You're Never Too Old For Recess

Ever Feel Like This?

DATE:  Today
TO:  Whom It May Concern
SUBJECT:  Resignation From Adulthood

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year old again.

I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant. i want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make ripples with rocks. I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them. I want to play dodgeball at recess and paint with watercolors in art. I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer's day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple. When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care. All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.

I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good. I want to believe that anything is possible. Somewhere in our youth, we matured and learned too much. There are nuclear weapons, war, prejudice, and abused children. Lies, unhappy marriages, illness, pain, and death. A world where companies poison our water and our soil, and children kill. What happened to the time when we thought that everyone could live forever, because we didn't grasp the concept of death? When the worst thing in the world was if someone took the jump rope from you or picked you last for kickball.

I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again. I want to return to the days when children played hide-and-seek outside instead of being glued to a television, when video games were as harmless as Pac-Man . . . instead of spine-ripping, blood-splattering mind numbers like Mortal Combat, and TV still had some shows on that weren't about sex, killing, and lies.

I remember being naive and thinking everyone was happy because I was. Afternoons were spent climbing trees and fences and riding my bike. I never worried about time, bills, or where I was going to find the money to fix my car. I used to wonder what I was going to do or be when I grew up, not worry about what I'll do if this doesn't work out. I want to live simple again. I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones. I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.

So . . . here's my checkbook and my car keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood. And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me first, 'cause, "Tag! You're it."

—Author Unknown (please let me know if you know who wrote this!)

Trying To Do The Job Alone

A Brick Layer, working alone on a building, got injured and the insurance company asked for a more detailed report. The following is his letter:

Dear Sirs:

I am writing in response to your request for additional information. In Block 3 of the accident report I put, “Trying to do the job alone,” as the cause of my recent accident. In your letter you said I should explain more fully, and I trust the following details will be sufficient.

I am a brick layer by trade, and on the day of the accident I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I discovered I had about 500 pounds of brick left over. Well, rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley that was fortunately attached to the side of the building at the 6th floor. Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went back down to the ground and untied the rope while holding the rope tightly to assure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of brick.

You will note in Block 2 of the accident form that I stated I weigh 135 pounds. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the 3rd floor, I met the barrel coming down, and this explains the fractured skull and broken collar bone.

Slowed down only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until my right hand was 3 knuckles deep in the aforementioned pulley. Fortunately, I regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighed approximately 50 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in Block 2.

As you might imagine, I began a rather rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the 3rd floor, I met the barrel coming back up, and this accounts for my 2 fractured ankles and the lacerations on my legs and lower body. This encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks. Fortunately, only 3 of my vertebrate were cracked.

I’m sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the bricks in pain, unable to stand up, watching the empty barrel 6 stories above me, I again lost my presence of mind and let go of the rope. The empty barrel weighed more than the rope, so it came down and broke both of my legs.

I hope that I have furnished the information that you require as to how the accident occurred.

—Author Unknown

Our Eyes In Space

The end of childhood is when things cease to astonish us.
—Eugene Ionesco

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AN "ORDINARY" GALAXY SUCH AS OUR OWN MILKY WAY contains about 100 billion stars. The beautiful Sombrero Galaxy in this picture holds about 800 billion! It is so huge (50,000 light-years across) that the folks at NASA had to stich together six Hubble photos just to make this one image.

Since its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has made it possible for Earthlings to stroll around the farthest reaches of the universe with a really powerful camera in hand. What else can we all keep saying but "Wow, look at that!" as scientists snap yet another mind-altering photo? Visit the Hubble Site to:

• access a huge gallery of amazing images
• sign up for Inbox Astronomy, their email newsletter highlighting the latest Hubble photos & news
• learn how you can help save the Hubble project from inpending budget cuts, and
• find out more about Hubble: Galaxies Across Space & Time, a new short film coming soon to an IMAX theater near you.

Other Information

• "Death Sentence for the Hubble?" February 13, 2005. This New York Times editiorial spells out some of the political realities affecting the continuation of the Hubble Mission.

You Make A Difference

There's a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter. We sometimes lose sight of this force when there is suffering, too much pain. Then suddenly the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear a call, and answer in extraordinary ways.
—from the film “Mother Teresa”

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ONE MORNING AFTER A GREAT STORM a man walked along a beach. For as far as he could see, hundreds, maybe thousands, of starfish had washed up on the sand. Then he noticed a child doing a curious thing. The child bent down, picked up a starfish, walked to the water's edge, and gently tossed it into the ocean. Then the child went back, picked up another starfish, and kept repeating the process. Finally the man walked over to the child and asked what was going on. The child told him that the starfish would die if they didn't get back into the water. “But there are so many starfish!” the man exclaimed. “It won't make any difference what you do.” The child walked into the water with yet another starfish and softly replied, "It sure makes a difference to this one."

Inspiration For Your Inbox

Angels of Mercy
Most people don't know there are angels whose only job is to make sure you don't get too comfortable & fall asleep & miss your life.

Hot Dish
It's not so bad if you don't think of it as pizza, she said. Just think of it as another one of Mom's scary hot dishes.

Equal Treatment
Why do they treat us like children? they said & I said why do you treat them like adults? & their eyes opened wide & they began to laugh & talk all at once & suddenly everything looked possible again.
—Brian Andreas
(reprinted by permission of StoryPeople
© 2004 All Rights Reserved)

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EACH MORNING I RECEIVE A SPECIAL "STORY OF THE DAY" EMAIL that helps me start my day on a playful and refreshing note. These emails contain a delightful drawing and some inspiring, thought-provoking words from the wonderfully childlike Brian Andreas, artist and storyteller. (To see what I mean, just click on this Story of the Day link. Each time you click and return to this page and click again, a new Story will pop up.)

These Stories—part quotation, part art, 100% amazing—are created to help more people on our planet ". . . live in a world of imagination & possibility & healing." Visit StoryPeople at their web home and discover the treats that await you, such as:

• browsing through their large collection of Stories
• sending your best friend a free personalized eGreeting Story
• ordering Story cards, books, prints & sculptures
• starting your own online Favorite Stories list
• finding a local gallery that feature StoryPeople creations, and
• signing up for your own free email Story of the Day.

Definitely on my Top Ten List of Recommended Field Trips for Childlike Grownups!

Flies Farther Than A Football

Of all the toys available, none is better designed than the owner himself. A large multipurpose plaything, its parts can be made to move in almost any direction. It comes completely assembled, and it makes a sound when you jump on it.
—Stephen Baker

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HOW FAR CAN YOU THROW SOMETHING? Following in the honored tradition of Frisbees, Foxtails, Aerobies and other classic IFO's (Identified Flying Objects), the amazing X-zylo displays aerodynamic principles that have amazed and puzzled even NASA scientists. Flying faster than a Frisbee and farther than a football, this 1-ounce, less than 4 inch diameter plastic cylinder— otherwise known as a flying gyroscope—has been thrown over 600 feet in one direction! Visit flyingproducts.com to find out more about the history & development of this amazing invention, watch videos of the X-zylo in action & order the X-zylo Ultra, the X-zylo Night and/or the X-zylo Air Rider for yourself and your friends. Guaranteed to amaze!

Which Way Is Up?

If success or failure of this planet and of human beings depended on how I am and what I do, how would I be? What would I do?
—R. Buckminster Fuller

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OUR SPACESHIP EARTH™ SATELLITE MAP is my favorite map of the world. Designed by Buckminster Fuller—best known as the inventor of the geodesic dome—it's the most accurate flat map of the Earth ever created. It shows "our planet as it really is, a one-world island in a one-world ocean, without any visible distortion of the relative shape and sizes of the land and sea areas." What I most like about this map is how it helps me see the world whole with fresh eyes.

You can order this map—and find out more about how & why it was designed—at the Buckminster Fuller Institute. This organization carries on Fuller's work through a variety of programs, publications & services showing how people can create—and are already creating—a "successful and sustainable future for 100% of humanity."

Other Information

• o.s. EARTH asks the question "How would you run the world?" in their hands-on, highly interactive Global Simulation Workshop, based on Fuller's original World Game activities.
• Who was Buckminster Fuller? This US Postal Service press release about the postage stamp honoring his life and work provides an excellent summary of his vision and accomplishments.
• Upside Down Map Page takes a look at other maps designed to alter perception of what most people think is "normal."
  

How To Really Stay In Touch

My family is always hugging a whole lot, and I’m for hugging. I grew up here around men who weren’t afraid to touch each other. When I was a boy, older men were always touching me and patting me. I was pretty skinny and they’d squeeze my leg and say, "Boy, does your leg swell up like that every summer?" There was a great goodness and good-heartedness in that and no meanness at all.
—Wendell Berry

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A LITTLE GIRL NAMED MOLLY woke up in the middle of the night scared by the flashes and noise of a thunderstorm. Her mother came in and comforted her, and then said, "Molly, you know God is with you in this storm." Molly solemnly nodded her head. Later that night as the storm continued, Molly woke up again and called for her mother. After another good hug, her mother said, "Now Molly, you know what I said before is true, that God is with you in this storm." And Molly said, "I know that, Mom, but right now I need God with skin on."

The Toy With One Moving Part

In any field, find the strangest thing and then explore it.
—John Wheeler

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SILLY PUTTY® WAS ACCIDENTALLY INVENTED during World War II by a scientist attempting to create synthetic rubber. Since then over 300 million plastic eggs filled with this magical substance have been sold. Recently inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, Silly Putty now comes in 12 additional colors besides the original pink, and continues to delight new generations of the young at heart.

Be sure to take a tour of the online Silly Putty University Campus (The Home of Higher Silly Putty Learning). You'll quickly discover more than you thought you ever wanted to know about its history, science & manufacture, including:

• the winners of the "Top 50 Silliest Uses for Silly Putty" Contest
• information about ordering a 5-pound block of the stuff, and
• how to earn your very own Master of Silly Putty degree.

That's My Kid!

An Age Ago
Like most small wild things
you’re hard to track
but this field’s full of paths
worn smooth by your feet running
to hidden places I once knew
when I belonged to your tribe.
In that distant age I too
was known as a swift child of the hills.
—Bruce Williamson

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FIND A PICTURE OF YOURSELF AS A CHILD and put it into a really nice frame. Set it beside the other pictures of children that you keep on your desk at work or on the mantel or table at home. Then, whenever one of your colleagues or friends asks who's that new small person in the gallery, just say "That's my kid!" Or, better yet, tell them "That's my first child!"