the dash

This movie: the Dash reminds me once again, how that little wee line, says so much with so little. None of us can ever be sure when death will come knocking by...it strikes most often when we are never ready

If today was your last, what would you do differently?
And when death comes along your way, what's next in life?

For me, I know where I'm going =)
One way ticket to heaven~ Paid in full by the cross =D

Wilma's bag

courtesy of dad's fwds =)

*Wilma's Bag

*By Pamela Perry Blaine


It was a cold winter's day when I first met her. She came into the
waiting area of the automotive department at the mall where I was
waiting for them to put new tires on our van. I watched her as she put
down a large plastic bag that didn't seem to have very much in it. She
took off her coat, hat, and gloves and immediately went to work. She
was a woman with a purpose and knew exactly what she was doing as she
poured the water for a fresh pot of coffee. Next, she began cleaning
the counter, scrubbing it with a wet cloth and straightening up the room.

I commented on how nice she made the room look and she asked me if I
would like a cup of coffee. "Sure," I said, "the coffee smells
wonderful." Then I asked her how long she had worked there. "Oh honey,"
"I don't work here," she said. "I've gotten to know the folks here and
I like to help them out." She explained, "It's just something I can do
to make people smile and you never know, it just might make a difference."

"My name is Wilma," she said, "I've been retired for years." I also
introduced myself to Wilma and she continued to tell me all about
herself. It seems Wilma had lived several blocks from the mall in a
trailer court since her husband died. She told me that she took the bus
to the mall everyday and brought her plastic bag full of goodies. "Did
you see Bill over at that desk?", she asked. "He just loves pretzels so
I always put some of them in my bag for him. Now, Margie, over there at
the drug store," she continued, "she's always so tired, she works two
jobs, you know, and I just like to see her eyes light up when I bring
her a Dr. Pepper." As Wilma talked on I discovered that she made the
rounds everyday to many places in and around the mall where she brought
cookies, candy, or whatever she had to the people that had become her
friends.

"My son lives in Florida," Wilma explained, "he tells me that I
shouldn't spend my money like this, but it's something I can do to make
people smile and maybe it will make a difference," she said once again.
"I went down there to Florida to visit my son," she smiled, "he wants me
to stay there but he doesn't want me to go out alone and I'm just bored
to death, but then I wouldn't want him to know that," Wilma laughed. "I
have my friends here." "Why, just this morning, I stopped at the
grocery store and I pushed all those carts inside for George." "He works
there, you know, and he isn't getting any younger...must be at least 80
and he has to push all those carts inside by himself, so I helped him."
(I had to smile to myself as I knew that Wilma couldn't be far from 80
herself)

"Do you ever enter contests?" Wilma asked. Before I could answer, she
went on, "I always enter all the contests in the stores and sometimes I
win," she said with excitement. "You know those life-sized cardboard
figures you see in the stores?" Wilma asked, "Well, I won Patrick
Swayze," she laughed, "and now I got him right in my living room!"

"Well," I winked at her, "just as long as you don't keep him in your
bedroom." She threw up her hands at that and laughed harder than ever
and then went on to tell me about some of the things she had won and
shared with her friends. I told her what a nice thing that she was
doing and again she said, "Oh, it's just something I can do to make
people smile and you never know, it just might make a difference."

It was time for Wilma to catch her bus and my van was ready to go.
Wilma's bag was about empty except for some M&Ms for her next door
neighbor. I told Wilma I hoped we would meet again sometime.

As I left, I thought about Wilma's bag and all the good that she was
doing for others. It might seem to some as insignificant, but it's
often the little things that count and make life easier. I thought you
should know about Wilma because, "It's just something I can do to make
people smile and you never know, it just might make a difference."

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40)

Smile, and the whole world smile with you. Smile not frown. Smile always!!

saving is sin, spending is virtue

love this! fwd by dad ^^

*Saving is sin, and spending is virtue...**
**Interesting article written by an Indian Economist

Japanese save a lot. They do not spend much. Also Japan exports far more
than it imports. Has an annual trade surplus of over 100 billions. Yet
Japanese economy is considered weak, even collapsing.

Americans spend, save little. Also US imports more than it exports. Has
an annual trade deficit of over $400 billion. Yet, the American economy is
considered strong and trusted to get stronger.

But where from do Americans get money to spend? *

*They borrow from Japan, China and even India.
Virtually others save for the US to spend. Global savings are mostly
invested in US, in dollars.

India itself keeps its foreign currency assets of over $50 billions in
S securities. China has sunk over $160 billion in US securities. Japan's
stakes in US securities is in trillions.

Result:

The US has taken over $5 trillion from the world. So, as the world saves
for the US, Americans spend freely. Today, to keep the US consumption
going, that is for the US economy to work, other countries have to remit
$180
billion every quarter, which is $2 billion a day, to the US!

A Chinese economist asked a neat question. Who has invested more, US in
China, or China in US? The US has invested in China less than half of
that China has invested in US.

The same is the case with India. We have invested in US over $50
billion. But the US has invested less than $20 billion in India.

Why the world is after US?

The secret lies in the American spending, that they hardly save. In fact
they use their credit cards to spend their future income. That the US
spends is what makes it attractive to export to the US. So US imports
more than
what it exports year after year.

The result:

The world is dependent on US consumption for its growth. By its
deepening culture of consumption, the US has habituated the world to
feed on US
consumption. But as the US needs money to finance its consumption, the
world provides the money.

It's like a shopkeeper providing the money to a customer so that the
customer keeps buying from the shop. If the customer will not buy, the
shop won't have business, unless the shopkeeper funds him. The US is
like the
lucky customer. And the world is like the helpless shopkeeper financier.

Who is America's biggest shopkeeper financier? Japan of course. Yet it's
Japan which is regarded as weak. Modern economists complain that
Japanese do not spend, so they do not grow. To force the Japanese to
spend, the
Japanese government exerted itself, reduced the savings rates, even
charged the
savers. *

*Even then the Japanese did not spend (habits don't change, even with
taxes, do they?). Their traditional postal savings alone is over $1.2
trillions, about three times the Indian GDP. Thus, savings, far from
being the strength of Japan, has become its pain.

Hence, what is the lesson?

That is, a nation cannot grow unless the people spend, not save. Not
just spend, but borrow and spend. *

*Dr. Jagdish Bhagwati, the famous Indian-born economist in the US, told
Manmohan Singh that Indians wastefully save. Ask them to spend, on
imported cars and, seriously, even on cosmetics! This will put India on
a growth
curve. This is one of the reason for MNC's coming down to India, seeing
the consumer spending. *

*"Saving is sin, and spending is virtue."

But before you follow this neo economics, get some fools to save so that
you can borrow from them and spend!!! *