Roy Exum: Warmth For Cold Days

  • Thursday, February 11, 2016
  • Roy Exum
Roy Exum
Roy Exum

I come across all sorts of warm things every day and as we burrow out of sub-freezing temperatures for a day or two, shaking off ice and snow, allow me to share a few things for a change that may take the bite out of the winter wind. This is what helps me.

* * *

Judy Bellenfant, who has been a soul mate ever since we shared jokes in high school classrooms, sends along this beautiful story:

A famous writer was in his study. He picked up his pen and began writing:

- Last year, my gall bladder was removed.  I was stuck in bed due to this surgery for a long time.

- The same year I reached the age of 60 and had to give up my favorite job. I had spent 30 years of my life with this publishing company.

- The same year I experienced the death of my father.

- In the same year my son failed in his medical exam because he had a car accident. He had to stay in the hospital with a cast on his leg for several days.

- And the destruction of the car was a total loss.

At the end he wrote:  Alas! It was such bad year!!

When the writer's wife entered the room, she found her husband looking sad and lost in his thoughts.  From behind his back she read what was written on his paper.  She left the room silently and came back shortly with another paper on which she had written her summary of the year and placed it beside her husband's writing.

When the writer saw her paper, he read:

- Last year I finally got rid of my gall bladder which had given me many years of pain.

- I turned 60 with sound health and retired from my job. Now I can utilize my time to write better and with more focus and peace.

- The same year my father, at the age of 95 without depending on anyone and without any critical conditions, met his Creator.

-  The same year, God blessed my son with life.  My car was destroyed, but my son was alive and without permanent disability.

At the end she wrote:  This year was an immense blessing and it passed well!!

Don’t you see -- the same incidents but different viewpoints. Attitude is everything.

Moral:  In daily lives we must see that it’s not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy. There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

* * *

THE KINDNESS OF A HOMELESS MAN

A man was walking in the city, when he was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking bum who asked him for a couple of dollars for dinner. The man took out his wallet, extracted two dollars and asked, "If I gave you this money, will you take it and buy whiskey?"

"No, I stopped drinking years ago," the bum said.

"Will you use it to gamble?"

"I don't gamble. I need everything I can get just to stay alive."

"Will you spend the money on greens fees at a golf course?"

"Are you nuts!? I haven't played golf in 20 years!"

The man said, "Well, I'm not going to give you two dollars. Instead, I'm going to take you to my home for a terrific dinner cooked by my wife."

The bum was astounded. "Won't your wife be furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty, and I probably smell pretty bad."

The man replied:"That's OK. I just want her to see what a man who's given up drinking, gambling and golf looks like."

* * *

PLEASE HELP WITH MY HEARING

Robert asked the televangelist to pray for his hearing.
After three full minutes of violent shaking and trying to push him over backwards, the preacher asked in a loud voice, "How's your hearing"?
With bulging eyes, Robert gasped, "I don't know. It doesn't take place until Tuesday at 8:30 at the courthouse."

* * *

AN EARNEST TALK WITH MY DOCTOR

During a visit to my doctor, I asked him, "How do you determine whether or not an older person should be put in an old age home?"

"Well," he said, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the person to empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," I said. "A normal person would use the bucket because it is bigger than the spoon or the teacup …"

"No" he said. "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"

* * *

MY FOURTH GRADE POEM RECITAL

When I was in the fourth grade, our teacher told us to find a poem that we would like to memorize and recite in front of the class. I went home that afternoon and told my dad – who was evermore a scholar – my task. He delighted in helping me find some good poems. Here’s the one we picked and that I recited from rote. I hope you like it as I have forever.

“When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
“When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

“Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

“Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.

And he learned too late when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.

“Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint in the clouds of doubt.

And you never can tell how close you are,
It might be near when it seems afar
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.”

I still carry a copy in my wallet.

Stay warm.

royexum@aol.com

Latest Headlines
Opinion
Democratic View On Top State Senate Issues - March 18, 2024
  • 3/18/2024

Campbell bill seeks to save lives by studying suicide trends in Tennessee 3 p.m. Senate Regular Calendar — SB 1787 , by Sen. Heidi Campbell, would require state health officials to produce ... more

The Odor Of Mendacity - And Response (2)
  • 3/16/2024

The Fulton County judge, Scott McAfee, overseeing the Fani Willis prosecution of Donald Trump and eighteen other defendants has spoken. In response to a motion by defendants to remove Willis ... more

Capitol Report From State Rep. Greg Vital For March 15
  • 3/15/2024

General Assembly confirms new Tennessee State Supreme Justice Members of the General Assembly confirmed the appointment of Mary L. Wagner to the Tennessee Supreme Court in a joint session ... more