Sister Bear

‘MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL’

You say you will never forget where you were when

you heard the news On September 11, 2001.

Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room

with a man who called his wife to say ‘Good-Bye.’ I

held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the

peace to say, ‘Honey, I am not going to make it, but it

is OK..I am ready to go.’

I was with his wife when he called as she fed

breakfast to their children. I held her up as she

tried to understand his words and as she realized

he wasn’t coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a

woman cried out to Me for help. ‘I have been

knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!’ I said.

‘Of course I will show you the way home – only

believe in Me now.’

I was at the base of the building with the Priest

ministering to the injured and devastated souls.

I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He

heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat,

with every prayer. I was with the crew as they

were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the

believers there, comforting and assuring them that their

faith has saved them.

I was in Texas , Virginia , California , Michigan , Afghanistan .

I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.

Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew

every name – though not all know Me. Some met Me

for the first time on the 86th floor.

Some sought Me with their last breath.

Some couldn’t hear Me calling to them through the

smoke and flames; ‘Come to Me… this way… take

my hand.’ Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.

But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day. You

may not know why, but I do. However, if you were

there in that explosive moment in time, would you have

reached for Me?

Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey

for you. But someday your journey will end. And I

will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may

be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are

‘ready to go.’

I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

G-d

Yeah, I actually heard it your way but I just copied and pasted the email.

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent each of them on a quest, in turn, to go look at a pear tree a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in the winter, and the fourth in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back he called them all together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said it was ugly, bent and twisted.

The second son said, no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms and smelled sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The fourth son disagreed with them all. He said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right since they had each seen the tree, but only in one season. He told them you cannot judge a person or a tree by only one season. and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that

come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer,fulfilment of your fall.

Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

Don’t judge life by one difficult season.

Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time.

Aspire to Inspire Before You Expire

Live Simply Love Generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly.

Leave the Rest to God.

Happiness keeps You Sweet,

Trials keep You Strong,

Sorrows keep You Human

Failures keep You Humble

Success keeps You Glowing,

But Only God keeps You Going. (I also heard this that only friends keep you going.)

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina , KS – 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters

2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph

4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of ‘lie,”play,’ and ‘run’

5. Define case; illustrate each case.

6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.

7 – 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?

4.. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1 Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)

[Do we even know what this is??]

1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals

4. Give four substitutes for caret ‘u.’ (HUH?)

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final ‘e.’ Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks

and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of North America

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each..

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying ‘he only had an 8th grade education’ a whole new meaning, doesn’t it? Plus a new found respect for our elders…..

Also shows you how poor our education system has become and, NO, I don’t have the answers!

How poor our education system has become is an understatement!

There are four things you cannot recover:

1. The stone…after it’s thrown.

2. The word…after it’s said.

3. The occasion…after the loss. (I think it’s after it’s over or something like that.)

4. The time…after it’s gone.

‘I Hope You Dance… ‘

This was written by an 83-year-old woman to her friend.

*The last line says it all. *

Dear Bertha,

I’m reading more and dusting less. I’m sitting in the yard and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I’m spending more time with my family and friends and less time working.

Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. I’m trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

I’m not “saving” anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, or the first Amaryllis blossom.

I wear my good blazer to the market. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries. I’m not saving my good perfume for special parties, but wearing it for clerks in the hardware store and tellers at the bank.

“Someday” and “one of these days” are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it’s worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now

I’m not sure what others would’ve done had they known they wouldn’t be here for the tomorrow that we all take for granted. I think they would have called family members and a few close friends. They might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think they would have gone out for a Chinese dinner or for whatever their favorite food was.

I’m guessing; I’ll never know.

It’s those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew my hours were limited. Angry because I hadn’t written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn’t tell my husband and parents often enough how much I truly love them. I’m trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, tell myself that it is special.

Every day, every minute, every breath truly is a gift from God.

If you received this, it is because someone cares for you. If you’re too busy to take the few minutes that it takes right now to forward this, would it be the first time you didn’t do the little thing that would make a difference in your relationships? I can tell you it certainly won’t be the last.

Take a few minutes to send this to a few people you care about, just to let them know that you’re thinking of them.

“People say true friends must always hold hands, but true friends don’t need to hold hands because they know the other hand will always be there.”

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance.

Isn’t it funny that $10 seems like a lot when we give

tzedaka, but so little when we go shopping?

Isn’t it funny how one hour seems so long when we

worship G-d, and so short when we watch a ball

game?

Isn’t it funny how 2 hours in shul seem so much

longer than when we watch a video?

Isn’t it funny how when a ball game goes into

overtime we get so excited, but when prayers last a

little longer than usual, we complain?

Isn’t it funny how we find reading a whole Parsha

from the Torah tiring, but it’s so easy to read 100

pages of the latest novel?

Isn’t it funny how we want to sit in the front row when

we go to a basketball game but we sit in the last

rows of the shul?

Isn’t it funny how we need 2 or three weeks notice

when there is an event to attend in the shul, and

how we ! are always available for other events or

programs?

Isn’t it funny how we have difficulty to learn the

parsha, but so easy to learn and tell the latest

gossip?

Isn’t it funny how we believe in the newspapers, but

we question the Torah?

Isn’t it funny how we send millions of jokes via e-

mail that spread like wildfire, but when we receive

something about Judaism, we don’t re-send them to

anyone?

It is just so not funny!!

Do you think that Hashem is deciding on who He should save by Gog U’Magog based on an email???? Hopefully Mashiach is coming but he’s not sparing someone because of an email, in my opinion at least.

Not sure if these are really strategic but they do require brains.

Skip-Bo – but I like Phase 10 better.

Mahjong – it’s really expensive (used is around $100) but a lot of fun.

Rummikub

Malarky – is a great one for laughs. Not really Strategic and doesn’t have a board but you do need your brain to make up lies. (Which isn’t assur since everyone will know your lying right away. Which I learned is fine.)

Here is the story of the P’tach kid at the baseball game. I was going through my emails and saw it.

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech

that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its

dedicated staff, he offered a question:

‘When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.

Where is the natural order of things in my son?’

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. ‘I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an

opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.’

Then he told the following story:

that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to

play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and

Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in

my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously

ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat

properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the

plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay’s life, moved in a few steps to lob

the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman .

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman’s head, out of reach of all team mates.

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base..

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly

ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball, the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance

to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions so he, too, intentionally

threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’s head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

third!

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team

Shay didn’t make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home

and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day !

I noticed that girls (or women) once they get married it’s like they don’t have to keep tznuis anymore. What’s with that? I’ve seen it a couple of times. Frum woman walking with their knees uncovered and stuff once they get married. What would be their thinking as to why its okay and things?

Stone

TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING

THROUGH THE DESERT

DURING SOME POINT OF THE

JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN

ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND

SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE

IN THE FACE

THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED

WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT

SAYING ANYTHING,

WROTE IN THE SAND

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND

SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE

THEY KEPT ON WALKING,

UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS,

WHERE THEY DECIDED

TO TAKE A BATH

THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN

SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE

MIRE! AND STARTED DROWNING,

BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.

AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM

THE NEAR DROWNING,

HE WROTE ON A STONE:

“TODAY MY BEST FRIEND

SAVED MY LIFE”

THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED

AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND

ASKED HIM, “AFTER I HURT YOU,

YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW,

YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?”

THE FRIEND REPLIED

“WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US

WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN

IN SAND, WHERE W INDS OF

FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.

BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES

SOMETHING GOOD FOR US,

WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE

WHERE NO WIND

CAN EVER ERASE IT”

LEARN TO WRITE

YOUR HURTS IN

THE SAND AND TO

CARVE YOUR

BENEFITS IN STONE.

THEY SAY IT TAKES A

MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL

PERSON, AN HOUR TO

APPRECIATE

THEM, A DAY

TO LOVE THEM, BUT THEN

AN ENTIRE LIFE

TO FORGET THEM.

There is a Gemara, I do not know where, that says its permissable to be ???? for Shalom and it might even be considered a mitzva. Lying is assur, but not everyone says from ???? ??? ????. Most (I believe the Rambam and the like) hold that its falls under ????? ?????, where then it would be muttar to be change around like by Sara, and what the brother’s said to Yosef, and Hashem told Shmuel to go annoint Dovid but to say he was bringing Korbanos.

Being ???? means stressing a different thing, or leaving something out. You are allowed to give the wrong impression, ex. if someone asks where you’re going you could say how do you go…

You do have to be careful not to actually lie. Ex. if doing a prank call (its the first thing that came to mind) you cant say Hi, I’m Bob or wtvr but if they ask whats your name you could say Bob.

If its for personal gain its assur.

oomis – that’s why I said there’s a difference. I have friends who are MO and they are Shomer Shabbos and everything. But I also know people who, I guess you wouldn’t call them frum then, that won’t drive but watch TV. It’s the sad truth. What would you call them?

I do NOT think that’s normal for regular MO people.

And from the way you describe yourself, I wouldn’t consider you MO from the way you just described yourself. I would consider you normal. So labels are all a matter of perspective.

There were two brothers, Harry and Sammy, living in this town. They were misers and hated in town. Basically they were not good. Anyway, one day Sammy dies and Harry comes to the Rabbi and says that if he would pay the rabbi $2,000,000 (2 million) if he would say that Sammy was a mentch. The Rabbi thinks for a while and finally agrees.

By the funeral the Rabbi says how bad Sammy was, how he was such a miser and did all these terrible things…

…but compared to Harry he was a mentch.

I think by seeing the small things that Hashem does for you. Like I wanted to go somewhere and a bunch of things had to come together so I could go. Even the timing was perfect, if it was two minutes later, then it wouldn’t have been worth it.

Also, I know that when I’m not feeling that safe, like walking past a dangerous place or past unsavory characters saying Ain Od Milvado makes me feel calmer and that Hashem is watching over me especially.