December 9, 2020

Positively Speaking

Connecting

A commonly held belief is that if you do something for thirty days, it will become a habit. In many cases, you will also gain new skills. The unique pattern you have started will improve with practice. Likewise, when you lose the habit, you will also lose your skills.

During the last few months, one of the effects of stay-at-home, work-from-home, self-isolation and social-distancing, is that we have forgotten some of the complexities of connecting with other people.  We have adapted to dealing mainly with ourselves. With little interaction outside our personal circle, we have become more introverted and less outgoing. We have grown accustomed to doing things our way when we want to do them. You may not think this applies to you, but, as I have said before, “Just because you think it, doesn’t make it true.” Here are a few guidelines to get you back in the habit of making, and keeping, good connections with other people.

#1.  Connecting requires ENERGY.  You have to connect with them, not the other way around. You need to be where the people are and put some effort into getting to know them. They will not connect with you just because you showed up.

#2.  Find some common ground with the person(s)  to which you would like to connect. Take an interest in what interests them.

#3.  Show people that you respect them, that you appreciate them and care about them.  They won’t care about you until you show how much you care about them.

#4.  Add value to those you meet. Make their life better in some way. Be supportive, encouraging, attentive, interested in them. Make their life better for you being part of it.

And one last thing you should remember:

“it’s Not All About You.”

Customer Complaint

A man was eating in a fast food outlet complained to the manager when he discovered a twig in his burger. The manager viewed the offensive twig and said, “That’s not surprising.” “What do you mean?” asked the annoyed man. “Well, we do have branches all over town!” said the manager.

---

Why science Teachers shouldn’t be on Playground Duty

---

Sampling The Pie

“I took this recipe right out of my cookery book,” she said to her husband, as he tasted her freshly baked pie. “You did the right thing,” said the husband, “It should never have been in the book in the first place.”                                                                                                                                          

---

Black Eye

One night a man stumbled into the police station with a black eye. He claimed he had heard a noise in his back yard and went to investigate. The next he knew, he was hit in the eye and knocked out cold. An officer was sent to his house to investigate, and he returned 1 1/2 hours later with a black eye. “Did you get hit by the same person?” his captain asked. “No,” he replied. “I stepped on the same rake.”

---

Editors Quote Book

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”   — Ralph Waldo Emerson                                                                             

---

Trivia Quiz

(Click Question For Answer)

Horoscope

Aries Mar. 21 – Apr. 19:  You need to take a risk if you are to realize your dream. Plan your work, and work your plan.

Taurus Apr. 20 – May 20:  Your relationships require more give than take. Make the extra effort and reap the benefits that await you.

Gemini May 21 – Jun. 20:  Be alert. An unexpected challenge emerges from nowhere. It will fall to you to find the solution to it.

Cancer Jun. 21 – Jul. 22:  Money matters are front and centre this week. Take a long hard look at your finances. Take the appropriate action.

Leo Jul. 23 – Aug. 22:  Family is more important than you realize. Siblings will still be there when others have given up on you.

Virgo: Aug23 – Sept. 22: Hard work and long hours are in store.  A short break toward the end of the week may help relieve the pressure.

Libra Sept. 23 – Oct. 22:   Try a positive approach to a domestic problem. You have an opportunity to create a new beginning in your life.

 Scorpio Oct. 23- Nov. 21: Lines of communication have broken down. Your relationship could suffer, open up, and do some damage control.

Sagittarius: Nov. 22- Dec. 21: Don’t allow one bad experience from the past to stop you from moving toward a better future. Look ahead.

Capricorn: Dec.22 – Jan. 19: Take the weekend and have a change of scenery. The change will help you clear your head and think straight.

Aquarius Jan. 20 – Feb. 18: A romantic encounter leaves you puzzled and a little curious. Relationships are not simple. You need to work on them.

Pisces: Feb. 19- Mar. 20:  Show others that you are of sterner stuff. Don’t allow hurt feelings to spoil the day. You have broad shoulders.

---

Sundae Sunday

In the Midwestern parts of the United States, laws prohibited the selling of soda water on a Sunday.  As an alternative on Sundays, local soda fountains started selling ice cream sodas minus the soda, which left only the ice cream and syrup. That may have become the recipe for today’s Ice Cream Sundae. There is much disagreement over who was the originator of the Sundae. The following are two of the most popular explanations.

Soda fountain owner, Ed Berners of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, is reputed to have invented the first ice cream sundae in 1881. Berners’s customer George Hallauer requested that Berners serve him a dish of ice cream topped with the syrup used for sodas. Berner liked the recipe and added it to his regular menu, charging a nickel.

George Giffy, a competing soda fountain owner from nearby Manitowoc, Wisconsin, felt he had to serve the same syrupy concoction as Ed Berners. However, Giffy thought that the nickel price was too low, charged a quarter and decided to offer the dish only on Sundays. Which soon became the name of the recipe, “Ice Cream Sunday.” Once Giffy realized that he could generate a good profit from the dish, he changed the name to the “Ice Cream Sundae,” getting around the objections of some local religious leaders, and started serving it every day.

 

---

The Cowboy and The Mexican

A cowboy lost his horse due to a snake bite and had to walk for miles carrying his saddle. He came upon a small hut belonging to a Mexican who just happened to own an old sway-backed horse. The cowboy wondered if the old horse would carry his weight, but he had no choice. He asked the old Mexican if he would sell him the horse. The old man said, “Senor, he don’t look so good.” The cowboy said, “Sell him, please. I am tired of carrying this saddle.” They settled on a price, and the cowboy saddled up and stepped into the saddle. The old horse took off like a shot, directly into a tree.  The cowboy got up from the ground and exclaimed, “That thing is blind.”  The old Mexican said, “I told you, senor, he don’t look so good.

This is just one of the hundreds of jokes,
stories and features you will find in our book,
“The Perkolator, A Book To Perk You Up.”
Order your copy at    www.theperkolator.ca
OR Call  705-645-1353

---

The Blind Date

After being with her all evening, the man couldn’t take another minute with his blind date. Earlier, he had secretly arranged to have a friend call him to the phone so he would have an excuse to leave if something like this happened. When he returned to the table, he lowered his eyes, put on a grim expression and said, “I have some bad news. My grandfather just died.” “Thank heavens,” his date replied. “If yours hadn’t, mine would have had to!”

---

Hot Horseradish

A minister who was very fond of pure, hot horseradish always kept a bottle of it on his dining room table. Once, at dinner, he offered some to a guest, who took a big spoonful. The guest let out a huge gasp. When he was finally able to speak, he choked out, “I’ve heard many ministers preach hellfire, but you are the first one I’ve met who passes out a sample of it.”

---

The Last Word

If we shouldn’t eat at night, why do they put a light in the fridge?