So we, South Africa, celebrated Human Rights Day yesterday.
Personally I relished the oppertunity to celebrate my rights. Especially my right to stay at home and play computer games and design a Magic Deck - I am thinking of splashing green though.
I heard on the radio earlier that some other (developed) countries doesn't have a human rights day. I believe it's our RIGHT to have a human rights day. :-)
I think however that for black south african's (and all others who were part of the "struggle") this means something else. To have gained back their human rights is actually truely something to be celebrated.
And therefore, without having done anything really constructive (in a non-magic sense) I actually believe that this day is something special and should be cherished.
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I generally don't think it's a good idea to post a comment on my own story, but I felt that this isn't really part of human rights day, but has some relevance to my blog post.
My Friday Story
1000 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 roundup 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 have 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 God has blessed me with a little extra
time to be with my loved ones.
"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, and 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," I said. "It has 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 AND MAY YOU HAVE MANY HAPPY YEARS AFTER YOU
LOSE ALL YOUR MARBLES.
Here's a link, no idea if it's the "original" though.
http://www.landofmarbles.com/marbles-1000marbles.html
Wow. Really cool story. Wish I listened to the broadcast. I was too busy sleeping my Saturday away.
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