Morning Friend,A local woman who last week won a third share of a $10 million lottery says a fortune teller predicted that very thing....30 years ago.Isn't that amazing!?Boy, now I know why they call them "fortune" tellers.And skeptical old me used to think that those sideshow seers were nothing more than heartless shills who took advantage of people's superstitious naiveté and hopeful vulnerability. ( like the one who said I'd be "happily married with 4 children"!?)Now old "Zelda" - which I'll call our prodigious prognosticator - was likely non-specific about just when the lottery would be won so 30 years is not too outrageous of a "window"; maybe for romance, but not money.It's probably not in Zelda's best interests to reveal actual dates associated with her visions.The titillating vagueness of her predictions keeps the "marks"...I mean CLIENTS coming back.And I can certainly see tremendous problems associated with someone KNOWING the actual date on which they are going to be a winner.Our winner- whom I'm calling "Esperanza"- might have spent the last 30 years lollygagging instead of faithfully working and spending her $12 a week on lottery tickets.Indeed Esperanza might well have become a rather unsavory, lackadaisical character if she simply rolled through life KNOWING that her reward was just a few decades down the road.Imagine the TAB she might have run up... if anyone could run one for 30 years? ( there goes your 3 mil!)Imagine how many people she might have alienated and bridges she might have burned knowing a small fortune was just...a short half a lifetime away.Imagine what a mindless blur the 30 years would be; holding on...and waiting.Imagine 30 years of colorless and odorless TODAYS spent longing for the taste and essence of tomorrow's promise.I can't imagine a jail sentence being any less debilitating to one's enjoyment of life than simply marking time till your ship comes in.I don't imagine any sized jackpot could compensate for that many lost years.Besides making interesting copy for the media, these warm and fuzzy stories about lottery winners and fortune tellers are a boon to lottery sales and the fortune telling industry.This particular one got me thinking, after I stopped laughing.I'm quite certain that Esperanza hasn't spent every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday morning of the past 30 years checking her lottery numbers and cursing Zelda's incompetence.Like everyone else with a dream, a lucky rabbit's foot, a four leaf clover and a crystal ball's "certainty", she's been faithfully buying tickets; likely more faithful in the need to have a ticket in order to win, than the accoutrements of superstition and luck.The approximately $18,720 ( not counting Casino visits), which she's spent in the last 30 years is certainly "chump change" now that she's won $3.3 million, but she earned it along the way, working, living her life and hoping... for the Big One.Well "good for you Ezzie!" I say, and "good for Zelda" also, who will likely be booked solid for a long time, ( unless the poor dear saw her own demise in the same imminent vision as Esperanza's windfall?)For many folks, the Ultimate Lottery Grand Prize awaits with the Good Lord in Heaven.No fortune teller of any prowess can predict the winning names or dates of this multiple-winner-lotto.It's drawn at any and every second of every day.Winners come from all walks of life; all stations and situations.You can get a ticket everywhere you find someone in need of helping hand or a kind word.The smile, the grateful handshake, and the warm feeling are advanced subsidiary prizes.While "luck" doesn't enter into this contest, I count myself blessedly fortuitous in recent years to have discovered the strength, humility and serenity needed to tip the odds in my favor.Remember my friend the bottom line of lotteries the world over....you can't win, if you don't have a ticket.In the meantime, if a fortune teller sees romance in your "future"....ask her if she can narrow it down a bit.love tImMy:/
My Love For You by Timothy Gerald Franklin Lawrence
is bigger
than a shoe
The End
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Look after yourself...without health
you are of no use to anyone.
If I owned this company,
would I hire someone like me?
THREE Angels!
Angela, Ash & Janelle
Ab's ( REALLY GOOD) Joke of the WEEK!
A great example of Flawless Male logic —
This is a conversation between a husband and his wife. Please note that she asks five or six questions which he answered quite simply; but, then she is speechless after answering only one question.
Woman: Do you drink beer?
Man: Yes.
Woman: How many beers a day?
Man: Usually about three.
Woman: How much do you pay per beer?
Man: $5.00 which includes a tip (this is where it gets scary!).
Woman: And how long have you been drinking?
Man: About 20 years, I suppose.
Woman: So a beer costs $5 and you have three beers a day which puts your spending each month at $450. In one year, that would be approximately $5400, correct?
Man: Sounds Correct.
Woman: If in 1 year you spend $5400, not accounting for inflation, over the past 20 years puts your spending at about $108,000, correct?
Man: Again, sounds about right.
Woman: Do you know that if you didn’t drink so much beer, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 20 years, you could have now bought an airplane?
Man: Could be true. Do you drink beer?
Woman: No.
Man: Where is your airplane?
for Kenneth Mayo
Hope AND SWIM !
When I fall into an ocean, I know with certainty
That I am wet and startled will at once be plain to me
But will I sink or will I swim...to the depths or to the shore?
Perhaps a log will come drifting by, or a boat out on a tour?
I could hope as I was sinking, but I’d still drop to the floor
And hoping would I be, for logs and tour boats evermore
So I think I’ll set my sights on land and give my legs a kick
And stroke though I am weary, my decision will I stick
While Hope sustains the helpless whose outlook is often dim
Hope also fuels the Faithful, giving Strength to those who swim
So even if I falter against this fearsome tide of health
The shores of my fulfillment rise beneath me in my stealth
I’m hopeful for the strength and the courage not to give in
I thank the Lord for Faith and my resolve to hope AND swim!
My prayers and God’s Blessings be with you my friend!
Timothy Lawrence
Abraham Stainer Esq.
a.k.a. "Ab"
Tinker-Timmy & Friends
Jan'l. Angeela, Ash and Ab
Monday, July 20, 2009
Making your own luck -#45
Life Stories
The end of life…is not!
It is the end of a Chapter in a Grand, Spiritual, Novel !
These chapters called “life”, are enriching, engrossing
narratives of one’s earthly adventures.
In them, are an abundance of supporting characters and
supplementary plot elements, often curiously overlapping
and mysteriously intertwining.
Their length and depth varies from person to person;
from protagonist to protagonist.
Some people who have “died” in chapters ended many years
ago, are still quite “alive” today!
Their SPIRIT; their influence, their charisma, their wisdom,
their character, their enthusiasm, their joy, their ESSENCE....
continues to fill the “life pages” of all they’ve touched.
Their frail and finite physical chapter is ended, but the richness
of their story flourishes, and enhances God’s Novel!
Like timeless passages, indelibly marked in our hearts and
memories, to be re-read and forever treasured….
their lives never truly “end”!
When through God’s Mercy, the earthly narrative of someone
we love, ends….their life does not!
And for that, we are truly blessed!
* Dedicated with gratitude and love to the enduring Spirit of all who transcend fear and inspire faith by truly living God’s gift of life to the fullest!! T.L.