A Good Quiz No Matter Who Created It

May 25, 2011

Here is a quick quiz that demonstrates the value of friendship.

I love receiving neat stuff in the mail and wondering whether it is really true or just someone’s idea of what should be true. One of these recently came to my inbox and said that Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts cartoons, had designed a quiz to determine the importance of having people care about you. So I looked it up on Snopes, one of my favorite sites for tracking down fake facts.

Apparently this set of questions first appeared in about 2000. It often came with a quotation at the end that was one that the cartoonist did have a character say, “Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today . . . . it’s already tomorrow in Australia.”

Someone must have seen that line attributed to Schulz and thought the whole piece was by him.

Nevertheless, I think the questions are quite worth asking oneself and so I give them to you, attributing them to that famous author, Anonymous. You are not asked to actually answer the questions, but to ponder them. I think that’s good because I would have a hard time with many of them.

First, ask yourself these questions:
1.  Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2.  Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3.  Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4.  Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5.  Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6.  Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners. How did you do?

The point is , none of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies..
Awards tarnish..
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1.  List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2.  Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3.  Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4.  Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5.  Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?
The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money…or the most awards.
They simply are the ones who care the most.
— Anonymous

 

Today I am probably driving to Glacier National Park and once more gathering wonderful memories. To see how I will do that, read Getting Ready to Gather Memories.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

A Promise Not to Text

February 9, 2011

Discover how you can help prevent car accidents.

My grandson was killed several years ago but by a driver who fell asleep at the wheel. So I know the pain of suddenly losing a person you love very much. It is doubly painful to know that the accident could have been prevented.

That is why I want to share with you a video my brother sent me yesterday.  I think everyone who has ever texted (apparently it’s a real word) should absolutely watch. It is ten minutes but can save a life, maybe even yours.

The AT&T “Don’t Text While Driving” documentary below focuses on several young people who were texting while driving; it was the last thing they would ever type. The CoolestOne.com, where I first saw the video, says it should be shown in every high school. I agree. Even more, every parent should require their children to watch it.

And if you text, watch it even if you don’t “usually” text while driving. Any distraction that takes your eyes off the road has the potential to kill you or another person. Is the risk worth it to get that message typed immediately?

After you watch the video, be sure to scroll down and read the rest of the post for a text challenge.

After watching this video, I wondered what I could do, besides putting it in my blog and sending it to family and friends. Then it hit me. Start a campaign to get people who text to promise not to text while driving. I was about to start one on this post when I went back to the CoolestOne.com and discovered they had created the following pledges:

I pledge I will not text while I am driving.

I pledge I will not text while driving and will use only hands free calling if I need to speak on the phone while I am driving.

I pledge I will not text or use my phone while I am driving. If I need to use my phone, I will pull off the road to a safe location.

I wonder if the pledge might catch on more quickly if it were written in “text” language. I frankly don’t know what that would look like since I don’t text. But send me your contributions of any of the pledge statements above in the shortened words and phrases you would use if you were to type it on a cell phone.

Then send that text — when you are not driving — to everyone on your contact list. See how many of them will be willing to take the pledge with you.

I will post all contributions on this blog once a week for three weeks so more people can see it.

Since it takes two to have a text conversation, here is one more suggestion. Pledge not to engage in texting or a cell phone conversation with someone who doesn’t have a hands free phone if you know the intended recipient is behind the wheel. The other person may not want you to stop the conversation, but at least you won’t be responsible for encouraging him or her to drive distracted.

How much better to later see your friend healthy and in person than laid out on a cold slab or reduced to ashes in a jar.

Trust me. I know of what I speak.

P.S. I don’t insist that others be politically correct, but I did wonder why all of the young people who were shown in the video were white. Surely people of color also text while driving and many of them have been killed as well. Perhaps none of those families were willing to be photographed. It’s just something I tend to notice since I live in an interracial area and seeing people of all one color always strikes me as unusual. It doesn’t distract from the power of the video; I just think it would be more impactful for more people if there were teens of other races.

The Pleasure of Friends and Museums

February 24, 2007

Giving thanks for friends who come to visit.

I am throwing this entry together to let you know that I won’t be back here until Tuesday. My longest-time friends came from out of town yesterday and we’re having a grand reunion for four days doing touristy stuff. We’re beyond the age when Disneyland’s massive crowds hold much attraction, but Southern California has some wonderful museums and that’s where we’re mostly heading.

Today there is the Queen Mary 2, which is shown on the left as she came out of Sydney in 1941 as a troop carrier and on the right as she is today, land locked as a museum, restaurant and event center in Long Beach, California. Tomorrow there’s the Huntington Gardens and Norton Simon Museum. On Monday we go out to the Ronald Reagan Library, the first I’ve ever gone to a presidential library. We’ll get to tour the Air Force One that Reagan used. Tuesday I’m back at work, refreshed and ready to write again.

So you can appreciate, I hope, my prayer of gratitude for this morning.

I give thanks for life.

I give thanks for friends.

I give thanks for those who work to keep treasures of the past alive and available for the public.

Have a nice weekend. I’m sure I will as well.