The Barefoot Bandit

Colton Harris Moore was born on March 21, 1991, in the sleepy town of Mount Vernon, Washington. Colton was bored. So one day, at the age of 17, he decided to become the Barefoot Bandit. Removing his shoes, Colton broke into hunting and fishing cabins near his home. This escalated to stealing cars and trucks,…

Mustard Seed

Jesus said you need faith the size of a . . . Bowling ball Mountain Purple people eater Mustard seed If you guessed (d) mustard seed, consider yourself a Bible scholar. Did you know that a mustard seed measures only two millimeters in diameter, yet grows into a nine-foot tree? Thus, the seed grows into…

Antares

On the next clear night, look for Antares. It will be the 15th brightest star in the sky. You will find it in the Scorpius constellation. Now, 15th brightest may not sound too bright – until you consider Antares is a whopping 550 light years away. (That means that what you see when you look…

Knuckleball Joe

Phil and Joe Niekro were two of the best knuckleball pitchers of all time, amassing a total of 535 wins between them. Joe was one of the Houston Astros’ greatest pitchers ever. I attended many of his games in my high school and college years, in the old Astrodome. But it was what Joe did…

Library Joke

Here’s your library joke for the day. A man walked into a library and the librarian pulled out a gun and shot him dead. The cops rushed in and arrested the librarian on the spot.  “Why am I under arrest?” asked the librarian. “Are you arresting me for shooting that guy?” “No,” said the cops.…

33 Roses

In order to express his love for his young girlfriend, a young man ordered 21 red roses for her 21st birthday. But because he was so kind to the florist, unknown to him, the florist added an additional dozen roses out of sheer kindness. Thus, the 21-year-old lady got 33 roses, along with a card…

Instant Cake Mix

In 1947, General Mills introduced its first instant cake mix. They expected overwhelming success, but the cake mix didn’t sell well. The company was confused, because it had reduced a difficult task to a mix that only required adding water. The problem was that the process was made too easy. General Mills hired a marketing…

Failures

Writing for Psychology Today, Dr. Lawrence R. Samuel cites seven keys to success: Reject the model of money, power, and fame. Avoid comparisons to others. Take a holistic view of yourself. Celebrate your victories, no matter how small. Accept failures. Prioritize relationships. Leave something behind. Let’s talk about #5. It is important, in any aspect…

No More Spins

A politician was asked for his opinion of whisky. “If you mean that demon drink that poisons the mind, pollutes the body, desecrates family life, and inflames sinners, I’m against it. But if you mean the elixir of Christmas cheer, the shield against winter chill, the taxable potion that puts needed funds into public coffers…

Legacy

In the sixteenth century, an English playwright named John Haywood died about a decade after William Shakespeare was born. He was less famous than Shakespeare, but perhaps you’ve heard of some of his work. Haywood coined the following phrases: “Many hands make light work,” “Better late than never,” “A rolling stone gathers no moss,” and…