> > A THOUSAND MARBLES
> >
> > The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the
> quiet
> > solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the
> > unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few
> hours
> > of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
> >
> > A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the kitchen with a steaming cup
> of
> > coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a
> > typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life
> seems
> > to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it.
> >
> > I turned the volume up on my radio in order to listen to a Saturday
> morning
> > talk show. I heard an older sounding chap with a golden voice.  You know
> > the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business
> > himself.  He was talking about "a thousand marbles" to someone
> > named "Tom".  I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to
> say.
> >
> > "Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they
> > pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your
> family
> > so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or
> > seventy hours a week to make ends meet.  Too bad you missed your
> daughter's
> > dance recital." He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something
> > that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities."  And
> > that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles."
> "You
> > see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person
> > lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live
> less,
> > but on average, folks live about seventy-five years."  "Now then, I
> > multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of
> > Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime.  Now
> stick
> > with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part."  "It took me until I
> was
> > fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail", he went on,
> > "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred
> Saturdays.
> > I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a
> > thousand of them left to enjoy.  "So I went to a toy store and bought
> every
> > single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to
> > round-up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large,
> > clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio.
> Every
> > Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away." "I
> > found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the
> really
> > important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here
> on
> > this earth run out to help get your priorities
> > straight."  "Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with
> you
> > and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very
> > last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next
> Saturday
> > then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all
> > use is a little more time."
> >
> > "It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your
> loved
> > ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!"
> >
> > You could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show's
> moderator
> > didn't have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a
> lot
> > to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to
> the
> > gym.  Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon
> > honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast." "What brought this
> on?"
> > she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time
> > since we spent a Saturday together with the kids.  Hey, can we stop at a
> > toy store while we're out? I need to buy some
> > marbles."
> >
> > HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND MAY ALL SATURDAYS BE SPECIAL!