The following is from the Chicken Soup Home Delivery. If you would like to receive this via email please click on the following link for chicken soup. What follows is dedicated by Chicken Soup to the students at Columbine High School. Thanks.
In honor of the wounded, lost and families of Littleton Colorado April 20, 1999
Columbine High School ~ April 20, 1999 ~ Remember
Teenagers Today
I can’t count how many times people have uttered, while shaking their heads in obvious disappointment, " just don’t know what is with teenagers today."
The other day I was in my car on my way to the farmers market with my friend Jan when we passed two teens standing by the side of the road with a car wash sign. My car was filthy and my heart was full, so I pulled over. There were teenagers everywhere. There was a group directing the cars and another group spraying them down. As sponges were wiped over every square inch of my dirty card, I sat enjoying the little water battles and the many silent scenarios that were so obviously taking place. I couldn’t help but wonder how many crushes, how many new friendships and how many little insecurities were in the air on this beautiful Saturday afternoon. I was amazed at how forty to fifty teenagers had devoted their Saturday to washing cards, and I was curious what their motivation might be.
At the end of the assembly line I handed them a twenty-dollar bill and asked what they were raising money for. They explained to me that a friend of their, C. T. Schmitz, had recently died of cancer. He was only fifteen years old and six-feet-two. He had gone to school with a lot of the teenagers who were there that day and each of them had memories of a boy sweeter than any they had known. His friend Kevin had decided to put this car wash together because he wanted to honor his friend and also bring together his classmates with his boy scout troop. He told me that they wanted to plant a tree in front of their school and if they raised enough money they would put a plaque there also. Both would be in memory of their friend C. T.
They handed me a bag of homemade cookies with my receipt and we drove away. I asked Jan to read to me what the tag that was tied to the bag said. It said simply, "Thanks for helping us plant a tree of C. T."
Yeah! I don’t know what is with teenagers today!
By Kimberly Kirberger
from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II
Copyright 1998 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger
No Matter What Happens
I remember a time when each day was long,
When the world was a playground and my life a song,
And I fluttered through years with barely a care,
Ignoring the future and what waited there.
School was intriguing and filled with delights.
I played away daytimes and dreamed away nights.
My parents assured me I had nothing to fear,
And that no matter what happened, they'd always be there.
Little I knew of a world outside home,
Where tragedy, sorrow and murder could roam.
All I saw were blue skies, rainbows and stars.
I looked past destruction of buildings and cars.
As a child, my biggest concern was just me;
I had to be happy, I had to be free.
And if I was content, I would not shed a tear,
And no matter what happened, I still would be here.
But as I grow up, darkness starts to set in;
My bright world has turned into concrete and tin.
I now see the violence I looked past before;
My friends start to die and my heart hits the floor.
Deadly diseases claim people I love,
There are landfills below me, pollution above.
I often think back to when life was a game.
But no matter what happens, it can't be the same.
There are days when I just want to break down and howl,
To give up completely, to throw in the towel,
But I hold my head high and I push my way through.
I have too much to give and so much to do.
And I make a vow that, though it'll be hard,
I'll go on with a smile and play every card.
I'll give all I can, help others and love.
No matter what happens, life will bloom again,
And the strength I don't have will come from above.
So come, take my hand, and through darkness we will sail
If we all join together, we never can fail.
We'll remember to care, remember to feel,
And no matter what happens, our world we will heal.
By Alison Mary Forbes
Submitted by Barry Weber
from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II
Copyright 1998 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger
Seeing, Really Seeing
Seeing, Really Seeing His nose was all smooshed looking, like maybe his mom had dropped him when he was a baby. His ears were two - maybe even two and a half - sizes too big for his head. And his eyes! His eyes bulged like they were ready to pop right out of their sockets. His clothes were nice, Tim had to admit. But he was still the homeliest kid he'd ever seen.
So why was the new kid leaning on Jennifer Lawrence's locker like they were best friends or something? She was a cheerleader and one of the coolest girls in school. And why was she smiling at him instead of twisting her nose all funny like she did when she looked at Tim? "Strange," he thought. "Really strange."
By lunchtime, Tim had forgotten about the new kid. He sat down at his usual table - in the corner, all alone. Tim was a loner. He wasn't as ugly as the new kid - just a little on the heavy side and kind of nerdy. Nobody talked to Tim much, but he was used to it. He had adjusted.
About halfway through his peanut butter and ketchup sandwich (he put ketchup on everything), Tim looked up and saw that kid again. He was holding his lunch tray and standing over Jennifer, grinning like he'd just aced a math test. And she was grinning, too. Then she moved over and made room on the bench next to her. "Strange. Really strange."
But even stranger was what the new kid did. Tim would have plunked into that seat so fast, his lunch bag would have been left behind, just hanging in the air. But not this new kid. He shook his head, looked around and walked straight to Tim's table.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked.
Just like that. "Mind if I join you? Like the entire eighth grade was fighting to sit at my table or something," Tim thought.
"Sure," said Tim. "I mean no. I don't mind."
So the kid sat down. And he came back, day after day, until they were friends. Real friends.
Tim had never had a real friend before, but Jeff - that was his name - invited Tim to his house, on trips with his family and even hiking. Right - Tim hiking!
Funny thing was...one day Tim realized he wasn't so heavy anymore. "All that hiking, I guess," thought Tim. And kids were talking to him, nodding to him in the hallways, and even asking him questions about assignments and things. And Tim was talking back to them. He wasn't a loner anymore.
One day, when Jeff sat down at the table, Tim had to ask him. "Why did you sit with me that first day? Didn't Jen ask you to sit with her?"
"Sure, she asked. But she didn't need me."
"Need you?"
"You did."
"I did?" Tim hoped nobody was listening. "This was really a dumb conversation," he thought.
"You were sitting all alone," Jeff explained. "You looked lonely and scared."
"Scared?" "Uh huh, scared. I knew that look. I used to have one, too, just like it."
Tim couldn't believe it.
"Maybe you didn't notice, but I'm not exactly the best-looking guy in school," Jeff went on. "At my old school I sat alone. I was afraid to look up and see if anyone was laughing at me."
"You?" Tim knew he sounded stupid, but he couldn't picture Jeff by himself. He was so outgoing.
"Me. It took a friend to help me see that I wasn't alone because of my nose or my ears. I was alone because I never smiled or took an interest in other people. I was so concerned about myself that I never paid attention to anyone else. That's why I sat with you. To let you know someone cared. Jennifer already knew."
"Oh, she knows, all right," Tim said as he watched two guys fighting to sit near her. Tim and Jeff both laughed. "It felt good to laugh and I've been doing a lot of it lately," realized Tim.
Then Tim looked at Jeff. Really looked. "He isn't so bad looking," thought Tim. "Oh, not handsome or anything like that. But he isn't homely. Jeff is my friend." That's when Tim realized that he was seeing Jeff for the first time. Months earlier all he had seen was a funny-looking nose and "Dumbo" ears. Now he was seeing Jeff, 'really' seeing him.
by Marie P. McDougal
from Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul
Copyright 1998 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Hansen,
and Irene Dunlap
A Good Reason to Look Up
When I was in junior high school, what my friends thought of me was real important to me. During those years I grew much taller than most of my peers. Being so tall made me feel uncomfortable. In order to keep the focus off me and my unusual height, I went along with the crowd who would play practical jokes on other kids at school. Being one of the class clowns gave me a way to make sure that the jokes were directed at others, and not at me.
I would pull all kinds of pranks that were hurtful, and sometimes even harmful, to others. Once before gym class, my friends and I put Icy Hot in the gym shorts of one of the kids on the basketball team. Not only was he terribly embarrassed, but he also had to go to the school nurse's office. I thought it was going to be funny, but it all ended up that no one thought it was - least of all my father.
My parents didn't always think that my behavior was funny. They reminded me about The Golden Rule: to treat others as I would like to be treated. Many times, I was disciplined for the hurtful way that I was treating others. What I was doing was hurting other kids, and in turn hurting my reputation as someone to be looked up to. My friends were looking up to me because I was tall, but what did they see?
My parents wanted me to be a leader who was a good example to others - to be a decent human being. They taught me to set my own goals, and to do the best at everything that I set out to do. During the lectures I got from my father, he told me over and over again to be the leader that I was meant to be - to be a big man in my heart and actions, as well as in my body. I had to question myself whether or not it was important to be the kind of leader and person my father believed I was inside. I knew in my heart that he was right. So I tried my best to follow my father's advice.
Once I focused on being the best that I could be at basketball and became a leader in the game, I took my responsibility to set a good example more seriously. I sometimes have to stop and think before I act, and I make mistakes occasionally - everyone is human. But I continue to look for opportunities where I can make a difference, and to set a good example because of my father's advice. I now pass it on to you.
"Be a leader, Shaq, not a follower. Since people already have to look up to you, give them a `good' reason to do so."
by Shaquille O'Neal
from Chicken Soup for the Kid's Soul
Copyright 1998 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen,
Patty Hansen, and Irene Dunlap
A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul
Do yourself a favor as you walk through life:
slow down and take the time to really see.
Take a moment to see what is going on
around you right now, right where you are.
You may be missing something wonderful.
-J. Michael Thomas
If we discovered that we had
only five minutes left to say
all that we wanted to say,
every telephone booth
would be occupied by people
calling other people to stammer
that they loved them.
-Christopher Morley
Sooner or later, we must realize
there is no station, no one place
to arrive at once and for all.
The true joy of life is in the trip.
-Robert Hastings
Discouraged?
Driving home from work one day,
I stopped to watch a local Little League baseball game.
As I sat down behind the bench on the first-base line,
I asked one of the boys what the score was.
"We're behind 14 to nothing,"
he answered, smiling.
"Really," I said.
"I have to say you don't look very discouraged."
"discouraged?" the boy asked with a puzzled look.
"Why should we be discouraged? We haven't been up to bat yet."
-Jack Canfield
If I had my life to live over
I'd dare to make more mistakes ...
I'd be sillier, take fewer things seriously ...
I'd take more chances, take more trips,
climb more mountains, swim more rivers ...
I'd eat more ice cream and less beans ...
I'd have perhaps, more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones.
Yes, if I had my life to live over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances,
ride more merry-go-rounds
and pick more daisies ...
-Nadine Stair(Age 85)(adapted)
Random Kindness
They say you can't smile
without cheering yourself up a little --
likewise, you can't commit a random kindness
without feeling as if your own troubles
have been lightened
if only because the world
has become a slightly better place.
-Adair Lara
... life is what we make it,
always has been,
always will be.
-Grandma Moses
Everyone needs recognition
for his accomplishments,
but few people
make the need known
quite as clearly as the little boy
who said to his father.
"Let's play darts. I'll throw
and you say 'Wonderful!'"
-from Bits & Pieces
Universal RX
No moving parts, no batteries, no monthly payments and no fees;
Inflation proof, non-taxable, in fact, it's quite relaxable;
it can't be stolen, won't pollute, one size fits all, do not dilute.
It uses little energy, but yields results enormously.
Relieves your tension and your stress, invigorates your happiness;
Combats depression, makes you beam, and elevates your self-esteem!
Your circulation, it corrects without unpleasant side effects
It is, I think, the perfect drug; may I prescribe, my friends ...
the hug!
(And, of course, fully returnable!)
-Henry Matthew Ward
A Small Boy
A small boy looks at a star
And began to weep.
And the star said,
Boy why are you weeping?
And the boy said,
You are so far away
I will never be able to touch you.
And the star answered,
Boy if I were not already in your heart
You would not be able to see me.
-John Magliola
It is important to keep searching
for the small joys, although they
are sometimes the most elusive.
Trust that these joys will appear,
sometimes unexpectedly, and often
in life's darkest moments...
for instance, in the smile
on a baby's face.
-Katie Gill
Each second we live
is a new and
unique moment
of the universe,
a moment
that will never
be again.
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LADY JUSTICE GUESTBOOK
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