-Conan O'Brien

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A man was trying to pull out of a parking place, and bashed the bumper of the parked car in front of him. Witnessed by a handful of pedestrians waiting for a bus, the driver got out, inspected the damage, and proceeded to write a note to leave on the windshield of the car he had hit.

The note read:

"Hello. I have just hit your car, and there are some people here watching me who think that I am writing this note to leave you my name and phone number. Youshould be so lucky!"

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Bizarre News

*-- 19-year-old takes Granny to prom --*

ROCKFORD, Ohio (UPI) - Nineteen-year-old Austin Dennison asked an older girl to go with him to his senior prom. Much older, in fact, it was his great-grandmother. Austin Dennison said he asked his Granny DD, Delores Dennison, to prom at Parkway High School in Rockford, because she never went to hers, Fox News reported.

"I asked her if she would be my prom date," he said. "How cool would it be to take my great-grandmother to prom?"

"He was so sweet and adamant about it," Delores, 89, said. "I asked him, 'But are you sure that you wouldn't like to take one of the young ladies who could get out there and do everything with you?' He said no. 'I want you.'"

"At first she was a bit resistant," the younger Dennison said. "I assured her I was serious and she finally said yes. It was my privilege to take her."

Delores said she had a little trouble finding a suitable dress for the occasion because they were either "too high or too low." The two enjoyed a dinner at her favorite restaurant, Bob Evans, before the dance, and at the event Austin presented his great-grandmother with a pearl necklace. "It was wonderful and I just loved all the girls in their fancy gowns and the gentlemen in their tuxedos. It was quite a night," Delores said. "Everyone there just could not have been more polite. Everyone got an A+."

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RANDOM TIDBITS

Earth is the only planet not named after a god. The other seven planets in our solar system are all named after Roman gods or goddesses. Earth's name comes from the Anglo-Saxon word erda which means ground or soil.

Coral reefs support the most species per unit area of any of the planet's ecosystems, rivaling rain forests. They are the largest living structures on Earth - with some visible even from space.

Earth is about 4.54 billion years old. Researchers calculate the age of the Earth by dating both the oldest rocks on the planet and meteorites that have been discovered.

Depending on where you are on the globe, you could be spinning through space at just over 1,000 miles per hour. People on the equator move the fastest, while someone standing on the North or South pole would be perfectly still.

Earth is gradually slowing down. Every few years, an extra second is added to make up for lost time.

The oceans cover some 70 percent of Earth's surface, yet humans have only explored about 5 percent, meaning 95 percent of the planet's vast seas have never been seen.

(lancasteronline.com)
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Health Tip

Hint 1: This is a really good habit to get into, believe it or not!

Keep your legs limber, and avoid knee injuries!

A super-simple way to do that is to spend 30 seconds a day reaching for your toes while sitting straight-legged on the floor. This is according to University of Central Arkansas researchers.

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Good Quote

You Alone

Whoever you are, there is some younger person who thinks you are perfect.

There is some work that will never be done if you don't do it.

There is someone who would miss you if you were gone.

There is a place that you alone can fill.

~Jacob M. Braude~

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Inspiration

Speed
======

Whoosh!

I sailed by person after person on the track.

Whoosh - Whoosh - Whoosh!

I am a runner. Well, technically a jogger. I often run at the track near my home. Most on the track walk, therefore my speed, however meager in running terms, is far faster than walking.

So it's whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, as I pass the walkers over and over around the track.

My speed and endurance seem amazing to the walkers. Some will come and walk for an hour. I am running when they come and still running when they leave. I have whooshed by them twenty or more times.

I got several lessons in life today on the track.

As I circled the track with my long steady strides passing the walkers like lamp poles, I got to feeling superior. I know you shouldn't, you don't have to tell me, but after the constant whooshing past far younger people, it goes to your head.

Then he came.

He was short, perhaps five feet three. He didn't look like much of a runner. I saw him get out of the car and stretch as I whooshed by a couple holding hands.

He started running a few feet ahead of me.

He was fast. I sped up to keep up. At last, I had someone to pace myself against. After half a lap I was on his heels but my breath was coming harder and heavier. After the first lap I was gasping but still on his heels. After a lap and a half my foot started hurting.

I was hurting; I was gasping for breath.

I had a MountainWings Moment.

I slowed up and got back to my pace. The pain in my foot went away. I could breathe again without sounding like I had a lung disease. He sped away.

In a fairly short time, Whoosh! He went past me.
Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh!

In life, there will always be those slower and faster. Some have natural ability; some have trained harder. For some, speed is simply their destiny.

The point is, we each have our own speed, and we often end up hurting ourselves and pushing ourselves to the point where the breath is knocked out of us...
because we are trying to keep up.

I learned several lessons that day.

Don't get puffed up because you are faster than some.
Don't feel inferior because some are faster than you.
Don't judge the capabilities of others by how they look.

How much of your breath (spirit) is knocked out because you are running someone else's race?

Are you trying to outrun someone's car, house, clothes, looks, job title, etc.?

How much pain are you in trying to keep up with someone who may be running for an entirely different reason, heading to an entirely different place, with entirely different muscles?

Slow down or maybe speed up, but run your race to the best of your ability.

Whether you realize it or not, you are the real pace setter.

Don't run fast when you should be running slowly.
Don't run at all when you should be walking,
and don't walk when you should be running.

~A MountainWings Original~

   Thank you, Shari!