How many marbles do you have?

[spartacus53]

How many marbles do you have?

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, of maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the kitchen, with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems
to hand you from time to time.

Let me tell you about it. I turned the volume up on my radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding chap with a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the
broadcasting business himself.

He was talking about "a thousand marbles" to someone named "Tom". I was intrigued and sat down to listen to
what he had to say. "Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital. " He continued, "Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles."

"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years." "Now then, I multiplied 75
times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime.

"Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part. "It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail", he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. "I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. "So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round-up 1000 marbles. "I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away.

"I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight. "Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones...... "It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!"

You could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show's moderator didn't have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the
gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast." "What brought this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special," I said. " It has just been a
long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."

[spartacus53]

I think the joker who thought this one up lost all his marbles even before writing it...

You don't have to be the sharpest tool in the shed to understand the value of life

[dirt doctor]

Yeah , and he could have given those marbles to some kid rather than throwing them away ........wasteful Bass turd !!

[spartacus53]

Dollars to donuts, he didn't recycle those marbles either

As you can clearly see there are many holes in all of these stories..

I for one just "LOVE" pointing them out

[FarmerChick]

we need a 'thud' icon...falling over flat on your face icon

oh man, Spart, stop digging up these stories cause this one is about to make me see lunch again.

I think the time the person spent on making a marble jar of death is sad. why would anyone make a marble jar of death...each one is one week less of your lfie, so make the most of it like you said, who does need to see their marbles disappearing to appreciate life?

and why do 'people' react and give their family time ONLY after hearing stories?
are people so sad in life they only react and give love and time etc when a story slaps them in the face?

[poorhunter78]

Dollars to donuts, he didn't recycle those marbles either

They sure make for good slingshot Ammo

[dirt doctor]

Dollars to donuts, he didn't recycle those marbles either

They sure make for good slingshot Ammo

Sure do and they come in a lot of different sizes .When I was a kid I was shown how to make a cannon out of a capped off small piece
of plumbing pipe . Firecrackers were used to propel the marble , not very accurate but a lot of fun .

[poorhunter78]

Dollars to donuts, he didn't recycle those marbles either

They sure make for good slingshot Ammo

Sure do and they come in a lot of different sizes .When I was a kid I was shown how to make a cannon out of a capped off small piece
of plumbing pipe . Firecrackers were used to propel the marble , not very accurate but a lot of fun .

[spartacus53]

dirt doctor, you do know you could take someones eye out with that

[dirt doctor]

dirt doctor, you do know you could take someones eye out with that

That was probably one of the safer things we did as kids .What blows me away is some of the stunts these kids do with skateboards nowadays .

[CaptainRobin]

Many years ago, my wife's aunt's home burned to the ground. All she was able to recover were some old marbles. When she rebuilt her home, she had the marbles embedded in the fireplace. That way, she could always point and say... "Well, I haven't lost my marbles"...
Robin