The Fax of Life

 A weekly inspiration, courtesy of the Kiwanis Club of Scott's Valley   

November 18, 2013                                            Volume 20, Number 5

The Blind Boy

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Are you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling. And even more beautiful is, knowing that you are the reason behind the smile.

                                                                                                            --- Contributed by Keith Murphy

Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time. All of its Clubs are independently-run community service groups.

• The Kiwanis Club of Scott's Valley normally meets at Bruno's Restaurant in Scott's Valley, CA, on Wednesdays at 7 am (second week of the month at 5:00 pm) - see the Scott's Valley Kiwanis website @ http://svkiwanis.org for details; The Kiwanis Club of Rosemead normally meets on Thursdays at 12:10 in Rosemead, CA - see the Rosemead Kiwanis website @ http://rosemeadkiwanis.org for confirmation and directions. Visitors are welcome to attend meetings of either club anytime.

• There is no charge to anyone for receiving the "Fax," which today is circulated by e-mail rather than literally by Fax. If you have been encouraged in any way by the message, pass it on by saying something encouraging to someone else during the week. To subscribe to the free RKC Reporter and RKC Kiwanicle, both of which include links to the "Fax," simply email kcrosemead@aol.com,

• Neither the Scott's Valley or Rosemead Kiwanis Clubs make any representations as to the accuracy of quotes or actions attributed to named individuals; material selected for the Fax of Life comes from a variety of sources and is chosen based solely on its presumed inspirational value to readers.