T P O

T   P   O
The Patient Ox (aka Hénock Gugsa)

G r e e t i n g s !

** TPO **
A personal blog with diverse topicality and multiple interests!


On the menu ... politics, music, poetry, and other good stuff.
There is humor, but there is blunt seriousness here as well!


Parfois, on parle français ici aussi. Je suis un francophile .... Bienvenue à tous!

* Your comments and evaluations are appreciated ! *

Monday, June 11, 2012

Amazing 6th Sense! - by Anonymous

 


 

A father put his three year old daughter to bed, told her a story and listened to her say her prayers which she ended by saying:  “God bless mommy, God bless daddy, God bless grandma and good-bye grandpa.”

The father asked, “Why did you say good-bye grandpa?”

The little girl said, “I don’t know, daddy. It just seemed like the thing to do.”

The next day grandpa died.

The father thought it was a strange coincidence.

A few months later, as the father put the girl to bed, he heard her say her prayers, which went like this: “God bless mommy, God Bless daddy, and good-bye grandma.”

The next day the grandmother died.

“Oh my God,” thought the father, “This kid must really be in contact with the other side!”

Several weeks later as the little girl was going to bed, her dad heard her say, “God bless mommy and good-bye daddy.”

He practically went into shock right then and there. He couldn’t sleep all night and got up at the crack of dawn to go to his office. He was nervous as a cat all day, had lunch sent in and watched the clock. He figured if he could get by until midnight he would be okay. He felt safe in the office, so instead of going home at the end of the day he stayed there, drinking coffee, looking at his watch and jumping at every sound. Finally when midnight arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief and went home.

When he got home, his wife said “I’ve never seen you work so late, what’s the matter?”

He said, “I don’t want to talk about it, I’ve just spent the worst day of my life.”

She said, “You think you had a bad day, you’ll never believe what happened to me. This morning our neighbor, James, dropped dead right here on our porch!”






Friday, June 8, 2012

Appreciating What You Have - by TPO




The following is from Mordechai Dixler * ...
 
Cold-Cereal
=====//=====

Linus, of Peanuts comic strip fame, sits down for a bowl of cereal. After pouring the milk he runs off to find a book to enjoy with his cereal. First he looks for the sports section of the paper or the comics, but he can't find either. He nervously scans the bookshelves for a book he hasn't read, but there's nothing to his liking. With visible desperation on his face, he runs to the comic books, flips through a few until he's finally satisfied -- he finds one that he hasn't read. Now panting, but ever hopeful, he hurriedly returns to his cereal bowl to discover the obvious -- it has long since gone soggy.

While the Heavenly gift of Manna was falling daily, many of the Jews in the desert reminisced about "the delicacies" of Egypt. They cried, "Who will feed us meat?" After the miraculous Exodus, the splitting of the sea, and while Manna fell from the sky, more faith, gratitude and self-control was expected of them. Ever patient, [G-d] promised they would have their meat in the desert, but with the warning that they would eat so much of it that they would become sick and die. With another open miracle, [G-d] directed a massive flock of quail towards the encampment. Anxious to fill their desire for meat, the people collected heaps of quail, feasted on their find, and before the supply was finished, many had met their deadly end.

What I find telling is that no one was forced to eat the quail. In fact they were warned that they would be tempted, and in the end the pursuit would kill them. It becomes clear that a warning from [G-d] Himself, even while His loving Manna rains from the sky, will not stop one whose sole focus is physical comfort. All the values one holds dear, building a family, a career, staying healthy, or, for Linus, enjoying a bowl of crisp cereal, will be forfeited for the sake of soothing even minor discomforts. Continually remind yourself of what you truly hold dear, and with [G-d's] help you'll maintain the proper focus and not sacrifice life for comfort.

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Rabbi Mordechai Dixler
Program Director, Project Genesis - Torah.org