I received this from a friend and it made me think of Tony too: *Appreciating Life*
One day I had lunch with some old friends. Jim, a short, balding golfer type, about 85-years old, came along with them; all in all, it was a pleasant bunch. When the menus were presented, my friends and I ordered salads, sandwiches, and soups, except for Jim who said, "A large piece of home-made apple pie, heated please." I wasn't sure my ears heard him right, and the others were aghast, when Jim continued, completely unabashed...."along with two large scoops of vanilla ice cream." We tried to act quite nonchalant, as if people did this all the time, but when our orders were brought out, I didn't enjoy eating mine. I couldn't take my eyes off of Jim as I watched him savoring each bite of his pie a-la-mode. The other guys just grinned in disbelief as they silently ate their lunches. The next time I went out to eat, I called Jim and invited him to join me. I lunched on a white meat tuna sandwich, while he ordered a chocolate parfait. Since I was chuckling, he wanted to know if he amused me. I answered, "Yes, you certainly do, but you also confuse me. How come you always order such rich desserts, while I feel like I must be sensible in my food choices?" He laughed and said "I'm tasting all that is possible for me to taste. I try to eat the food I need and do the things I should in order to stay healthy, but life's too short, my friend. I hate missing out on something good. This year I realized how old I was. (He grinned) I've never been this old before, so, while I'm still here, I've decided it's time to try all those things that, for years, I've been ignoring." He continued, "I haven't smelled all the flowers yet. There are too many trout streams I haven't fished. There's more fudge sundaes to wolf down and kites to be flown overhead. "There are too many golf courses I haven't played. I've not laughed at all the jokes. I've missed a lot of sporting events and potato chips and cokes. "I want to wade again in water and feel ocean spray on my face. I want to sit in a country church once more and thank God for His grace. "I want peanut butter every day spread on my morning toast. I want un-timed long distance calls to the one I love the most. "I haven't cried at all the movies yet, or walked in the morning rain. I need to feel wind on my face. I want to be in love again. "So, if I choose to have dessert, instead of having dinner, then should I die before night fall, I'd say I died a winner, because I missed out on nothing. I filled my heart's desire. I had that final piece of pie before my life expired." With that, I called the waitress over.. "I've changed my mind, " I said. "I want what he's having, only add some more whipped cream!" On Wed, Mar 23, 2016 at 5:00 PM, Michael Bliss <flyfish...@gmail.com> wrote: > Happy Birthday to one of the true gentlemen. You are appreciated by many. > > Mike > > On Tue, Mar 22, 2016 at 1:41 PM, Jack Harford <jharford.i...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> Hi Tony! happy happy birthday!! Have a Fantastic Year. May you be blessed >> with tight lines and bent rods. >> >> See you in a couple of weeks, >> Jack >> >> On Tue, Mar 22, 2016 at 3:28 PM, Allan Fish <afi...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: >> >>> Tony - Happy Birthday. >>> >>> You're getting better and better each year! >>> >>> >>> af >>> >>> -- >>> Allan Fish >>> Greenwood, IN >>> >>> -- >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" >>> group. >>> >>> To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en >>> >>> VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com >>> --- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "VFB Mail" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to vfb-mail+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >> >> -- >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" >> group. >> >> To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en >> >> VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "VFB Mail" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to vfb-mail+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > > > -- > Mike Bliss > > -- Mike Bliss -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VFB Mail" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to vfb-mail+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
