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Sugar Bush Squirrel

The World's Most Photographed Squirrel
 
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                           Sugar Bush's

'Squirrel Bytes'TM


sugar bush squirrel sits still in her green soft chair and ponders

When you know not where to turn, stay still, just where you are.  There is something yet to learn.  Be careful lest you jar the threads that fate is weaving in a pattern you can't see.  Be passive.  Trust the Hand that works the looms of destiny.  Though it is your wish to set things right and put things straight, choose the wiser way.  Have faith.  With patience watch and wait.  There's a purpose in it all as Time will surely prove...and when you least expect it, you will see the mountain move.

            -author unknown


"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived.  This is to have succeeded."

                         -Ralph Waldo Emerson

sugar bush squirrel as forest stump

Skippy and Beamer

Can you say tonight, in parting with the day that's slipping fast,

That you helped a single brother of the many that you passed?

Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said?

Does the man whose hopes were fading now with courage look ahead?

Did you waste the day or lose it, was it well or poorly spent?

Did you leave a trail of kindness or a scar of discontent?

As you close your eyes in slumber, do you think that God will say,

"You have earned one more tomorrow by the work you did today?"

                                             - author unknown


A game of cards or even dice, is just a lot of fun

As long as there is not too much that might be lost or won,

As long as friendliness prevails and people only play

To share the happiness of life and pass the time away.

But when there is no fooling, and the future is at stake

It is a sin to gamble and a serious mistake.

Because a hard-earned income and a noble family name

Are so much more important than the outcome of a game.

And so when cards are shuffled or the fingers fling the dice

It all depends on what is fun and what may be the price.

                          -author unknown

Las Vegas gambling

smoking jacket pipe and cognac

Every life needs a worthy goal.  Recently, a striking sentence appeared in a popular magazine: "If you get what you want, will you want what you have."  One of the hard facts of life is that some of the things we seek prove disappointing even though they seem attractive from a distance.  Wealth quickly loses its glitter, great power can become a stifling burden and the thundering applause of the moment dies quickly into silence.  Remember the pathetic lines of the poet, "I have spent a lifetime seeking things I have spurned when I have found them."  No wonder so many runners go to pieces at the end.  They have been running without a reason.

                   -author unknown


**********************************

"May this encourage you always."

Don't spend major time with minor people. If there are people in your life who continually disappoint you, break promises, stomp on your dreams, too judgmental, have different values and don't have your back during difficult times...that is not a friend.

To have a friend, be a friend. Sometimes in life, as you grow, your friends will either grow or go.

When I think of any of my successes, I am thankful to GOD from whom all blessings flow, and to my family and friends who enrich my life.

Over the years my phone book has changed because I changed for the better. At first you think you're going to be alone, but after a while new people show up in your life who make your life so much sweeter and easier to endure.

Remember what your elders used to say, "Birds of a feather flock together. If you're an eagle, don't hang around chickens: Chickens Can't Fly!"

I love the Lord and thank Him for all he does in my life; therefore, I'm passing this on. Yes, I do love Jesus. He is my source of existence and Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I would be nothing.

Without Him, I am nothing but with Him I can do all things. Phil 4:13

Be Positive - Be Progressive - Take the time to make a positive difference in someone's life.

Walk by faith
, Not by sight!!!

                                     ---author unknown

tractor farm and overalls

When all else fails...eat chocolate...

chocoholic squirrel

squirrel bar

build a bridge for pete's sake!!!

If you want to live your life,

You gotta drive the train!

If you want to live your life, you gotta drive the train!

Train of Life

Some folks ride the train of life

Looking out the rear,

Watching miles of life roll by,

And marking every year.

They sit in sad remembrance,

Of wasted days gone by,

And curse their life for what it was,

And hang their head and cry.

But I don't concern myself with that,

I took a different vent,

I look forward to what life holds,

And not what has been spent.

So strap me to the engine,

As securely as I can be,

I want to be out on the front,

To see what I can see.

I want to feel the winds of change,

Blowing in my face,

I want to see what life unfolds,

As I move from place to place.

I want to see what's coming up, 

Not looking at the past,

Life's too short for yesterdays,

It moves along too fast.

So if the ride gets bumpy,

While you are looking back,

Go up front, and you may find,

Your life has jumped the track.

It's all right to remember,

That's part of history,

But up front's where it's happening,

There's so much mystery.

The enjoyment of living,

Is not where we have been,

It's looking ever forward,

To another year and ten.

It's searching all the byways,

Never should you refrain,

For if you want to live your life,

You gotta drive the train!

~author unknown~

train of life

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"

The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister...please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop..." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother, "he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. "Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:

"Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!" God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice to listen or not.

Driving thru life too fast!!!
waving goodbye

Taxi Driver

Story of a Cab Ride

STORY OF A CAB RIDE

Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. Early one morning I was dispatched to a building at 2:30 a.m.  When I arrived, the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.

Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice,wait a minute, then drive away. But, I had seen too many impoverished  people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation.   Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door.

This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked. "Just a minute", answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.

The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

"It's nothing", I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated". "Oh, you're such a good boy", she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?" "It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly.  "Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice".

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. "I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long." I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

"What route would you like me to take?" I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.  Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said,"I'm tired. Let's go now."

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up.  They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.
"Nothing," I said.
"You have to make a living," she answered.
"There are other passengers," I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
"You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."
I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life. I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought.

For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk.  What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

God won't ask:
God won't ask what kind of car you drove; He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.
God won't ask the square footage of your house, He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet, He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.
God won't ask what your highest salary was, He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.
God won't ask what your job title was, He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.
God won't ask how many friends you had, He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.
God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived, He'll ask how you treated your neighbors.
God won't ask about the color of your skin, He'll ask about the content of your character.
God won't ask why it took you so long to seek Salvation, He'll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of Hell.

                                                              -author unknown


Sugar Bush's Taxi Service

Winter Coat & Matching Hat

Positive Mental Attitude

We can all learn a lesson from this great old girl.

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully
dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and
makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a
nursing home today.

Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move
necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing
home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.

As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had
been hung on her window.

"I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old
having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room .... just wait."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is
something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not
doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged... it's how I arrange
my mind.

I already decided to love it.  It's a decision I make every morning
when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the
difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or
get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new
day and all the happy memories I've stored away ...just for this time in
my life.

Old age is like a bank account ...you withdraw from what you've put
in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the
bank account of memories.

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still
depositing.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.

2. Free your mind from worries.

3. Live simply.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less."


Sugar Bush says, "If you'd like to contribute a short excerpt or clip to be added to 'Squirrel Bytes', please EMAIL IT TO ME and be sure to put all of your information and the name of the author (if you know).  I encourage all of you to help me, Sugar Bush Squirrel, to help others with words of inspiration, advice and solutions to everyday problems they could be experiencing. 

This is your forum to share your favorite little poems and short excerpts, which have brought you enjoyment or moments of help during your lifetime."