Rosemead Kiwanis Club
"Serving the Community Since 1945"
FAX OF
LIFE
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Rosemead Kiwanis Club "Serving the Community Since 1945" |
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FAX OF LIFE
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The Fax of Life
A weekly inspiration, courtesy of the Kiwanis Club of Scott's Valley
Silence - the Veterans Best Salute?
We owe so much to the veterans who have sacrificed to keep us free.
It can be hard to find the words to express our gratitude, but sometimes silence can be a sufficient salute.
Some examples:
Colin Powell: When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of ‘empire building' by George Bush.
He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many
of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom
beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in
return is enough to bury those that did not return."
It became very quiet in the room.
The Boeing Engineer:
Then there was a conference in France where a number of
international engineers were taking part, including French and
American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into
the room saying "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done?
He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami
victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?"
A Boeing engineer stood up and
replied quietly: "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can
treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply
emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three
cafeterias, each with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a
day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea
water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in
transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have
eleven such ships; how many does France have?"
Once again, dead silence.
The American Admiral: A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies.
At a cocktail reception, he
found himself standing with a large group of officers that included
personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away
in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly
complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans
learn only English. He then asked, ‘Why is it that we always have to
speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied ‘Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German."
You could have heard a pin drop.
Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.
The Kiwanis Club of Scott's Valley is a community service club and meets at the Heavenly Café in Scott's Valley on Wednesdays at 7 am. You are welcome to join us anytime.
We do not charge anyone for receiving the "Fax;" however. if you have been encouraged in any way by the message, pass it on by saying something encouraging to someone else during the week.
Neither the Scott's Valley or Rosemead Kiwanis Clubs make any representations as to the literal or historical accuracy of words or actions attributed to named individuals; material selected for the Fax of Life comes from a variety of sources and is chosen based on its inspirational value as given.