November/December 2001

Our True Riches

With our country in the midst of an ongoing war, the holidays are undeniably different this year. Thousands of families will celebrate the holidays thinking of their loved ones who are waging a war far from home. And thousands more will spend the holidays remembering their loved ones who will never come back home. How can we celebrate the holidays, while at the same time honoring the memory of those who perished September 11?

The answer is simple - be good to one another. Each day, listen to, hug, and cherish the children in your life, in honor of the children who perished on the hijacked flights. Tell your family that you love them, in remembrance of all the husbands, wives, sons, and daughters whose seats will be empty at the holiday dinner table.

Don’t take anyone or anything for granted, and be thankful for all the people in your life. Count your blessings this holiday season and know that you are surrounded by riches.

Defining Heroes
In a society that often measures heroes by the size of their wallets, you might be surprised how kids choose their mentors. Gary Hale, a former state senator, created a web site in which young people under age 25 were asked to define their “true hero.” He was more than pleasantly surprised by the responses - he was astonished.

Hale received over 18,000 responses on his nonprofit site, which offered a $1,000 scholarship for the best submission. Instead of admiring rap stars or multi-million-dollar athletes, Hale discovered that kids today find a lot of heroes within their own families. In fact, 38 percent of the respondents felt their true heroes were family members who demonstrated attributes like humility, compassion, and respect. One young man, who chose his father for his hero, said he admired his dad’s rise from millworker to president of a manufacturing company. But more importantly, he respected his father’s humility and his compassion toward all of his employees.

Another young lady said her mother, who started a successful interior design business after being demoted while on maternity leave, was the epitome of a hero. The daughter said her mom was the most successful person she knew, not for what she did, or how much money she earned, but simply because she was happy.

Beauty Tips
A hero to many, the late Audrey Hepburn is best known for her acting career and humanitarian work - not to mention her elegance, charm, and beauty. But the Academy Award winner was also known to write an occasional poem. Here’s one, entitled “Beauty Tips,” which we think is especially fitting for this issue of Duck Tales.

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone…
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed and redeemed.
Never throw out anybody.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
You’ll find one at the end of your arm.
As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands.
One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

Santa’s Little Helpers
One Saturday morning in early December, a man walked out his front door to get the newspaper. He found the paper, but he also discovered something else. Someone had left a tin of Christmas cookies on his front porch with a picture of Santa Claus and this note: “Merry Christmas. You’ve been elved! You have 48 hours to elf another neighbor. Copy this note and picture and give them, along with your homemade treat, to someone close by. Then place this picture of Santa on your front door so the elves won’t visit your house again. But above all, have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.”

The man took the cookies into the house and shared the surprise with his delighted family. That afternoon, the man, his wife, and two children made several loaves of their traditional holiday bread and took a warm loaf to an unsuspecting neighbor. One of the children rang the doorbell and then hid behind a bush with the rest of the family to see their neighbor’s reaction. It took all their strength not to giggle out loud when they saw the smile spread across their neighbor’s face.

Within two weeks, everyone in the neighborhood had a picture of Santa taped to their door. No one ever found out who elved whom or who started the idea of elving in the first place. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that the spirit of Christmas flourished in that little Ohio neighborhood.

Treasure Each Moment
To appreciate the value of one year, ask a student who didn’t pass math. To appreciate the value of one month, ask a mother whose baby was born prematurely. To appreciate the value of one week, ask the overworked teacher who’s home on spring break. To appreciate the value of one day, ask an hourly worker who has four children to feed.

To appreciate the value of one hour, ask the child who’s waiting for her father to come home from work. To appreciate the value of one minute, ask the traveler who missed his flight. To appreciate the value of one second, ask a person who survived a car accident. To appreciate the value of one millisecond, ask the silver medal winner in the Olympics.

Time waits for no one - not celebrities, not millionaires, not royalty, not anyone. Appreciate every moment you have and know how precious each day is.

A Lesson From Our Kids
One of the biggest complaints among Americans today is having too much to do. Ironically, as parents complain about the lack of balance in their lives, they are often shuttling their children from lesson to lesson and sports practice to sports practice. Free time for kids under the age of 13 has dropped 16 percent in just one generation. Kids have to maintain such a juggling act that 50 million of them will buy day planners this year to help them keep track of their activities.

Experts call it the “hurried-child” syndrome. Kids often eat their meals in the fast food drive-thru, doing their homework in the back seat on the way to an activity. But unlike their parents who keep trudging through their jobs and after-work activities, more and more children are saying, “Enough!” They’re telling their parents they want to ride their bikes, hang out with their friends, and play at the neighborhood park instead of going to their gymnastics lesson or soccer practice. Some children decide to quit extracurricular activities on their own, while others, on the verge of burnout, tell their parents they just can’t do it all anymore. And experts say all of the extracurricular activities aren’t putting kids ahead anymore than their less hurried counterparts.

An official at Harvard University says that most students receive admission to the university for being “well-rounded” and “well-grounded,” not because they excel in a particular activity. So if the harried parent wants a quick lesson on how to create some balance in his life, the answer may be simple: Take a lesson from your child, and slow down. A nice leisurely waddle can do a body a world of good!

Christmas Love
Several years ago, a California woman experienced a Christmas event that she’ll never forget. Candy Chand was trying to cut back on her holiday obligations. She cut down on her Christmas cards, baking, decorating, and spending. Although she was determined to experience the true meaning of Christmas, she was still exhausted and unable to appreciate precious family time. In fact, because of her job, Candy had to miss her son’s Winter Pageant and the songs that his kindergarten class had worked so hard on. Still, she could attend the dress rehearsal, and her son seemed content with the compromise.

That morning, Candy took a seat in the cafeteria and watched as each class performed its song. When the kindergarten class rose to sing “Christmas Love,” Candy’s heart warmed to see her son beaming proudly at her. While they sang, each child in the front row held up a large letter, which, all together, spelled the name of the song. When the children sang “C is for Christmas,” the first child held up a C. The second child held up the H on singing “ H is for Happy,” and so on.

The performance went smoothly, until one girl held up her M upside down. The older children in the audience snickered, but the girl, who had no idea they were laughing at her, stood proudly with her W. The teachers tried to hush the children, but the laughter continued until the last letter was raised. Then the room was quiet and eyes began to widen. At that moment, Candy did experience the true meaning of Christmas. When the last child held up his letter, the message was clear: CHRIST WAS LOVE. And he still is.

Wishing you and yours a joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year.