Sub Menu:  Charity Events   Just For Fun     Staff News     Social News     That's Interesting

INDEX                                                                    The Grafter - That's Interesting!                                         

    1.  Facts and sayings from the 1500's
      2. Actual comments made on student's reports by teachers
      3. Comments made in the year 1955
      4. Actual comments made by Police Officers
      5. How old is grandma?

Here  are some facts about the 1500s and sayings from that period:  

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man  of the  house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the   other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of  all  the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could  actually lose  someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!"
Houses had thatched roofs, thick straw piled high, with no wood  underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the  animals would slip and fall  off the roof. Hence the saying  "It's raining cats and dogs."  
There  was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.  This posed a real problem in the bedroom, where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy or four poster beds came into existence.

       
1. Since my last report, your child has reached rock bottom and has started  to dig.
2. I would not allow this student to breed.
3. Your child has delusions of adequacy.
4. Your son is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot
5. Your son sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them.
6. The student has a 'full six-pack' but lacks the plastic thing to hold it all together.
7. This child has been working with glue too much.
8. When your daughter's IQ reaches 50, she should sell.
9. The gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming..
10. If this student were any more stupid, he'd have to be watered twice a week.
11. It's impossible to believe the sperm that created this child beat out 1,000,000 others.
12. The wheel is turning but the hamster is definitely dead.

Comments made in the year 1955 - that's only 56 years ago!

 ‘I’m afraid to send my kids to the movies any more.  Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying
 DAMN in ‘GONE WITH THE WIND’, it seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it.’
‘I read the other day where some scientist thinks it’s possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it.'
‘I never thought I’d see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric.....  
They are even making electric typewriters now.'
‘It’s too bad things are so tough nowadays.  I see where a few married women are having to work to
 make ends meet, and it won’t be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to
 watch their kids so they can both work.’
 ‘I’m afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business.’
‘There is no sense going on short trips anymore for a weekend. It costs nearly £5 a night to stay in a hotel.’

These are actual comments made by Police Officers.

"You know, stop  lights don't come any redder than the one you just went  through."
 "Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch after you wear them a while."
 "If you take your hands off the car, I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."
 "If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."
 "Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? Because that's the speed of the bullet that'll be chasing you."
 "You don't know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want to on the ticket!" "Warning! You want a warning? O.K, I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."
"The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not.  Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"
"Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, a fair is a place where you go to ride on rides and eat candy floss."
"Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."
"Just how big were those 'two beers' you say you had?"
"No sir, we don't have quotas anymore. We used to, but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we can."
"I'm glad to hear that the Chief Constable is a personal friend. So you know someone who can raise your bail."
"You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? You're right, we don't.. Sign here."

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother about current events.
The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the computer age, and just things in general.
The Grandmother replied, "Well, let me think a minute ... I was born before:
Television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, photocopiers, contact lenses and the pill
There were no:    Credit cards, laser beams or ball-point pens
Man had not invented: Tights, air conditioners, dishwashers and clothes dryers 
We had not heard of:  FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings. 
In my day:  "Grass" was mowed, "coke" was a cold drink, "pot" was something your mother cooked in and
"chip" meant a piece of wood, "hardware" was found in a hardware store and "software" wasn't even a word. 
When I was young:   Every family had a father and a mother.
Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.  
Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings.
Your grandfather and I got married first and then lived together.
And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.  
No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap. and how old do you think I am?"

Look carefully at the B-17 Flying   Fortress on the right and note how   shot up it is - one engine dead, tail,   horizontal stabilizer and nose shot up.   It was ready to fall out of the sky.   (This is a painting done by an artist   from the description of both pilots   many years later.) Then realize that   there is a German ME-109 fighter   
flying next to it. Now read the story   below, you'll be surprised.   

Charlie Brown was a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 379th Bomber Group at Kimbolton in Cambridgeshire. His B-17 was called 'Ye Old Pub' and was in a terrible state, having been hit by flak and fighters.  The compass was damaged and they were flying deeper over enemy territory instead of heading home to Kimbolton.  After flying the B-17 over an enemy airfield, a German pilot named Franz Stigler was ordered to take off and shoot down the B-17.
When he got near the B-17, he could not believe his eyes. In his words, he 'had never seen a plane in such a bad state'.  The tail and rear section was severely damaged, and the tail gunner wounded.  The top gunner was all over the top of the fuselage. The nose was smashed and there were holes everywhere.   Despite having ammunition, Franz flew to the side of the B-17 and looked at Charlie Brown, the pilot.  Brown was scared and struggling to control his damaged and blood-stained plane.  Aware that they had no idea where they were going, Franz waved at Charlie to turn 180 degrees. Franz escorted and guided the stricken plane to, and slightly over, the North Sea towards the East Coast.  He then saluted Charlie Brown and turned away, back home. When Franz landed he told the CO that the plane had been shot down over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody. Charlie Brown and the remains of his crew told all at their briefing, but were ordered never to talk about it.
More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the Luftwaffe pilot who saved the crew. After years of research, Franz was found. He never talked about the incident, not even at post-war reunions.   They met in the USA at a 379th Bomber Group reunion,together with 25 people who are alive now - all because Franz never fired his guns that day.  When asked why he didn't shoot them down, Stigler later said “I didn't have the heart to finish those brave men.  I flew beside them for a long time.  They were trying desperately to get home and I was going to let them do that. I could not have shot at them. It would have been the same as shooting at a man in a parachute.” 

This was back in the days when there was honour in being a warrior. They proudly wore uniforms, and they didn't hide in ambush inside a mosque, or behind women and children, nor did they use mentally retarded women as suicide bombers to target and kill innocent civilians.
How times have changed!

The Charlie Schulz Philosophy - continued

How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of
yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers.
They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies.
Awards tarnish.
Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today.
It's already tomorrow in Australia! 
Be yourself, everyone else is taken!’

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one -

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through
    school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a
   difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something
   worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel
    appreciated and special!!
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
     Easier?

The lesson:  The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials. the most money.. or the most awards. They simply are the ones who care the most.