March 2001 The Megaphone Page 6
Benefits of Growing Older
1. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.
2. It's harder and harder for sexual harassment charges to stick.
3. Kidnappers are not very interested in you.
4. No one expects you to run into a burning building.
5. People call at 9 p.m. and ask, "Did I wake you?"
6. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.
7. There's nothing left to learn the hard way.
8. Things you buy now won't wear out.
9. You buy a compass for the dash of your car.
10. You can eat dinner at 4:00 p.m.
11. You can live without a lot of frills, but not without glasses.
12. You can't remember the last time you laid on the floor to watch television.
13. You consider coffee one of the most important things in life.
14. You constantly talk about the price of gasoline.
15. You enjoy hearing about other people's operations.
16. You get into a heated argument about pension plans.
17. You got cable for the weather channel.
18. You have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it.
19. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.
20. You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.
21. You send money to PBS.
22. You sing along with the elevator music.
23. You talk about "good grass" and you're referring to someone's lawn.
24. Your arms are almost too short to read the newspaper.
25. Your back goes out more than you do.
26. Your ears are hairier than your head.
27. Your eyes won't get much worse.
28. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.
29. Your joints are more accurate than the National Weather Service.
30. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.
31. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size.
32. People send you this list . . .
Why, Thanks . . .
Toots '48
Catherine (Davies) Pethoud
Are You A Carrot, An Egg, or A Coffee Bean?
from Genie (Forst) Boyer
Hi Girls,
Now we know why we are such coffee drinkers!
Are
you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
A certain daughter complained to her father about her life and how things have
been so hard for her.
She did not know how she was going to make it and she wanted to give up.
She was tired of fighting and struggling.
It seemed that just as one problem was solved another arose.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water and
placed the fire on high.
Soon the three pots came to a boil.
In one he placed carrots, in the other he placed eggs, and in the last he placed
ground coffee beans.
He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently wondered what he was trying to do.
She had problems, and he was making this strange concoction.
In half an hour he walked over to the oven and turned down the fire.
He pulled the carrots out and placed them in the bowl.
He pulled the eggs out and placed them in the bowl.
Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her he asked. "Darling what do you see?"
Smartly, she replied, “Carrots, eggs, and coffee."
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.
She did and noted that they were soft.
He then asked her to take an egg and break it.
After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee.
Her face frowned from the strength of the coffee.
Humbly, she asked. "What does it mean Father?"
He explained, "Each of them faced the same adversity, 212 degrees of
boiling water.
However,
each reacted differently."
"The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting.
But after going through boiling water, it softened and became weak."
"The egg was fragile. A thin outer shell protected a liquid center.
But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened."
"The coffee beans are unique however.
After they were in the boiling water, it became stronger and richer."
He asked his daughter, "Which are you, when adversity knocks on your door,
how do you respond?"
Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with the smallest amount of pain,
adversity, heat you wilt and become soft with no strength?
Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart; a fluid spirit?
But after a death, a breakup, a divorce, a layoff, you became hardened and
stiff.
Your shell looks the same, but you are so bitter and tough with a stiff spirit
and heart, internally.
Or are you like the coffee bean?
The bean does not get its peak flavor and robust until it reaches 212 degrees
Fahrenheit.
When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better.
When things are there worst, you get better.
When people talk the most, your praises increase.
When the hour is the darkest, trials are their greatest, your worship elevates
to another level.
How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?
Submitted by
Genie (Forst) Boyer '60
to Page 7