Bubba Applies for a Job

THE LITTLE THINGS

   A 93 year old woman dragged her stroller next to me; she removed the oxygen hose underneath her nose and sat down. Because of the long line, she had waited for over an hour to have me draw her caricature last Friday. With pleading eyes she uttered the words I will never forget. "I want to die! Why are they keeping me alive? I am in constant pain. My family, who lives in San Marino (a very expensive neighborhood a few miles away) never visit me. I want to die!"

   I didn't know how to react. I didn't know what to say. I started to draw her caricature as I pondered a response. After a few minutes her portrait was done. Then I held her frail hand and, with her permission, I prayed for her. She smiled.

   Wednesday, a business associate of mine, a cancer survivor 5 times over, was recovering from a recent follow up procedure and I could tell that she was in pain. I took her hand and prayed for her. She was pleasantly surprised.   A young man approached me and was desperate for a job. So I talked to a restaurateur and convinced him to hire the lad.

   A short poem I just wrote:

Little acts of kindness,
A comforting touch.
They hardly blip an effort,
Yet to others they mean much.

   I admit I was a little concerned and embarrassed when I prayed in public and with people I hardly knew but when I saw how it helped them, I knew it was the right thing to do. TGIF people!

Wisdom from Naomi of N. Hollywood, CA

Bubba Applies for a Job
Contributed by Russ of Monrovia, CA

Bubba applied for an engineering position at a Lake Charles refinery. A Yankee applied for the same job and both applicants having the same qualifications were asked to take a test by the manager.

Upon completion of the test, both men only missed one of the questions.

The manager went to Bubba and said, "Thank you for your interest, but we've decided to give the Yankee the job."

Bubba asked, "And why are you giving him the job? We both got nine questions correct. This being Louisiana, and me being a Southern boy, I should get the job!"

The manager said, "We have made our decision not on the correct answers, but rather on the one question that you both missed."

Bubba then asked, "And just how would one incorrect answer be better than the other?"

The manager replied, "Bubba, it's like this. On question #4 the Yankee put down; 'I don't know.' You put down, 'Neither do I.' "

No Joke: Prevent Check Fraud Using Uniball Pens
Contributed by Tom L., a Security Consultant from Pasadena, CA
(Forgive this plug for Uniball but I want to help protect you --- Raoul)

Tom's email:
This past week volunteer Julie (she’s a research scientist at Caltech) talked with one of the detectives about a case where the criminals got personal checks from victims, used bleach to wash off the “recipient” that victims wrote on the check, and replaced it with another “recipient,” themselves. On some checks, the criminals also changed the payable amount to a larger dollar value.

Julie did an experiment: she took one of her personal checks, and cut it into five pieces; she wrote four times on each piece, using a Uniball roller gel pen, a ballpoint pen, a purple ink pen, and a red pen. She took four of the pieces and soaked them in bleach and in three other substances to see which of the four inks would wash off. Examples of the unwashed sample and one washed sample are attached.

The bottom line is the writing done with the Uniball pen was not washed off in any of the test strips.

Uniball pens are marketed that they thwart any fraudulent individuals who are looking to commit check fraud.

We agree. Using Uniball roller gel pens will help thwart some identity thieves.

Other thieves use computer scanners, but at least this is a start in protecting yourself.

Videos of the week:

Colorectal Surgeon
Contributor: Tom of Pasadena, CA

A little medical humor here.

The Empty Chair
Contributor: Tom of Pasadena, CA

Just in time for Veterans Day this coming Wednesday, the 11th of November. This got me teary eyed for some reason.

Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance
Contributor: Art of Pasadena, CA

Unusually serious video of Red Skelton, a famous comedian during the 60s, explaining what the Pledge of Allegiance really means.

History of the World in 2 Minutes
Contributor: Tom of Pasadena, CA

17 year old Joe Bush put this history lesson together. Interesting to see what photographs he considered important enough to include.

On the Wings of Love by 2 Teens
Contributor: Tom of Pasadena, CA

2 Filipino teenagers do a beautiful rendition of this love song. If you enjoy this, look around Youtube and you'll find that Ralph Jay has several other videos. Can't help but notice how thin he is. So young. So talented.

Deliverance: Dog Style
Contributor: Charlie of New Jersey

We end our Friday fun with these two friends doing their version of Dueling Banjos. Have a good weekend people! TGIF!