A father had three sons who were always quarreling among themselves. When he was unable to stop their disputes by talking with them separately he decided to give them an example of the problems caused by disunion. So one day he asked each of them to bring him a bundle of sticks.
When each of his sons had brought him a bundle of sticks he asked them to hold the sticks in their hands and in succession he told them to break the bundle of sticks into pieces. All three tried with all of their strength but were not able to break the sticks.
The father then opened the bundle took the sticks out separately one by one and gave them to his sons. He then asked them to break the sticks one at a time which each son did easily.
The father then said, “My sons, if you are of one mind and united to assist each other you will be as this bundle uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies. But, if you are divided among yourselves you will be broken as easily as these sticks were broken.”
~ COOPERATION ~
And the Lord said to the Rabbi, “Come and I will show you hell.” They entered a room where a group of people sat around a huge pot of stew. Everyone was famished and desperate. Each held a spoon that reached the pot but had a handle so long that it could not be used to reach their mouths. The suffering was terrible.
“Come now and I will show you Heaven,” the Lord said. They entered another room which was identical to the first, the pot of stew, the group of people and the same long spoons. But in that room everyone was happy and nourished.
“I don’t understand,” said the Rabbi. “Why are they happy here when they were miserable in the other room and everything was the same.” The Lord smiled and said, “Ah, but don’t you see?” He asked, “Here they have learned to feed each other.”
~ PEACE ~
We face the necessity of solving our problems at home in ways which may offer guidance to millions abroad groping for their own solutions, William Bratt once wrote.
We must find answers for pressing problems of world peace, for raising living standards, for safeguarding individual liberty and bringing management and labor to an understanding of the united effort necessary to advance the common good.
If we face these issues we will find the answers which will benefit our own people and provide the world with the lead it is looking for. This is surely our mission in the world today and our great challenge.
Don’t know how long ago William Bratt wrote these words but they surely apply today as well as the time they were penned.
~ INSURANCE ~
The Travelers Insurance Company probably issued the first accident policy in the United States to James Bolter of Hartford, Conn. in 1864. The policy covered Mr. Bolter for his walk from his job at the Post Office to his home on Buckingham Street. The cost of the premium was two cents.
Finally, Groucho Marx once said, “It is not events, that have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy with it.”
Tribble is the owner of Fayette Newspapers, Inc.
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