elcome
to 
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xpressFebruary 25/05 Issue
Online Newsletter
Hello everyone! LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR MEMBER OF THE MONTH NOMINATIONS IN FOR FEBRUARY, 2005!
Bigsis Pat from Ontario, Canada reminded me recently that our Circle's 4th birthday is coming up next month, and she will be putting things on the Trivia Site to commemorate the occasion.
She has asked me to submit a history of the WWWCOF, how it began, how it eveolved, and where it is now including all the various sites that are part of the WWCOF including the ones we have on MSN. What I would like from each of you is your thoughts on what the Circle of Friends means to you and why. As always thanks for your help and I look forward to hearing from you.
Bigsis Pat would also like to introduce us to her Feel Good page and a Graphics Site
containing graphics having to do with friendship and the WWWCOF. She has tons more that she can add and most likely will be creating separate albums for different categories.
Member of the Month Nominations
The deadline for voting is Monday, February 28th, 2005 for the February Member of the Month. Have you voted yet? Please be sure to cast your ballot here today!
Just in case you are wondering I do not qualify to compete in the Member of the Month competition.
FEATURED SITES
Dorothy from Vancouver Island, Canada would like to share this "Circle of Friendship and she wants us to know she is Thinking of Us.
Do you have a favourite site that you would like to share with the members. Please let me know and I will be happy to put it in the newsletter.
Crafts
Be sure to check out all the wonderful craft ideas in the WWWCOF Craft Site and add your own favourites or email Crafty Jayne from Kansas, USA, who will be happy to add them to our ever growing collection.
Member Photo Albums for your enjoyment!
| Member Albums |
Member Questions
Some More Thoughts to ponder
submitted by Susan from Ontario Canada
- 1. Does a clean house indicate that there is a broken computer in it?
- 2. Why is it that no matter what color of bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?
- 3. Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?
- 4. Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
- 5. On electric toasters, why do they engrave the message "one slice"? How many pieces of bread do they think people are really gonna try to stuff in that slot?
- 6. Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?
- 7. Why is it that no plastic garbage bag will open from the end you first try?
- 8. How do those dead bugs get into those closed light fixtures?
- 9. Considering all the lint you get in your dryer, if you kept drying your clothes would they eventually just disappear?
- 10. When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It's all right?" Well, it isn't all right so why don't we say, "That hurt, you stupid idiot?"
- 11. Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?
- 12. Is it true that the only difference between a yard sale and a trash pickup is how close to the road the stuff is placed?
- 13. In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in the summer when we complained about the heat?
- 14. How come we never hear father-in-law jokes?
- 15. If at first you don't succeed, shouldn't you try doing it like your wife told you to do it?
- 16. The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four people suffer from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you... Uh-Ohhhh
Tips & Recommendations
Having some computer problems? Be sure to visit our Geek's Corner - This is the page where Circle members can help each other solve problems with their computers, web pages, design and related articles. Questions? or do you need additional information? Email Daphne from Argentina and she will be more than happy to help you out. Do you have any tips or recommendations that you would like to pass along to the other members. Email me and I will get it published.
DISCLAIMER: Tips reflect member suggestions and are not verified by the WWWCOF.
Planet Kryzys
Plants connect us all because all living things depend on them -- air, food, shelter, clothing, even water.
Here is a fun exercise for you. Choose a fruit or vegetable, research it and send Daphne from Argentina a report. You can use the following questions as a guideline.
Have lots of fun with this as it is a great way to learn about World Cultures!
Be sure to check out our Recycle Message Board on our MSN Community.
Raising awareness is always the first step to action. Join our Planet Kryzys" (Crisis) Team today and come forward with things about your own area. We start off with awareness, and follow up with what we can do about it. Together we WILL make a difference.
- Site manager, Daphne (BA,Argentina)
- Western Canada Coordinator, Sharon (BC,Canada)
- Eastern US Coordinator, Becky (Maryland, US)
- US Coordinator, Claudia (Chester IL)
The Planet Kryzys" (Crisis)site has been updated. Check out the latest news!
Recipes
Do you have a recipe for us to enjoy? We would love for you to add it to all the wonderful recipes being collected in the WWWCOF Cookbook or email The Recipe Lady aka Claudia from Illinois who will be happy to add them for you.
- Member Questions
- The Argentinean Chapter
- Planet Kryzys
- Tips & Recommendations
- Fun Tests, Quizzes & Games
- Recipes
- Crafts
- Reunion 2006
- Meet the Members
- Fun
- Featured Sites
- Health Watch
- Member of the Month
- Department of Vital Statistics
- Friendship Bracelet Club
- Pet Section
- News & Announcements
In this issue...
Health Watch
Like most elementary schools, it was typical to have a parade of students in and out of the health clinic throughout the day.
We dispensed ice for bumps and bruises, Band-Aids for cuts, and liberal doses of sympathy and hugs. As principal, my office was right next door to the clinic, so I often dropped in to lend a hand and help out with the hugs. I knew that for some kids, mine might be the only one they got all day. One morning I was putting a Band-Aid on a little girl's scraped knee. Her blonde hair was matted, and I noticed that she was shivering in her thin little sleeveless blouse. I found her a warm sweatshirt and helped her pull it on. "Thanks for taking care of me," she whispered as she climbed into my lap and snuggled up against me.
It wasn't long after that when I ran across an unfamiliar lump under my arm. Cancer, an aggressively spreading kind, had already invaded thirteen of my lymph nodes. I pondered whether or not to tell the students about my diagnosis.
The word breast seemed so hard to say out loud to them, and the word cancer seemed so frightening. When it became evident that the children were going to find out one way or another, either the straight scoop from me or possibly a garbled version from someone else, I decided to tell them myself. It wasn't easy to get the words out, but the empathy and concern I saw in their faces as I explained it to them told me I had made the right decision.
When I gave them a chance to ask questions, they mostly wanted to know how they could help. I told them that what I would like best would be their letters, pictures and prayers.
I stood by the gym door as the children solemnly filed out. My little blonde friend darted out of line and threw herself into my arms. Then she stepped back to look up into my face. "Don't be afraid, Dr. Perry," she said earnestly, "I know you'll be back because now it's our turn to take care of you."
No one could have ever done a better job. The kids sent me off to my first chemotherapy session with a hilarious book of nausea remedies that they had written. A video of every class in the school singing get-well songs accompanied me to the next chemotherapy appointment. By the third visit, the nurses were waiting at the door to find out what I would bring next. It was a delicate music box that played "I Will Always Love You."
Even when I went into isolation at the hospital for a bone marrow transplant, the letters and pictures kept coming until they covered every wall of my room. Then the kids traced their hands onto colored paper, cut them out and glued them together them together to make a freestanding rainbow of helping hands. "I feel like I've stepped into Disneyland every time I walk into this room," my doctor laughed. That was even before the six-foot apple blossom tree arrived adorned with messages written on paper apples from the students and teachers. What healing comfort I found in being surrounded by these tokens of their caring.
At long last I was well enough to return to work. As I headed up the road to the school, I was suddenly overcome by doubts. What if the kids have forgotten all about me? I wondered, What if they don't want a skinny bald principal? What if . . . I caught sight of the school marquee as rounded the bend. "Welcome Back, Dr. Perry," it read. As I drew closer, everywhere I looked were pink ribbons, ribbons in the windows, tied on the doorknobs, even up in the trees. The children and staff wore pink ribbons, too.
My blonde buddy was first in line to greet me. "You're back, Dr. Perry, you're back!" she called. "See, I told you we'd take care of you!" As I hugged her tight, in the back of my mind I faintly heard my music box playing. "I will always love you."
Breast Cancer Stamp Booklet
As you may be aware, the US Postal Service recently released its new Fund the Cure" stamp to help fund breast cancer research. The stamp was designed by Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland. It is important that we take a stand against this disease that affects so many of our Mothers, Sisters and Friends.
Instead of the normal 37 cents for a stamp, this one costs 40 cents The additional 3 cents will go to breast cancer research.
A "normal" book costs $7.40. This one is only $8.00. It takes a few minutes in line at the Post Office and means so much. If all stamps are sold, it will raise an additional $35,000,000 for this vital research.
Just as important as the money is our support. What a statement it would make if the stamp outsold the lottery this week. What a statement it would make that we care.
I urge you to do two things TODAY:
- 1. Go out and purchase some of these stamps.
- 2. E-mail your friends to do the same.
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The Argentinean Chapter
Last Monday just after Agos had left to go to a camp site with her mom and while in the full job of cleaning and preparing fish, it came over as black as sin and rained as if it had never rained before. Well in Mar del Plata it always rains, but rarely with that intensity, and that is the second time within a short separation that that has happened lately. I left my fish and went round to close up all the windows, by the time I got to Ruben's room, there was already loads of water on his floor, and Agos' bed was soaked - she has a fold up bed that is put away while she isn't here, it hadnt been put away yet. Again my garden was flooded. After that first cloudburst - all over the city this time - it just rained straight down all afternoon. I phoned my sis-in-law to tell her I wouldn't be going to give her kids their weekly class, and she said she had been trapped in a supermarket for over an hour by the rain, and had been unable to cross the main avenue that separated her from her house, and certainly hadn't gone out prepared for anything like that. A few minutes after calling her the sun came out and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. On the evening news we heard that a couple of rooves had been blown off complete and a few trees had been uprooted.
You can read about Argentina, the country I adopted here
Love from Daphne
Pet Section
Memo to The Family Dog & Cat
- 1. When I say move, it means go someplace else. It does not mean switch positions with each other so there are still two of you in the way.
- 2. The dishes on the floor are yours and contain your food. All other dishes are mine and contain my food. (Please note: placing a paw or nose-print in the middle of my dinner does not stake your claim on it, nor do I find it aesthetically pleasing in any way.)
- 3. The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.
- 4. I cannot buy anything bigger than a king size bed. Locate your inner beast and remember that sleeping animals can actually curl up in a ball, so it is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible.
- 5. My compact discs are not miniature Frisbees.
- 6. For the last time, humans like to use the bathroom alone. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it won't help to claw, whine, meow, bite the knob, or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. (Trust me, I have been using the bathroom for years...canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.)
- 7. When you see me asleep on the couch, it is not funny to make a sudden leap onto my stomach and drop a chew toy, bone or jingle ball on my crotch, no matter how much that makes other family members laugh.
- 8. Dog: Don't think for a minute that making a sad face and whimpering pathetically will get you out of trouble when I find a puddle of pee on the carpet. The face and the whimpering only validate that you knew it was wrong when you did it.
- 9. Cat: My sitting down to bite into a juicy sandwich is not a signal for you to begin gagging loudly and then hocking up the most disgusting hairball in history.
- 10. Dog and Cat: The proper order is kiss me, then go lick yourself. I cannot stress this enough.
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To find all the interesting and exciting news and information all you have to do is go to the Vital Stats Department where you will find all the links you need.
Here are the remaining Celebrations for February 2005
BIRTHDAYS
February 27 - Carol
February 28 - David Rhodes
To check on the latest report from your Department of Vital Statistics Director BigSisPat click on the logo below:
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Meet the Members
Please say hello to
Rosina, nickname "posie" from Liverpool, N.S. Canada. She is 56 years young, widowed, has three children, Sean 35, Steven 34, Dana-Lynn 29 and two grandchildren Emilie 4, Dylan 9 months; one more is on the way.
Rosina's favourite:
She collects tea cups and saucers in Rosina China and her hobbies include travel, knitting, crocheting, needlework and quilting.
Her goals are to get her knee fixed and to be able to walk without a cane and if she could change something in her life it would be to NOT fall down and crack her knee.
Rosing heard about the WWWCOF through surfing the web.
Do take a moment to visit all the wonderful member profiles and if you have not completed your survey yet do be sure to do so now -- you never know you may be the next one to be featured in Global Express!
News & Announcements
Deborah from WI, USA thinks it would be cool for the members to have their own "mailbox" for others to leave messages, etc, in. Would you like to have your very own Personal Mail Box on our MSN Community Site -- a board with your very own thread. Mail for you would be posted under that thread. I have set one up for Deborah so do be sure to check it out and post a message for her on the PMB - WI Deborah board.
Fun Tests & Quizzes & Games
Feng Shui Horoscope
submitted by Jeanette from The Land Down Under
Take just a couple of minutes to take this test & see what happens! If you are honest this tells the truth - it's pretty good. Write your answers on a piece of paper, and NO cheating!! The answers are at the bottom ...
When you're done, scroll down. Don't cheat Answers:
1. If you choose:
2. If your initial is:
3. If you were born in:
4. If you chose...
5. This person is your best friend.
6. This is how many close friends you have in your lifetime.
7. If you chose:
8. If you chose:
Rememer to check here for a new crossword puzzle every week.
Reunion 2006
Proposals to host Reunion 2006 will be accepted up until the end of June, 2005 following which a vote will be taken and planning will commence.
Do you want to host Reunion 2006? -- if you do please get your Reunion Proposal in as soon as possible! A special request for proposals has been set up here. Do be sure to check it out!!
Bigsis Pat from Ontario, Canada has undertaken the position of Reunion 2006 Coordinator and she will need help so please watch this space for updates and more talk about the who? what? where? when? and why?
She has also created two new albums on the Photo Album Site so that anyone considering submitting a proposal to host the reunion can see how much fun it is meeting other members. The two new albums are Reunion 2003 (at Ruths) and "Let's Do Lunch".
Be sure to check out the Reunion 2006 website.
Just for Fun
Real 911 Calls, believe it or not!!
- Dispatcher: Nine-one-one what is your emergency?
- Caller: I heard what sounded like gunshots coming from the brown house on the corner.
- Dispatcher: Do you have an address?
- Caller: No, I'm wearing a blouse and slacks, why?
- Dispatcher: Nine-one-one what is your emergency?
- Caller: Someone broke into my house and took a bite out of my ham and cheese sandwich.
- Dispatcher: Excuse me?
- Caller: I made a ham and cheese sandwich and left it on the kitchen table and when I came back from the bathroom, someone had taken a bite out of it.
- Dispatcher: Was anything else taken?
- Caller: No, but this has happened to me before and I'm sick and tired of it .
- Dispatcher: Nine-one-one.
- Caller: Hi, is this the police?
- Dispatcher: This is 911. Do you need police assistance?
- Caller: Well, I don't know who to call. Can you tell me how to cook a turkey? I've never cooked one before.
- Dispatcher: Nine-one-one fire or emergency?
- Caller: Fire, I guess.
- Dispatcher: How can I help you sir?
- Caller: I was wondering.....does the Fire Dept. put snow chains on their trucks?
- Dispatcher: Yes sir, do you have an emergency?
- Caller: Well, I've spent the last 4 hours trying to put these chains on my tires and... well.. do you think the Fire Dept. could come over and help me?
- Dispatcher: Help you what?
- Caller: Help me get these chains on my car!
- Dispatcher: Nine-one-one What is the nature of your emergency?
- Caller: I'm trying to reach nine eleven but my phone doesn't have an eleven on it.
- Dispatcher: This is nine eleven.
- Caller: I thought you just said it was nine-one-one
- Dispatcher: Yes, ma'am nine-one-one and nine-eleven are the same thing.
- Caller: Honey, I may be old, but I'm not stupid.
- Dispatcher: Nine-one-one what's the nature of your emergency?
- Caller: My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart
- Dispatcher: Is this her first child?
- Caller: No, you idiot! This is her husband!
- Dispatcher: Nine-one-one
- Caller: Yeah, I'm having trouble breathing. I'm all out of breath. Darn .... think I'm going to pass out.
- Dispatcher: Sir, where are you calling from?
- Caller: I'm at a pay phone at North and Foster. Damn ......
- Dispatcher: Sir, an ambulance is on the way. Are you an asthmatic?
- Caller: No
- Dispatcher: What were you doing before you started having trouble breathing?
- Caller: Running from the police.
DISCLAIMER: Do you have a favourite joke or funny story to share with us?
Be sure to visit our Computer Humour site! Email Daphne from Argentina with any computer jokes you have and she will happily add them to this collection.
I hope you have enjoyed this issue.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK
ORLD
IRCLE
OF 
RIENDS
