As some of you folks might know, I am a Ham Radio Operator. When I found this story told by a fellow Ham Radio Operator, Jeffrey Davis, I knew I wanted to share it with all of you.
One Saturday morning, while wearching the ham bands, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whoever he was talking with something about "a thousand marbles."
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 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 lvied 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 three toy stores to roundup1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away."
"I found that by watching the marble 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 I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time."
"It was nice to meet you Tom. I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. 75 year Old Man, this is K9NZQ clear and going QRT, good morning!"
You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few Hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast, and hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."
At first these men were self-centered and they spent their time doing what they wanted. They were not thinking of those around them. They realized their mistake and
spent more time thinking of others, which made them better men.
My main question is how do we spend our Saturdays let alone the rest of the week?
Do we make the best use of our time? As Kiwanians are we selfish with time, tied up with our busy lifestyles, or do we give of our time to help others? Are we the kind of Kiwanis District that needs to run to the nearest toy store and buy marbles or are we the District that doesn't need to be reminded to serve. I'd like to think that we are the latter.
Your Governor Bill Mullins (KD7BFJ)
