Traveling Today

Today we will be going to a funeral in north Georgia. We drove to Knoxville last evening, and spent the night with Dad and Mary. We'll leave early this morning to begin our drive to Georgia for Taylor Wood's funeral. Taylor was 95 and a good friend to Dad all through the years. Taylor was a man of God, who was kind and gentle. (Obituary for Taylor H. Wood)

Understanding Our World
If you watch the following video from YouTube, you will have a better understanding of the world we live in. It illustrates our world as consisting of 100 people. 100 is a number we can all relate to. And looking at the world this way gives some true insight. Enjoy...

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Tennessee Granddaddy Says:

Talk softly, be kind, and help someone in need.

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Quote of the Day
Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.
~Paul Boese

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Joke of the Day

A big-city lawyer was representing the railroad in a lawsuit filed by an old rancher. The rancher's prize bull was missing from the section through which the railroad passed. The rancher claimed that the bull must have been hit by the train, and wanted to be paid the fair value of the bull.

The case was scheduled to be tried before the justice of the peace in the back room of the general store.

As soon as the rancher showed up, the attorney for the railroad pulled him aside and tried to get him to settle out of court. The lawyer did his best selling job, and finally the rancher agreed to take half of what he was asking.

After the rancher had signed the release and took the check, the young lawyer couldn't resist gloating a little over his success, telling the rancher, "You know, I hate to tell you this, old man, but I put one over on you in there. I couldn't have won the case. The engineer was asleep and the fireman was in the caboose when the train went through your ranch that morning. I didn't have one witness to put on the stand. I bluffed you!"

The old rancher replied, "Well, I'll tell you, young feller, I was a little worried about winning that case myself, because that darned bull came home this morning."

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Failure

Failed Again?

We've all had our share of failures in life. But many people who are famous today, had such failures that you would think it would have destroyed them. But no, they came back! Watch this YouTube clip:

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Tennessee Granddaddy Says:
It pays to be gentle.
Be gentle with people, with animals, and with nature.

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Quote of the Day
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
~William James

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Joke of the Day

These two country boys, brothers, were knocking around one lazy summer day and thought it would be a good prank to push over the outhouse. They crept up from an advantageous direction like a couple of commandos, pushed the outhouse over on one side and headed for the woods. They circled round and returned home an hour later from a completely different direction thus, trying to divert suspicion from themselves.

Upon returning, their father approached them with switch in hand and bellowed, "Did you two push the outhouse over this afternoon?"

The older boy replied, "As learned in school, I cannot tell a lie. Yes, Father, we pushed over the outhouse this afternoon."

At this revelation, the farmer proceeded to flail the two boys severely and sent them to bed without supper.

In the morning, the two boys meekly approached the breakfast table and took their seats. Everything was quiet until their father finally said, "Have you two learned your lesson?"

"Sure, Dad!" said the big brother, "But, in school we learned that George Washington admitted to HIS father that he'd chopped down a cherry tree and he was forgiven because he told the truth."

"Ah yes!' said the farmer, "BUT, George's DAD, wasn't in the cherry tree when he chopped it down!!!"

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Miscellaneous

Interesting Things

• It shows some flash based 3D graphics where you can fly over ice covered mountains. Click here: Electric Oyster
  
  
• Have you tried Google 411. If not, give it a try. Click here: Google 411
  
  
• Read about the danger of plastic bags. Click here: Plastic Bags
  
  
• Pictures of earth from space: Click here: Blue Beauty
  

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Tennessee Granddaddy Says:
As long as you have enough to live comfortably, money is not really important. I think that God, Family, and Friends are what is really important.

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Quote of the Day
Common sense is not so common.
~Voltaire

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Joke of the Day

A motorist had a flat tire in front of an insane asylum. He took the wheel off, but when he stood up he tipped over the hubcap containing the bolts, spilling them all down a sewer drain.

A patient, looking through the fence, suggested that the man take one bolt from
the remaining three wheels to hold the fourth wheel in place until he could get to a service station.

The motorist thanked him profusely and said, "I don't know why you are in that place."

The patient said, "I'm in here for being crazy, not for being stupid."

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9-11 and a Good Magic Trick

Nine Eleven
Today is 9/11/2008. A day that brings lots of sad memories about the terrorist attacks made against the United States. We will never forget!

A Special September 11th
Today is also a special birthday. Do you remember Jade? She was a Vietnamese exchange student who lived with us last year. Well, today's is Jade's nineteenth birthday. Jade just started classes at BYU in Utah. It is so far from East Tennessee. But we're hoping she'll be able to visit and spend Christmas with us.

Jade

Card Trick on a Bus

I must tell you that this trick "blew my mind." It's another one of Criss Angel's amazing tricks, this one on a moving bus. I wonder how it does it?

~~~
Tennessee Granddaddy Says:

It's good to get close to nature.
We're never too old to enjoy God's creation.

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Quote of the Day
Good instincts usually tell you what to do long before your head has figured it out.
~Michael Burke

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Joke of the Day

While driving in Pennsylvania, a family caught up to an Amish carriage. The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign...

"Energy efficient vehicle. Runs on oats and grass. Caution: Do not step on exhaust."

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Money

The Truth About Money
Learn all about the value of money and what it will buy from Grandma. Click on the following link:

Grandma Tells About Money

You can also go to my Miscellany Page and download another version of this. Click below:

Download pdf file About Money

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Good Thoughts
From one of our church conventions we heard the following:

• If our prayers become too casual, we'll become a casualty.
  
  
• JOY means putting Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.

~~~
Tennessee Granddaddy Says:
Sometimes when I look back on my life and think about how I used to act, I feel ashamed of myself. I think I'm moving in the right direction, but I'm not there yet.

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Quote of the Day
If you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.
~Bob Hope

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Joke of the Day

After pulling a farmer over for speeding, a state trooper started to lecture him about his speed, pompously implying that the farmer didn't know any better and trying to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible. He finally started writing out the ticket, but had to keep swatting at some flies buzzing around his head.

The farmer said, "Having some problems with circle flies there are ya?"

The trooper paused to take another swat and said, "Well, yes, if that's what they are. I've never heard of circle flies."

The farmer was pleased to enlighten the cop. "Circle flies are common on farms. They're called circle flies because you almost always find them circling the back end of a horse."

The trooper continues writing for a moment, then says," Hey, are you trying to call me a horse's behind?"

"Oh no, officer." The farmer replies. "I have too much respect for law enforcement and police officers for that."

"That's a good thing," the officer says rudely, then goes back to writing the ticket.

After a long pause, the farmer added, "Hard to fool them flies, though."

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Thinking Fishing

Some Thoughts About Fishing
I used to fish off the bank. That was before I ever had a boat. I would stand on the bank and cast out as far as I could into the lake. When I got a boat, I would cast toward the bank and try to get as close as I could. Interesting, huh? You see this all the time. The best looking water to catch a fish is where you are not.

I've heard that the biggest fish is the one that almost got caught. Yes, indeed. That happened to me just last week. I hung a big one while trolling. Thought I was hung on the bottom. Then it started swimming away from the boat, ripping line off the reel. Then it snapped the 14 pound test line. I just wonder what it was and how much it weighed. The more I think about it, the bigger it gets. See what I mean.

They also say that a man who catches a big mess of fish doesn't go home by way of the back alley. Definitely not. I've never met a fisherman that didn't want to show off their catch. I guess that's definitely related to pride. I need to watch that!

There was a cartoon I saw one time that showed a man leaving the lake with one very large bass. It was bragging size! He passed a man that had caught several really small bluegills. The man with the little fish, said to the man with the giant catch, "Just caught one, huh?"

You've heard the old say about "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach him to fish, feed him for a life time." My wife modified it: "... Teach him to fish, and get rid of him all day."

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Tennessee Granddaddy Says:
I think it's a good thing if you can laugh at yourself when you do something stupid. I laugh a lot.

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Quote of the Day
Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.
~Confucius

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Joke of the Day

Once upon a time there lived three men: a doctor, a chemist, and an engineer. For some reason all three offended the king and were sentenced to die on the same day.

The day of the execution arrived, and the doctor was led up to the guillotine.

As he strapped the doctor to the guillotine, the executioner asked, "Head up or head down?"

"Head up," said the doctor.

"Blindfold or no blindfold?"

"No blindfold."

So the executioner raised the axe, and z-z-z-z-ing! Down came the blade--and stopped barely an inch above the doctor's neck. Well, the law stated that if an execution didn't succeed the first time the prisoner had to be released, so the doctor was set free.

Then the chemist was led up to the guillotine.

"Head up or head down?" said the executioner.

"Head up."

"Blindfold or no blindfold?"

"No blindfold."

So the executioner raised his axe, and z-z-z-z-ing! Down came the blade--and stopped an inch above the chemist's neck. Well, the law stated that if the execution didn't succeed the first time the prisoner had to be released, so the chemist was set free.

Finally the engineer was led up to the guillotine.

"Head up or head down?"

"Head up."

"Blindfold or no blindfold?"

"No blindfold."

So the executioner raised his axe, but before he could cut the rope, the engineer yelled out:

"WAIT! I see what the problem is!".

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Our Saturday Celebration

A Good Day
We had a great time yesterday celebrating my Dad's 95th birthday. Dad had all his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren with him except my daughter, Bethany, who lives in New York. This picture shows us at our luncheon. (click on the pictures for a larger view)

After our lunch, we went back to Dad's and enjoyed cake and ice cream. Look at Dad with that big cake. We had chocolate ice cream, too. It was delicious!

We had lots of fun talking and sharing stories. Alex and I went to the garden and picked some nice tomatoes for anyone who wanted to take some home. I got 3 bags full for Beverly and me!

More About Dad
Here's the picture and article that was in the Knoxville News-Sentinel on Sunday September 7, 2008.

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Tennessee Granddaddy Says:
I've learned it's good to have quiet time to be by yourself.

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Quote of the Day
Remember the difference between a boss and a leader;
a boss says "Go!" -
a leader says "Let's go!"
~E.M. Kelly

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Joke of the Day

A woman accompanied her husband to the doctor's office.

After his checkup, the doctor called the wife into his office alone. He said, "Your husband is suffering from a very severe stress disorder. If you don't follow my instructions carefully, your husband will surely die.

"Each morning, fix him a healthy breakfast. Be pleasant at all times. For lunch make him a nutritious meal. For dinner prepare an especially nice meal for him.

"Don't burden him with chores. Don't discuss your problems with him; it will only make his stress worse. Do not nag him. Most importantly, be kind and give him all your love and attention.

"If you can do this for the next 10 months to a year, I think your husband will regain his health completely."

On the way home, the husband asked his wife, "What did the doctor say?"

"He said you're going to die," she replied.

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