Hall of Fame
One of the first ever Halls of Fame was founded in 1939 for American National Basketball stars. Since then most American sports and many music genre’s have developed their own version of the Hall of Fame.
Will and Guy wish to develop their own Hall of Fame. We wish to acknowledge those who have made outstanding contributions to this web site.
Name – Year Inducted
Hannah Baker – 2005
John Franklin – 2005
Alan Turnham – 2005
Alicia Moss – 2006
John Reeves – 2009
Maggie Nutt – 2011
The Whale – A Beautiful and Inspirational Tale
Will and guy have been sent this report by two of our regular contributors to the site – Maggie Nutt and John Reeves. We are grateful for their additions.
A female humpback whale had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth.
A fisherman spotted her just east of the Faralon Islands [off the coast of San Francisco, California, USA] and radioed for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so badly off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. A very dangerous proposition as one slap of the tail could kill a prospective rescuer.
They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.
When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, nudged them, and pushed gently, thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives.
The man who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.
May you and all those you love, be so fortunate as to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you and may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.
The Worry Tree: A Useful and Warm-Hearted Story
Paresh, an Indian carpenter I once hired to help me restore my old farmhouse had just finished a difficult and hard first day on the job. A flat tyre on his lorry made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw packed in, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him home, Paresh sat in stony, thoughtful silence.
On arriving, Paresh, in the way of all Indian gentlefolk, invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.
When opening the door to his home, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.
After a cup of tea, he walked me to my car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
‘Oh, that’s my trouble tree,’ Paresh replied. ‘I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing for sure, troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again. Funny thing is’, he smiled winningly, ‘when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren’t nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.’
A Double Lesson
A carload of hunters, on holiday, were looking for a place to hunt, pulled into a farmer’s yard in County Waterford, Ireland. The driver, Brannagh, went up to the farmhouse to ask permission to hunt on the farmer’s land.
The old farmer said, ‘Sure you can hunt, but would you be doing me a favour? That old donkey standing over there is 20 years old and sick with cancer, but I don’t have the heart to kill her. Would you do it for me?’
Brannagh replied, ‘Of course I will,’ and strolled back to the car.
While walking back, however, Brannagh decided to play a trick on his hunting friends. He got into the car and when they asked if the farmer had said if it was alright, he said, ‘No, we can’t hunt here, but I’m going to teach that old fellow a lesson he won’t forget.’
With that, the Irishman rolled down his window, stuck his gun out and shot the donkey. As he shouted, ‘To be sure, that will teach him,’ a second shot rang out from the passenger side and one of his hunting mates yelled, ‘And me, begorrah, I got the cow.’
