The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings.
Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being
the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of
not having to be at work. Either way, the first few
hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement
shack with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and
the morning paper in the other.
What began as a typical Saturday morning, turned
into one of those lessons that life seems to hand
you from time to time. Let me tell you about it.
I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the
band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday
morning swap net.
Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap,
with a tremendous signal and a golden voice.
You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in
the broadcasting business. He was telling whoever he
was talking with something about "a thousand marbles".
I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.
"Well,Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job.
I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to
be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe
a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a
week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's
dance recital."
He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom,
something that has helped me keep a good perspective on
my own priorities."
And that's when he began to explain his theory of
a "thousand marbles."
"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic.
The average person lives about seventy-five years.
I know, some live more and some live less, but on average,
folks live about seventy-five years."
"Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up
with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the
Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part."
"It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think
about all this in any detail", he went on, "and by that
time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.
I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I
only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy."
"So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble
they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to
round-up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside
of a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack
next to my gear. Every Saturday since then, I
have taken one marble out and thrown it away."
"I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I
focused more on the really important things in life.
There is nothing like watching your time here on this
earth run out to help get your priorities straight."
"Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off
with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast.
This morning, I took the very last marble out of the
container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday
then I have been given a little extra time.
And the one thing we can all use is a little more time."
"It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time
with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on
the band. 75 year Old Man, this is K9NZQ, clear and going
QRT, good morning!" You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this
fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about.
I had planned to work on the antenna that morning,
and then I was going to meet up with a few hams
to work on the next club newsletter.
Instead I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss.
"C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."
"What brought this on?" she asked with a smile.
"Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since
we spent a Saturday together with the kids.
Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out?
I need to buy some marbles."
~Author Unknown~
story but it sures gives a person something to think
about. You know, we really don't have to hunt for
marbles, anything would do (beans, pennies).
on all of my webpages. If I've missed anyone, my sincerest
apologies to you and if you would be so kind as to
e-mail me, I would promtly see that you receive the credit due
or remove the item, whichever you'd prefer. Of course,
I'm hoping you will graciously allow me to use them .
Thank you and God Bless
