How You Look At Things

Originally Published 2.11.09

Last week my Rotary Club featured a teacher as speaker. She works with students the schools call “developmentally disabled.” She doesn’t consider them disabled, but different-abled.

Her students think outside the box. Ask most kids, “What’s the difference between 8 and 5?” They answer 3.

Her students will say one is odd and other is even. Or they’ll note that one is symmetrical and the other is not. All are good answers, just not the expected ones.

In her talk, she relayed a story told to her by Zig Ziglar. It’s appropriate for today’s news…


We’re Rich!

A hundred years ago, two brothers read about the riches that could be earned from trapping wolves and headed west to seek their fortune. The brothers learned to track and set out to hunt the elusive predators.

Alas, no wolves were to be found. After months of searching, the brothers concluded the area was hunted out. They decided to break camp the next morning and try a new location.

During the night, one brother woke to the sound of a wolf’s howl. He stepped outside of his tent and could see that the camp was surrounded by a large pack of 50 angry wolves, at the edge of the campfire’s light, ferociously bearing their teeth, snarling.

Not wanting to make any sudden moves or sounds, the first brother softly called the second.

The second brother emerged from the tent, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He blinked once or twice as he looked at the pack of ravenous wolves, then leaped into the air, pumped his fist, and shouted, “We’re rich!”