Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 20, 1993 TAG: 9306170127
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Cody Lowe
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
As you will recall, two weeks ago we asked you to tell us where you've found Truth in a place we might not expect. About 30 of you provided more than 100 examples, of which, we can only print a sampling.
Dr. Henry S. Campbell of Martinsville offers these truths:
"Never, ever piss off the cook. (Lesser verbs lessen the impact of the statement, unfortunately.)"
"Never, ever ask any question to which you do not want to hear the answer. This is more and more important as your children get older."
"One small success is worth a thousand giant failures."
We trust this last is not a commentary on Dr. Campbell's medical practice.
And in a bold attempt at influencing the judge, he signs off, "Fully expecting soon to become both rich and famous, I, only temporarily humble, await the arrival of my fame and fortune."
Well, partly true, Doc. You get second place (details at story's end), primarily for the Clintonesque "Don't ask, don't tell" proverb.
Music carries a power about it that moved several readers. Shirley P. Calhoun of Vinton submitted the chorus from a currently popular Kathy Mattea song, written by Pat Alger and Ralph Murphy. The singer is watching children at play, wondering about whether their dreams will come true:
"We're all just seeds in God's hands.
"We start the same, but where we land is sometimes fertile soil and sometimes sand.
"We're all just seeds in God's hands."
Denise Sweeney of Roanoke liked Bob Seger's "Against the Wind": I didn't know now what I didn't know then."
Powell M. Leitch III of Roanoke quotes The Waterboys' "Spirit:"
"Man gets tired, spirit don't;
"Man surrenders, spirit won't;
"Man crawls, spirit flies;
"Spirit lives when man dies."
From America's "The Tin Man," Dan Smith, managing editor of the Blue Ridge Regional Business Journal likes: "Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man that he didn't, didn't already have."
Bumper stickers and T-shirts also can serve as a forum for truth, says Cynthia Obrist of Roanoke. Her two examples:
"Feminism is the radical notion that women are people" and "Hate is not a family value."
Keith Ritchie of Shawsville said he was told a Palestinian who lives in Israel is credited with this one (though I've heard it from other sources, too): "So many Christians take the Bible literally, yet they fail to take it seriously."
Children, as Art Linkletter discovered years ago, are a veritable gold mine of truth. Consider the following:
Claire Waldron says her daughter Camille, 5, is a "natural-born smart-aleck" as evidenced by her response to her pastor's reading of Genesis 1:21: "So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves . . . and God saw that it was good."
Camille leaned over to her mother and whispered: "Sea monsters? I don't think so." She then returned to "scribbling on the collection envelopes," her mother wrote.
"This struck me as a religious version of the `Emperor's New Clothes.' Of course, this same child also tried to start up a dinner table conversation with, `You know, God is a victim.' "
Arlin and Laura Goad of Hillsville also got unexpected revelation from their precocious 7-year-old Laurin. When she was 4, Laurin talked about an "awfully wedded husband." Though they tried to correct her, when they could stop laughing, her parents decided the description probably was apt for some husbands.
Laurin also surprised her parents with an appropriate, if misquoted, line from Star Trek's Mr. Spock: "Live long and proper."
"This one, too, got us to thinking of these changing days and times and the many difficulties in the world. Perhaps `Live long and proper' is pretty relevant advice.. . ."
Joni Pienkowski of Blacksburg tells us that "Sam came to be our son when he was 3. The first summer, he wore, almost every day, his favorite stuff: cowboy boots and a swimsuit. I made a picture of him in that outfit. . . . His hair is wet, his belly round, and the boots pointed in opposite directions."
It was a decade later that their former rector told them he had confronted Sam about his outfit that summer.
"When I saw Sam one day, . . . I told him, `Young man, you've got those boots on the wrong feet.' Sam answered: "Only feet I got.' "
Seen by Nell H. Cobb of Covington at the underground in London: "One great thought can change the dreams of the world. One great action, lived all the way out to sea, can change the history of the world." From Songs of Enchantment, by Ben Okri.
Sally Miller, a teacher at Roanoke Catholic School, rightly points out that some books are mistakenly characterized solely as children's literature. She uses "The Little Prince" in her 12th-grade literature class, from which she draws this nugget:
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
Dr. Lee R. Jones is a hospital-based dentist whose practice focuses on treating cancer patients. He tells about one, a type-A workaholic businessman, who had struggled to come to terms with his diagnosis "and could not find any peace."
One day the patient was shopping in a department store when a stranger came up and began talking. Though he was sometimes incoherent, he ended by saying, "A roadblock is nothing but a detour to make us change direction."
The cancer patient was taken aback by the statement, which so obviously applied to himself. The stranger disappeared into the store never to be seen again.
Jones said the cancer patient's life was changed from that moment, and the patient later was convinced that the stranger was "an angel sent by God to bring him a message. After that encounter, [the patient] found or rediscovered Christ.
"His entire attitude toward life changed, and he became a new man. . . . He told me often about how good he felt about life even though he clearly acknowledged that his disease was ominous. I recognized this as the `peace that passes all understanding'; and was certain that he was a true saint.
"Unfortunately the cancer quickly metastasized and was not curable. The business executive who encountered an angel at Wal-Mart left for his prepared place."
Judy G. Yates of Roanoke sent in a library of choice sayings: A selection:
"If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes."
"Don't accept your dog's devotion as the final authority of your value."
"When you have a lot to do, it is best to get your nap out of the way first."
"People of high intelligence talk about ideas. People of average intelligence talk about things. People of no intelligence talk about other people."
"Fighting for peace is like making love for virginity."
And two items that are similar, and perhaps now cliches, but they made sense to a lot of people when they first heard them: "There is no tomorrow, just a lot of todays," from Ruth Camper of Roanoke; and "Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday," submitted by Shirley Wilmore of Lexington.
Finally, the one I liked best of the lot. The Truth of it made me laugh out loud when I read it, and I think it applies to religious situations, work, school, just about everywhere.
Proving that there is truth even in the television jungle, Steve Light of Vinton quotes Martin Tupper on HBO's "Dream On":
"There's a thin line between cool and stupid."
Light wins a Roanoke Times & World-News beach towel and Dr. Campbell wins a newspaper coffee mug.
Thanks to all who entered, and all the kind comments you offered about this column with your Truths.
by CNB