Words Of Wisdom


The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose.

I' m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.

She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..."

"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.

We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went.
She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.

I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.

Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this
whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.

We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.

If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.

The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."

She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.

A good weekend to all...

OH,
I love the part where Bette Midler sings "Wind Beneath My Wings"!

Oh wait,
I may be getting that movie mixed-up with that one where she goes around masquerading as a jewish dude.

Or am I thinking of Big Momma's House*?
(* Those fuckin' Wayan Brothers....: where do they get their ideas?)

Illustrator said:

Beautiful.. and so true!

Wow..... very inspriational and a beautiful message.....been feeling a bit moldy since I turned 40....but I'm feeling a revival of the ol' Peter Pan Syndrome.....

forwarding to all my peeps...posting it in my office.....spreading the word.....
[Edited 3/2/07 5:07am]

She was my kind of people.

[b]REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

We make a Living by what we get, We make a Life by what we give.


Exactly!!!

my favorite rose

I'm a living testament to not growing up.

I'm a Toys R Us kid!

Some say love it is a river
that drowns the tender reed
Some say love it is a razer
that leaves your soul to blead

Some say love it is a hunger
an endless aching need
I say love it is a flower
and you it's only seed

It's the heart afraid of breaking
that never learns to dance
It's the dream afraid of wakingthat never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken
who cannot seem to give
and the soul afraid of dyingthat never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been too long
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winterfar beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed
that with the sun's love
in the spring
becomes the rose

madartista said:

The Mistress is SUCH a sap for this fucking song.

This part never fails to give me goosebumps! Sap, I tell you.

FunkMistress said:

co-co-co-sign on that shit!



BUCKETS!

madartista said:

Dance with me in two months!

FunkMistress said:

True true. Touching story.

I turned 40 in December but I still feel 18 ( Renegade20)

I love love loved the movie the ROSE...


m

That's me too, I'll be turning 40 in a few months and I don't feel anything close to that... I still feel 18, 19, also.

The Fruitcake Lady

http://www.youtube.com/wa...nudM458uz8

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

Whats with the hatred??? I didn't say I WAS moldy....just had a momentary lapse and felt 40..it passed rather quickly...JEEZ!!!

..but trust me, I'm in better physical and mental shape than almost all of my troops (I'm in charge of 25 troops, plus 1 Lieutenant who I mentor) and still turn a 19-20 year old female head every now and then.....