One Sunday, a mother took her son and little daughter to watch a circus. In the middle of the circus, the little girl, Jenny, who was two years old, fell asleep in her mother’s lap. The brother, Jack, who was six, stayed awake, and watched the rest of the circus with his mother. When it was over, the mother picked up Jenny in her arms and carried her to the bus station. It was very cold that night, so she took off her scarf and gently covered Jenny’s head with it.

When they arrived home, the mother first carried Jenny into the bed room and put her to sleep. After Jack had changed his clothes, his mother lay down next to him to talk about the evening together.

"How did you like it, Jack?"

"Fine, he answered.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yes".

"What did you like most?"

"I don’t know. The elephant dance, I guess."

"That was quite a thing, wasn’t it – doing those tricks like that?"

There wasn’t much response on his part. The mother wondered why her son wasn’t opening up more. He usually did when exciting things happened. She was a little disappointed.

She sensed something was wrong: he had been so quiet on the way home and while getting ready for bed.

Suddenly Jack turned over on his side, facing the wall. She wondered why and lifted her up just enough to see his eyes welling up with tears.

"What’s wrong, honey? What is it?"

He turned back, and she could sense he was feeling some embarrassment for the tears and his shivering lips and chin.

"Mom, if I were cold, would you put your scarf around me, too?"

Of all the events of that special evening out together, for Jack the most important was a little act of affection - a momentary, unconscious showing of her love to his little sister.

In relationships, little things matter the most.

A teenager had just passed his driving test and was eager to drive his father’s car. His father agreed. He asked his son to drop him at a place that was some 18 kilometers from home before he took the car for servicing. The father then wanted his son to pick him up at four in the after noon so that they could go home together.

The boy dropped off his father, took the car to the garage and went to watch a film. Losing track of time, he continued to watch the film until 6 p.m.

Afraid his father would scold him for being late and would never give him the car again, the boy collected the car, arrived at the appointed place and said, " Dad, I’m sorry I’m late but it took the mechanic longer than usual to service the car".

"Son, I phoned the garage", his father replied. "The car was ready at 4 p.m."

The boy looked down. " I’m sorry, but I went to watch a film."

"Son, I ‘m very angry," replied the father after a moment of thought. " But not with you. I’m angry with myself. Where did I go wrong as a father? Why did you have to lie to me? Take the car home. I will introspect as I walk".

The boy trailed behind his father, imploring him to sit inside the car. But his father continued walking silently, soul-searching all the way back home. Distraught, the son pledged to never again lie to his parents.

By Bob Perks

She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red-haired, freckle-faced image of innocence.

It was pouring outside -- the kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth that it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day.

I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child, came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in. "Mom, let's run through the rain," she said.

"What?" Mom asked.

"Let's run through the rain!" she repeated.

"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain."

"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.

"No we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"

"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!'"

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life, a time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. "Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD lets us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said. Off they ran.

We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran too. I got wet. I guess I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories. So don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day. I hope you will take time to run through the rain!

One day a lady took her two kinds to see a movie.

Walking up to the ticket counter she asked, " How much does the ticket cost?"

The booking clerk replied, "$50 for you and for children above five years. Children under five years are allowed inside free of cost. What is the age of your children?"

She replied "One is three years old and other one is six years old. So, I need two tickets, - here are hundred dollars."

The booking clerk replied, "Have you won a lottery or what? Instead of saving fifty dollars, why are you throwing them away? If you would have told me that your child is five years old who would have known?"

My friend replied, "Nobody else would have known, but my children would have surely known that I am lying. I don’t want to teach them to lie."

(As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Who you are speaks so loudly, I don’t hear what you’re saying. In challenging times when ethics are more important than ever before, make sure you set a good example for everyone you work and live with."

"SometimesI watch all kinds of movies except those about vampires and spiritism. I like war movies because I’m a history buff. Almost always, I am left emotionally drenched after watching dramatic scenes.  And it haunts me for a few days and sometimes months. Pearl Harbor, Heaven and Earth, Tears of the Sun, to name only a few.  Additionaly, I am compiling the BBC Series – Hunting Nazis.

The latest war movie I saw on my Media Player  and HDTV is “The Flowers of War”. It’s the latest project of Zhang Yimou who directed Jet Li’s “Hero”. It stars Christian Bale as a mortician who posed as a priest. The movie is based on the diary of Minnie Vantrin, an American missionary who served in Nanking. On a trivial note, Minnie took her own life in 1941 after returning from Nanking.

As in all war movies, it depicts the ugly evil side of war. But it showed humanity, courage, hope, sacrifice and heroism amidst insurmountable adversity. A “good for nothing” person can be a hero. There is always goodness in every person.

Some comments of moviegoers on the film:

1.       “Horrible things happened in history. Hate and anger won’t do any good today. Make peace with yourself and move on. Just like what George said in the movie, life is precious, it is not ours to throw away.”

2.       “I am about 40 and have been watching movies for 25 years. My history teacher cried sadly when she gave me the class about the darkest time in Chinese Modern history. For those who give cold comments about the movie, I confessed I tried hard to hold my tears next to my wife in the movie theatre”.

3.       “But the moment "little George" said: "there is no other way!" My salty tears kept rolling out! I hope people respect those victims and stop saying this piece of history does not exist. There were brave American medicals and priests who risked their lives at that time to keep journals and photo about the crimes.”

4.       “…And accusations that this movie is propaganda against Japan is simply unfounded - this is a war movie about courage, sacrifice and human compassion during very extreme circumstances. It simply make us reflect and appreciate the peace we are enjoying right now. “

5.       “ …A Chinese father becomes traitor to save his only daughter, bunch of prostitutes trying to save the students, A Chinese boy George enacting as a prostitute… And John plays a formidable role as a priest to protect the children, giving up his last chance to escape, and his newly found love…Each part of this packed with emotions… tears shed on humanity and injustice to humanity … watch , cry and be proud. After the movie one could walk with hatred , I for one is proud of Chinese, for exhibiting their humanity, “

Quotable quote from the movie:

 "Sometimes the truth is the last thing we need to hear."

Notable scenes I cannot forget:

1.       John: “ After this war, I will search for you and take you home”

Yu Mou:  “ No. After this moment, my body will not be mine anymore. You can take me home now”.

2.       When the ladies were boarding the truck for their “last performance”, I felt the sadness in the eyes of John and Mou. It’s maybe the last time they see each other. He may have wanted to embrace her but it cannot be. He can only touch her hand.

3.       When the truck successfully passed through from the Japanese checkpoint and on their way to freedom, tears started to roll down from the eyes of John.  He may never see again one person he learned to love. He may have saved the children but he wasn’t able to save Yu Mou.

My eyes also welled with tears. I have remembered the persons I love back home.