In My Generation

They read in the papers and hear on the air
Of stealing and killing and crime everywhere
They sigh and say as they notice the trend,
'This young generation, when will it end? '
But can they be sure that it's our fault alone,
That apart of the problem they should claim as their own?
Are they less guilty who place in our way,
Objects and subjects that lead us astray?
Too much hating, not enough love
Maybe we should give peace a little shove
Too much money and too much idle time
Too many movies of passion and crime
Too many books not fit to be read
Too much evil in what we hear said
Too many children encouraged to roam
Too many parents who never stay home
We don't make the movies or publish the books
We don't paint mean pictures of gangstas and crooks
Drugs and alcohol, they trouble our brain
They're done by older folk who are greedy for gain
Delinquent teenagers, oh how you condemn
The sins of a nation and you blame it on them
By the laws of the blameless, the savior made known~
Who shall cast the first stone?
For in so many cases
It's sad but it's true
The title DELINQUENT fits older folk too

The Giant Cigarette Lighter

A guy walks into a bar, sits down next to another guy and immediately notices the guy has a very large Bic cigarette lighter.
The first guy says “Wow, that’s a huge lighter…where did you get it?”
The guy replies “A genie from this bottle granted me one wish.”
“Great, can I try it?”
“Sure.”
The first guy rubs the bottle and the genie appears. “You are granted one wish” says the genie.
The guy says, “I want a million bucks!”
“Done” says the genie and disappears.
A few minutes go by and suddenly the bar door swings open and pouring in come ducks. Thousands and thousands of ducks falling all over each other through the bar door.
“I can’t believe this,” says the guy who had just placed his wish, “I asked for a million bucks, not a million ducks!”
The second guy then says, “Do you really think I wished for a 12 inch Bic?”

Funny Tale of a Lost Senior Citizen

When I went to lunch today, I noticed an old man sitting on a park bench sobbing his eyes out. I stopped and asked him what was wrong.
He told me, 'I have a 22 year old wife at home. She rubs my back every morning and then gets up and makes me pancakes, sausage, fresh fruit and freshly ground coffee.'
I continued, 'Well, then why are you crying?'
He added, 'She makes me homemade soup for lunch and my favourite biscuits, cleans the house and then watches sports TV with me for the rest of the afternoon.'
I said, 'Well, why are you crying?'
He said, 'For dinner she makes me a gourmet meal with wine and my favourite dessert and then we cuddle until the small hours.'
I inquired, 'Well then, why in the world would you be crying?'
He replied, 'I can't remember where I live.'

Dad's blessings

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angry, he raised his voice to his father and said "With all your money, you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. And as he did, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss Spirit's blessings and answers to our prayers because they do not arrive exactly as we have expected?

Love and time

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,
"Richness, can you take me with you?"
Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"
"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."
"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder,

Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"
"It was Time," Knowledge answered.
"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is."

Ninja

Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu is the senior style of nine martial arts schools for which Ninja GrandMaster Masaaki Hatsumi holds the secret scrolls (makimono). The keeper of the makimono is recognized as Soke - the leader of that particular martial art. Although historical records are incomplete and imprecise, it is believed that Togakure ryu Ninjutsu was founded by Daisuke Nishina in the 1100s. Daisuke, himself, was exposed to Shugendo training as a young man in the Togakure (now Togakushi) region in Japan. Daisuke's martial arts training went through it's ultimate test in 1181, when he joined with a local leader named Kiso Yoshinaka to battle troops sent to the area to subdue the local population. After three years of fighting, the local resistance movement was defeated and Daisuke was forced to flee for his life.
He wandered south and took refuge in the Iga region, located outside Kyoto. It was there that Daisuke met Kain Doshi, a yamabushi warrior monk, who taught him about spirituality, which Daisuke incorporated into his martial arts. Daisuke, in celebration of the birth of his ultimate power as a warrior, changed his name after the name of his homeland. From then on he was known as Daisuke Togakure; and his descendants are known as Togakure ryu Ninja. The ryu flourished for several centuries and experienced its greatest time of power in the 1500s before the rise of Shogun Iyeyasu Tokugawa.
The Tokugawa Shogunate brought to Japan peace and tranquility. The life-or-death environment under which the Ninja families had operated for many years was no more. Most warrior training was done away with; and many warrior traditions simply died out for reasons of disuse or lack of interest. Still, a number of these Ninja systems remained alive, passed on through the centuries by a few special persons who knew that these methods should never be totally forgotten.
There are Ninja still today. Surprisingly, there are more active practitioners, worldwide, than there have ever been in history. Dr. Hatsumi feels a responsibility to make the methods of Ninjutsu available to others, all over the world. He has spoken of a feeling that his teacher, Toshitsugu Takamatsu, still speaks to him from the grave, instructing him to carry on the Ninja traditions.

Reason to smile

Comedian George Burns said that he was advised: "Let a smile be your umbrella." He said, "I tried that once. I had pneumonia for six weeks and shrunk a $450 suit."
All right. Maybe it won't keep you dry in the rain, but there are other good reasons to smile. Author Brian Tracy tells us that the face requires 12 muscles to smile and 103 to frown. (Who counts these things?) He also says that whenever you smile at another person, it puts them at ease and raises their self-esteem. And if that isn't enough, when you smile it releases endorphins in your brain and gives you a feeling of well-being and contentment.
So a smile benefits the giver as well as the receiver. It's like receiving a gift in return every time we give one away!
Rabbi Hirsch gives more reasons to smile:
Smiling is a universal language.
+ People will enjoy being around you when you smile.
+ Smiling reduces stress, which may improve your overall health.
+ Smiling will change the sound qualities of your voice when you speak or sing.
+ A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive it, without making poorer those who give.
+ It takes but a moment, but the memory of it lasts forever.
+ It cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away.
And finally, some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as no one needs a smile so much as one who has no more to give.
Why not give out a few extra smiles today -- just for the fun of it!