines also do a good job of stripping the Palefaces of their funds. Native Americans are merely making it convenient for the Palefaces to be separated from their cash. It isn't surprising to learn that certain Palefaces in state governments have noticed the success of the Native Americans in removing large numbers of dollars from the gullible gambling Palefaces. Some of those Palefaces in the state governments are now scrambling to build casinos and gambling parlors of their own. Of course, for years the Palefaces have had big gambling operations in a few spots in the nation, notably Las Vegas and Atlantic City. That was fine because it was limited. But seeing how well the Native Americans are doing around the rest of the country, those government Palefaces want a bigger piece of the action. Soon, the Native Americans will no longer hold their near monopoly on cleaning out the Palefaces. In fact, it's very likely that they'll be pushed out of the gambling business, just like they were pushed out of their homes after the Palefaces arrived on this continent. As before, they'll end up holding the short end of the stick, this time the croupier's stick.
Definitions Original Source Unknown. Forwarded by Don G.
Please use the enclosed envelope to send a contribution. I prefer cash. For checks or money orders, please inquire. For PayPal payments, use editor@frontiersman.my3website.net.
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Acknowledgments My thanks to the following: SantaClara Bob; Lady Jan the Voluptuous; my mother; Dewey and Betty; and Tom, of Redwood City, California. — editor
Court Quotes From Humor in the Court and More Humor in the Court, by Mary Louise Gilman, editor of the National Shorthand Reporter. Forwarded by Don G.
Doctor's Goofs Actual statements that doctors wrote on patients' charts: Original Source Unknown. Forwarded by Don G.
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