Take my Son

A  wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had
everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would
often
sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the  Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very
courageous  and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The
father
was  notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

About a month later,  just before Christmas, there was a knock at the
door. A young man stood  at the door with a large package in his
hands..
He said, "Sir, you don't  know me, but I am the soldier for whom your
son
gave his life. He saved  many lives that day, and he was carrying me to
safety when a
bullet  struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked
about you,  and your love for art." The young man held out this
package.
"I know  this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think
your
son  would have wanted you to have this."

The father opened the  package. It was a portrait of his son, painted
by
the young man. He  stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured
the
personality of his  son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the
eyes that his own eyes  welled up with tears. He thanked the young man
and
offered to pay him for  the picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay
what
your son did for me.  It's a gift."

< ?bigger>The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time
visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son
before he showed them any of the other great works he had  collected

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great  auction of
his
paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited  over seeing the
great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase  one for their
collection.

On the platform sat the painting of  the son. The auctioneer pounded
his
gavel. "We will start the bidding with  this picture of the son. Who
will
bid for this picture?"

There  was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want  to see the
famous
paintings. Skip this one."

But the auctioneer  persisted. "Will somebody bid for this

painting. Who will start the  bidding? $100, $200?"

Another voice angrily. "We didn't come to see  this painting. We came
to
see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with  the real bids!"

But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The  son! Who'll take the
son?"

Finally, a voice came from the very back  of the room.. It was the
longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll  give $10 for the
painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could  afford..

"We have $10, who will bid $20?"

"Give it to him  for $10. Let's see the masters."

"$10 is the bid, won't someone bid  $20?"

The crowd was becoming a ngry. They didn't want the picture of  the
son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their  collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice,  SOLD for $10.!"

A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's  get on with the
collection!"

The auctioneer laid down his gavel.  "I'm sorry, the auction is over."

"What about the  paintings?"

"I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction,  I was told of
a
secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to  reveal that
stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be
auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire
estate,
including the paintings.

The man who took the son gets  everything!"

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. 

Much like the auctioneer, His message today is:

"The son, the son, who'll take the son?"

Love

 

The flowing of your fingers through her hair,

love is a touch of a hand so fair.

 

Love is the holding of an endless gaze,

caught in a moment that stays and stays,

 

Her eyes the colour of the purest skies,

honest, unblinking they tell no lies.

 

A perfect rose is a symbol bold,

to represent the love we hold.

 

When I close my eyes and stare,

it is not long before I see her there.

 

Waiting in our true sacred place,

a radiant smile upon her face.

 

Bodies entangled sharing passion,

stripped naked, void of fashion.

 

Love is an elixir potent and strong,

an indescribable feeling we wish to prolong.

 

The memories you feel as you dream for a while,

the warmth in your heart that makes you smile,

 

Only a fool would ignore a feeling so strong,

for love is pure, and never wrong.

 

 

Al

 

Wow. . . . . . . .  Some very emotional stuff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

it is not emotional it is only words, it is your perception of these words that make it emotional. You can read that last poem and feel a sense of jublation, or you can read it and feel hollow and upset. Alternatively you could read it and just think, hmm nice rhyme.

Ok...thought I'd bring the topic back up so hear it goes.....

People are unreasonable and self centered

Love them anyway

If you do good, poeple will acuse you of selfish, ulterior motives

Do good anyway

If you are successful you will win false friends and true enemies

Succeed anyway

Honesty is vulnerable

Be honest anyway

What spent years of building may be destroyed in seconds

Build anyway

Come on Guys I posted to *Inspire* you to write some more stuff. *cough*~Miss~*cough*~Al~*cough*. Pretty bad cough i got there. Anyways, havent heard from ya in like 4 days or so LoL, your slacking.