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Post by efg72 on Dec 10, 2021 13:31:47 GMT -5
A former colleague and friend, Sheila Burke, also a forever Dole staffer, read this today during the funeral-- it certainly gave me pause for reflection, especially
as we enter the Christmas season and try to live a better life. Sometimes the days are long but we all know the years sprint by--
Anyway I thought this was worth sharing
Blessings to All
The Dash
by Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning...to the end.
He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own -- the cars...the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.
So, think about this long and hard. Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left that can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger and show appreciation more,
and love the people in our lives like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy is being read with your life's actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?
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Post by longsuffering on Dec 10, 2021 14:30:03 GMT -5
An American hero. In the time period after the 1994 mid term election when Bob Dole was Senate majority leader and at the peak of his power and popularity with Presidential buzz all around him, I saw him speak at Mechanics Hall in Worcester.
He was fabulous. I remember one thing he said about his wife Elizabeth Dole who was the head of the American Red Cross at the time. "Some people who run charities want your money. My wife wants your blood." It brought the house down.🙂
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Post by efg72 on Dec 10, 2021 14:31:17 GMT -5
A wonderful man and treasure for this country
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 10, 2021 16:29:21 GMT -5
May his soul rest in peace with the thanks of this nation.
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Post by sader1970 on Dec 10, 2021 16:47:33 GMT -5
The Greatest Generation are almost all gone.
Sadly, the email notices from Holy Cross come with increasing frequency of the passing of my Classmates. And we're the Vietnam generation, many years beyond the giants of the 40's, our parents' generation.
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Post by efg72 on Dec 10, 2021 17:26:40 GMT -5
That is a message we as a generational group need to communicate to all who follow us so they truly understand and value what they have been given and take for granted-again a general statement that my kids rightfully kill me on every day.
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Post by Bleed Purple on Dec 16, 2021 21:56:56 GMT -5
Dole had a great wit until the very end. I heard that on his death bed he quipped that he was saddened to be leaving this life but was looking forward to now being able to vote in Chicago. Priceless.  |
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Post by princetoncrusader on Dec 17, 2021 18:36:33 GMT -5
I had the pleasure of meeting Sen. Dole at a high yield bond conference sponsored by one of the major Wall St. banks back in the mid 1990s. Due to his WWII injuries, he used his left arm to shake hands. I said I had not heard him interviewed on the Imus radio show in a while, and he muttered something along the lines, "You need a flack jacket for that show." He just seemed like a very down to earth man with a good sense of humor.
Reading the story about him in the WSJ recently, I was surprised to learn that he was on the freshman basketball team at the University of Kansas in 1941 and made the varsity in 1942. But then he got drafted. A true member of the Greatest Generation. May he rest in peace.
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