The Official Proclamation of Thanksgiving

By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington

Government stimulus tutorial

Sometime this year, we taxpayers will again receive an Economic Stimulus payment. This is a very exciting program. I'll explain it using the Q and A format:

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus payment?
A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q. Where will the government get this money?
A. From taxpayers....

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?
A. Only a smidgen.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?
A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, cars, or clothes, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn't that mainly stimulating the economy of foreign countries since they supply us with most of those things ?
A. Shut up or you don't get your check.

Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:

1. If you spend the stimulus money at Walmart, your money will go to China .

2. If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to Saudi Arabia .

3. If you purchase a computer, it will go to India .

4. If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala .

5. If you buy a car, it will go to Japan or Korea .

6. If you purchase useless plastic stuff, it will go to Taiwan .

My advice. Don't spend it. Save it. Or pay off debt. Or save it to send back to the Government when your taxes are due.

Saint Theresa Olive

Lessons in living a life of peacefulness and surrender.

How to be an Angel

Christmas is coming soon. Everyone talks a lot about whether there are angels? Some fools even wonder if there is a God. I know there is a God. And He's alive and living and still performing miracles. And sometimes he uses angels to deliver them. So . . can you see angels? Yes. I think so. You just have to keep your eyes open and see them when the fly into and out of our lives. Sometimes they don't always appear with wings. But they always perform angelic deeds. I think I want to be an angel when I grow up. And as Christmas approaches, this story from a young mother years ago, is giving me some ideas about how to begin my training. I think to be an angel, you have to practice at it. And I hope in the coming 6 weeks I can find some ways to spread my wings a bit.

A Story of a Mother and the Angels who visited her.
She saw them. Would you?

In September 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my pocket.Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much more than a presence they feared. Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway they would scramble to hide under their beds. He did manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries.Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either.If there was a welfare system in effect in southern Indiana at that time, I certainly knew nothing about it.I scrubbed the kids until they looked brand new and then put on my best homemade dress, loaded them into the rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job. The seven of us went to every factory, store and restaurantin our small town. No luck. The kids stayed crammed into the car and tried to be quiet while I tried to convince who ever would listen that I was willing to learn or do anything. I had to have a job.Still no luck. The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town, was an old Root Beer Barrel drive-in h that had been converted to a truck stop. It was called the Big Wheel. An old lady named Granny owned the place and she peeked out of the window from time to time at all those kids. She needed someone on the graveyard shift, 11 at night until seven in the morning. She paid 65 cents an hour, and I could start that night.I raced home and called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained with her to come and sleep on my sofa for a dollar a night. She could arrive with her pajamas on and the kids wouldalready be asleep This seemed like a good arrangement to her, so we made a deal. That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers, we all thanked God for finding Mommy a job. And so I started at the Big Wheel. When I got home in the mornings I woke the baby-sitter up and sent her home with one dollar of my tip money-- fully half of what I averaged every night. As the weeks went by, heating bills added a strain to mymeager wage. The tires on the old Chevy had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak.. I had to fill them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go home. One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found four tires in the back seat. New tires!There was no note, no nothing, just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up residence in Indiana ? I wondered. I made a deal with the local service station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did for him to do the tires. I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn't enough. Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the kids. I found a can of red paint and started repairing andpainting some old toys. Then I hid them in the basement so there would be something for Santa to deliver on Christmas morning. Clothes were a worry too. I was sewing patches on top of patches on the boys pants and soon they would be too far gone to repair. On Christmas Eve the usual customers were drinking coffeethe Big Wheel. There were the truckers, Les, Frank, and Jim, and a state trooper named Joe.A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the Legion and were dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat around and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home before the sun came up. When it was time for me to go home at seven o'clock onChristmas morning, to my amazement, my old battered Chevy was filled full to the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver's side door, crawled inside and kneeled in the front facing the back seat. Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box. Inside was whole case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box: It was full of shirts to go with the jeans. Then I peeked inside some of the other boxes. There was candy and nuts and bananas and bags of groceries. There was an enormous ham for baking, and canned vegetables and potatoes. There was pudding and Jell-O and cookies, pie filling andflour. There was whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items. And there were five toy trucks and one beautiful little doll. As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most amazing Christmas Day of my life, I was sobbing with gratitude. And I will never forget the joy on the faces of my littleones that precious morning. Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December.And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop....

some good stuff for my life.

ONE. Give people more than they expect for less than they expect it to cost and do it cheerfully.
TWO. Marry a someone you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
FOUR . When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye. .
FIVE. When someone says "I'm sorry", say the words "I forgive you"
SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
SEVEN. Talk slowly but think quickly.
EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much. People who dream a lot, have a lot of dreams come true.
NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely. If you get hurt, love again.
TEN. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives, pets, neighborhoods, or car they drive.
TWELVE. When someone starts out by saying "I shouldn't be saying this", then quickly say "well don't".
THIRTEEN. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'
FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.
SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson
SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.
EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship
NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone... The caller will hear it in your voice.
TWENTY-ONE. Spend some time alone and just be quiet sometimes.
TWENTY-TWO. If someone tries to tell you something unflattering about someone else, stop them and ask "am I part of the problem here or part of the solution?". If neither, then it's just gossip and you're part of it.
TWENTY-THREE. Look for pennies and coins on the parking lot. And when you pick one up, take the time to read In God We Trust. And consider it as a little note that God sent you that day as a reminder. He doesn't forget He loves us, even if we do.
TWENTY-FOUR. Tip the busboy/girl and leave a tip for the cook who fixed your meal.
TWENTY-FIVE. Just refuse to listen to bad comments about your friends. There are plenty of other people who will.
TWENTY-SIX. Get up in the morning and be determined to make at least one person's day brighter, happier, or better. If you go to bed at night and realize that you haven't . . . get up and go do it. Waffle House is open 24 hours and there is always someone there to bless.