The Gingham Dress

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston , and walked timidly without an appointment in to the Harvard University President's outer office.

The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge . 'We'd like to see the president,' the man said softly. 'He'll be busy all day,' the secretary snapped. 'We'll wait,' the lady replied.

For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't, and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted. 'Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave,' she said to him! He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, and he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.

The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple. The lady told him, 'We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard.. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus.'

The president wasn't touched. He was shocked. 'Madam,' he said, gruffly, 'we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery. '

'Oh, no,' the lady explained quickly. 'We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard.'

The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed, 'A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.'

For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, 'Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?' Her husband nodded.

The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the university that bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them.
...........................A TRUE STORY by Malcolm Forbes.

'People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel'.

For everything there is a season under heaven

Welcome back to the Gypsies' blog - yes, you guessed it! We are moving again! What can we say? We just can't find our place in this world! Are we supposed to? hehe

Take a look at these pictures that Bethany took for us this past Thursday...they are of a house for which we made an offer. It is a 1945 6 bed., 3 bath home on over an acre. It is in town, but tucked away! I KNEW it was our place the moment we drove up! It's "different" just like we are!

So, whatchya think from what you can see in these?

Scriptures to pray until the election

It is critical that Christians pray for the coming presidential election. There is amazing power in united prayer. Pray with others whenever possible. The power of prayer can overcome any obstacle or ungodly influence and, indeed, do great things!

Psalm 32:6-7 - Pray that Christians will be motivated to pray faithfully for this election and that the Lord would deliver us from the wrong leaders.
Psalm 16:7-8 - Pray that the Lord would give wise counsel and guidance to His choice for president in this campaign.
Proverbs 16:13 - Pray that our nation will listen to the truth and not be led astray.
Psalm 18:32-36 - Pray that the Lord would arm the man of His choice with strength; that He would guide him in battle (this election), and that He would sustain him and give him victory. Hebrews 11:32-34 – Pray that God's man could, through faith, persevere and maintain his courage throughout this election.
Psalm 125 - Pray that those who trust in the Lord will not be shaken.
Psalm 86:14-17 - Pray that the Lord would defeat those who have no regard for Him in this election.
2 Corinthian 12:9 – Pray that the Lord would empower and enable his man in any area of weakness.
II Kings 13:16 - Pray that the Lord would put His hands on the man of His choice for president (and his team) and guide them in this election.
Proverbs 1:5-6 - Pray that God's man will listen with discernment, add to his knowledge, and receive wise counsel in this campaign..
John 16:33 - Pray that the man of God's choice would be given wisdom and ability from the Lord to overcome any obstacle or difficulty during this campaign.
Acts 17:30 - Pray for repentance for yourself and for our nation.
Luke 12:54-57 – Pray that God's man and our nation will be discerning and do what is right. Philippians 4:13 - Pray that the Lord's choice for President will have special strength and unusual ability from God.

THANK YOU!

It's REALLY here!

I woke up - feelin GOOD for the first time in almost a month (YAY!!!) and to a house that is 68 degrees - another YAY!!! I love the chilliness.

Job-hunting for both of us online again today; more seriously, though now that Goodyear has announced yet another plant shutdown; this one Oct. 25th through Nov. 2nd. With probably another week at Thanksgiving and another 2 at Christmas PLUS any other ones, it is no doubt time to move on.

If the house doesn't sell right away and we both have jobs down in Birmingham, Bethany has allowed us the use of their "spare" bedroom for a while. That might just come in handy in order to save all the wear and tear on our old vehicles and to save time and gas to drive to and from Gadsden. Hopefully, if that has to happen, it won't be for too long.

Autumn 2008

Vaughn has left for training at work. I am sitting here at the computer checking email, reading friend's blogs, etc.

It is quiet in the house. I like quiet.


I have been dealing with more physical problems the past week or two. Even as I write this, I have the overwleming desire to scratch my own eyes out. Can't ever quite figure out if I am suffering from allergies and/or a cold. Itchy eyes do not usually indicate a cold in my experience.


I went to my trusted google and typed in "Remedies for Itchy Eyes." What it came down to was that it all has to do with my immune system - Naw, really?! EVERYTHING seems to come back to that with me. Time for change again.

Some dear friends welcomed a precious little girl to their household yesterday. Actor Paul Newman recently passed away. CHANGE. we are contemplating making another move (no news there - just stick around for a few months and it will occur!).

Change can be exciting. Starting over with a fresh slate. In my case, that is usually VERY welcome as I usually have made some fiasco of our latest "assignment." Change can also be scary. Thinking about going back to work in a position with a lot of responsibility scares me. What with the way I have been physically-speaking for the last 6 years, that especially concerns me.

Vaughn's job at Goodyear (through an employment agency - actualy through 3 employment agencies in the past year!) has been a bit unstable since July. They have already had 3 plant shutdowns - a week each time -since then. With me not working, we haven't been able to build up any kind of reserves (savings), but thankfully, we have not been late or missed one payment and we are not anywhere close to starving (HEY now! NO fat jokes!) Go has, once again, provided everything that we have needed as we needed it.

So, why another change you might ask - well, for one, Vaughn's job situation. Promises, promises. Also, I am concerned for him; he gets hurt all too often for my liking at his job. Ask to see his latest round of bumps and bruises and burns! Secondly, Vaughn reasons that it is silly to live so close and yet so far away from Bethany and her family - to not be able to attend church with them and help out more with the boys since we live an hour north. Thirdly, and not any less in importance due to numbering - Vaughn is lonely. I have prayed and prayed for a "Jonathan" or a "David" to come along side of him. It has not happened. As we already have a number of great friends down in the Birmingham area (most at the same church where Bethany and Joseph attend), it just makes sense to migrate down there.

So, we are both looking for full-time jobs in the Birmginham area. We also have our house up for sale and are looking for one down there.

I will miss Gadsden; I feel very at home here. My husband needs more - so here we go again!

Hopefully, this will be the last move for a long time. I am getting tired of moving.

From older parents to their adult children

This was a good eye-opener for me...maybe it will be for you, too.

You'll need your speakers on for this.

http://www.parentswish.com/site06/index.html

An OFFICIAL Pampered Chef Independent Consultant

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