Which Role Do I Play

I watched them tear a building down,
Sixteen men in my hometown.

With a mighty heave and lusty yell
They swung a beam and a sidewall fell.


I asked the foreman “Are these men skilled
Just like those you’d hire to build?”

He laughed and said “No, indeed!
Common laborers are all I need

And I can wreck in a day or two
What talented men took years to do".


Then I thought as I went my way,
Which role in life do I play?

Am I a builder who works with care
And lives each day by a rule and square?

Or am I a wrecker in my hometown
Content to knock and tear things down?

Buddies

There were two childhood buddies who went through kindergarten and all the way to college together.  When war broke they joined the army together and asked to be assigned to the same unit. One night while out on patrol they were ambushed. Bullets were flying everywhere.

Out of the darkness came a voice, "Harry, help me, please Harry help me."   Harry immediately recognized the voice of his childhood buddy, Bill. Harry asked the Captain for permission to go out and help his buddy. The captain said, "No, I can't let you go, I am already short-handed and I cannot afford to lose one more person. Besides, the way Bill sounds he is not going to make it."

Harry kept quiet, but again Bill's voice was heard in the darkness, "Harry, please come and  please come Harry and help me."  Harry sat quietly because the captain had ordered him to. Again and again Bill's voice was heard on the battlefield. Harry couldn't contain himself any longer and ran ove to the Captain, "Captain, that's my childhood buddy. I have to go and help." The Captain reluctantly agreed and let Harry go. Harry crawled through the darkness, reached Bill and dragged Bill back into their camp.  

When they arrived back at the camp Bill was dead. Now the Captain was furious and shouted, "Didn't I tell you he was not going to make it? He is dead, you could have been killed and I could have lost a hand. It was a mistake for you to go out there." Harry replied, "No Captain, I did the right thing. When I reached Bill he was still alive and his last words to me were Harry, I knew you would come".

Reader Feedback Request

We'd like to know if you enjoy Gabe's Fascinating Stories.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment area of any post.

Thanks

Why We Should Never Whine

One day upon a city bus,
I saw a woman with golden hair,
I envied her, cause she looked as fair,

But as she rose to leave the bus,
I saw her hobble down the aisle,
With only one foot she used a crutch,
Yet when she passed she shared a smile.

O God forgive me if I ever whine
I have two feet, the world in mine

Later when I stopped to eat,
an old man grabbed me by my arm,
We spoke at length and then he said,
Thank you Mister you've been very kind,
You see he said I was born blind.

O God forgive me if I ever whine,
I have two eyes the world is mine
Heading home I walked my way,
and saw a girl with eyes so blue,
She stood and watched the others play,
yet seemed to know not what to do.

I said "Why don't you join the others Dear"?
But she looked ahead with a word,
Then I knew she could not hear.

O God forgive me if I ever whine
I have two ears the world is mine

With feet to take me where I want to go
and eyes to see every sunset's glow, and
ears to hear what I need know,
I'm blessed indeed - the world is mine

and God forgive me if I ever whine.

A Reason To Play

Bobby was a football player; however, he wasn't a very good football player. Though he had some talent his heart just was not in the game. He'd often fumble the ball and avoid tackles whenever possible. Worst yet he'd arrive late for practice wearing a dirty uniform and was always the last one to finish laps around the field.  On game days Bobby was happy to just ride the bench. The other players, as well as all the coaches, wished Bobby would quit the team but he never would.

It was a Wednesday afternoon, the day before the big home coming game and Bobby was once again waddling around the track in his dirty uniform doing his laps when a messenger ran out of the school office to hand the coach a piece of paper. After reading the note, the Coach blew his whistle and motioned for Bobby to come over. "Bobby", the coach said, "I have some bad news. Your father has had a heart attack and has been taken to the hospital - you better go see him."

Bobby darted off the field, changed his clothes then ran to the hospital. Later that night word was received that Bobby's father had passed away. The next morning Bobby did not come to school; however, that evening about half way through the first quarter of the big homecoming game Bobby waddled out onto the field.

"Coach" Bobby asked - "can I play tonight?" Looking at Bobby in his dirty uniform the coach said "No Bobby, you should be home with your family." "Please  Coach I'd really like to play", Bobby repeated. The Coach knew Bobby was a senior and this would probably be the last game he would ever play, but because this was the home coming game with a rival school and the bleachers were packed with alumni the coach said "Maybe later Bobby"

As the game progressed it turned into a disaster for Bobby's team. Though the other team had scored 21 points in the first half, Bobby's team was still at zero. Following half-time Bobby ran up to the Coach and begged him if he could play. Again the coach replied "Maybe later". When the 4th quarter arrived the opposing team made another touch down making the score now 28 to zero and their were only minutes to play.

Bobby watching the clock got up and ran over to the Coach and said "Coach can I please play". Realizing that nothing was going to change the outcome of the game at this point the Coach agreed and let Bobby go in. Within minutes of being on the field Bobby intercepted two passes and then tackled several opposing team players. With only seconds to go Bobby blocked and tackled so effectively his team was able to score its one and only touchdown.

Even though Bobby's team lost 28-7 it was obvious to all that Bobby was the most valuable player and as a token of it appreciation the team gave Bobby the game ball. After most of the players had left the field, the Coach walked over to Bobby and said "Bobby you really surprised us tonight, why didn't you ever play like this before"Bobby?" the Coach asked.

With his head down, Bobby replied, "Coach to tell you the truth I never wanted to play football - it was my Mom and Dad who wanted me to play". Puzzled the Coach said "Bobby I don't ever remember seeing your parents at any of our games." Bobby said "I know Coach, my Mom couldn't - she died when I was 8".

"Well what about your father", the Coach asked, "If he wanted you to play why didn't he ever come any of the games to watch you play." "Well you see Coach my Dad was blind" Bobby replied.

Taken a back by Bobby's response the Coach asked "Well Bobby, why in the world did you play so good tonight". Without hesitation, Bobby replied "Tonight Coach was the first night my Daddy was able to watch me play".

Why This Puppy

It was Johnny's birthday, he was eight years old. His parents promised he could get a puppy when he was eight - so right after breakfast they hopped in the car and drove to grandma's house to go get his puppy.

Grandma lived several miles away in a much bigger city.  Shortly after arriving at Grandma's house, Johnny's mother said "Johnny would you like to walk to the pet store to look at the puppies."  Johnny proudly walked down to main street where the pet store was located. As he approached the store he could see several puppies bobbing up and down in the big store window.  As he entered the story four puppies huddled together in the display area and began to jump up and down when Johnny came near.

Johnny introduced himself to the store owners and explained why he was there.  He asked if it would be alright to hold some of the puppies; they agreed.  While playing with the four puppies he noticed a fifth one all alone curled up in the far corner and asked the owners if that puppy was from the same litter?

The lady responded he was but that he was not for sale. "How come" Johnny  asked. "That puppy was born with a bad hip socket" she said "and one of his back legs doesn't  work that well. "Wow" Johnny said "What will you do with him?"  "Well tomorrow my husband will take him to the vet and have him him put to sleep".

Johnny asked if he could hold that 5th puppy and the lady  nodded yes. Instantly the puppy responded to Johnny's touch with several big licks and they became friends. "This is the puppy for me, this is the puppy I want to buy" Johnny said.  The pet store owners reminded Johnny that that puppy was not for sale; however Johnny insisted that this was the puppy he wanted to buy. 

As Johnny turned to walk out the door he said, "I'll go home  and get the money and be right back". The wife said "I don't understand why do you want this puppy when you could get one that is perfect and won't cause you any trouble."

Without  saying a word Johnny lifted his left trouser leg and exposed a large steel brace running up the length of his leg.  The owners looked at each other in silence and finally the husband spoke "Son you don't need to go get any money  we'd like you to have that puppy."

The Obituary That Changed The World

Just over a 100 years ago, a successful chemist was reading the obituaries listed in a French newspaper. He had learned his brother, Ludvig, died while visiting France and wanted to read what the French newspaper were saying about him. Much to his surprise he was shocked to see his name listed in the obituary - not his brothers; the French reporter had gotten it wrong and his newspaper reported his death instead of his younger brother’s.

Upon seeing his name, his first response was shock and disbelief; however once he regained his composure his thoughts became somber and he wanted to see what the people of France were reading about him. The obituary read, "Merchant of Death Passes Away - The man who killed more people in the world than anyone else is now dead"

"Is this how I will be remembered he asked himself?"  Once he got his emotions under control he decided this was not the way he wanted to be remembered so in 1895 he had his last will and testament rewritten. He made it clear that the bulk of his great fortunate (approximately $250 million in today's dollars) was to be placed in a special foundation and from that day forward he started working toward world peace.

He established five awards he wanted bestowed annually. The five categories of his awards he created were for eminence in the fields of: Physical Science, Chemistry, Medical Science or Physiology, Literary Works and the last - to the person who best promoted the cause of International Fraternity.

His name you probably already guessed - it was Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist and the creator of the Nobel Prize.  

But what impressed me was not the awards Nobel created but how Alfred generated his huge fortune? 

Nobel discovered that if he mixed nitroglycerin with an inert absorbent substance it became less volatile.  This discovery made nitroglycerin safe and convenient for the average man to handle. In 1867 he patented his new mixture. He planned to call his invention "Nobel's Safety Powder", however his financial backers pressured him to change the name.  They wanted it called "Dynamite" the Greek word for 'power'.
Alfred then went on to experiment with other volatile compounds to create other new explosives. His second invention was a transparent, jelly-like substance, which was even more powerful than dynamite which was called blastin. Blastin was patented in 1876 and marketed as 'Gelignite'. Gelignite, like dynamite, was very stable and easily transportable.  However instead of being packed in sticks it could be conveniently formed into almost any shape.  Such as to fit in to the long narrow holes bored in mine shafts.

Finally, as an off-shoot of his research with Blastin he created a third invention - ballistite.  Ballistite , the precursor of modern day 'smokeless powder explosives' was ideally suited for high-powered {bullet} cartridges and rocket propellants.   
So the question we need to ask is how should Alfred Nobel be remembered?  As the "Merchant of Death" or was he a harbinger of world peace?