How inspirational! Thank you!
Linda G.
From: ourplace-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ourplace-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On ;
Behalf Of Nancy Lynn
Sent: Sunday, February 14, 2016 3:21 PM
To: mcb chat
Subject: [ourplace] Hi Handsome, My Name is Rose.
Education is NOT the learning of facts but the training of the mind to THINK.
-- Albert Einstein
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to
get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a
gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old
lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said, 'Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give
you a hug?' I laughed and enthusiastically responded; 'Of course you may!' and
she gave me a giant squeeze. 'Why are you in college at such a young, innocent
age?' I asked.
She jokingly replied, 'I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a
couple of kids...' 'No seriously,' I asked. I was curious what may have
motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. 'I always dreamed of
having a college education and now I'm getting one!' she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate
milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we
would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening
to this 'time machine' as she shared her wisdom and experiences with me.
Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made
friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the
attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.
I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the
podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by
five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into
the microphone and simply said, 'I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for
Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so
let me just tell you what I know.' As we laughed she cleared her throat and
began, ' We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop
playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and
achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to
have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people
walking around who are dead and don't even know it! There is a huge difference
between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in
bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty
years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never
do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take
any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in
change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we
did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are
those with regrets.’ She concluded her speech by courageously singing 'The
Rose.'
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily
lives. At the year's end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all
those months ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the
wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you
can possibly be.
When you finish reading this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your
friends and family, they'll really enjoy it!
These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living
by what we get. We make a Life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He
will bring you through it. Pass this message on to 7 people. You will receive a
miracle tomorrow (if you don't think so....look out your window when you wake
in the morning and think about it)
If you choose not, then you refuse to bless someone else.
'Good friends are like stars'.... You don't always see them, but you know they
are always there.
