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*An Open Book* 3/1/02 ______________________________ If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of many! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, join the thousands of HeartTouchers.com readers around the world by sending an e-mail with the word "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Visit our inspirational web site and read all the past stories in our archives at: http://www.HeartTouchers.com ____________________________________________ From now on we will be offering our book, Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life" for only $13 (instead of the regular price of $14.95), and best of all, we will pay the shipping! So if you have any interest in purchasing an autographed copy of the book for yourself, or as a gift for your loved ones, now is the time to get it! To order your autographed copy send a check or money order for $13 (We pay the shipping!) for each book made out to Michael T. Powers, and then send it to: Michael T. Powers 1918 Liberty Lane Janesville, WI 53545 To preview the book by reading some of the stories visit: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/michael_t__powers/ AOL Users Click below: Straight From the Heart: A Celebration of Life _________________________________________ A great way to end our week: A Jennifer Oliver story! It has been awhile since we have been able to share one of her gems so be sure to email her and let her know your thoughts! From my family to yours, Michael _________________________________________ AN OPEN BOOK by Jennifer Oliver "Don't worry about me," I told the instructor. "I can read lips." "Really?" she asked, astonished. "Yep," I said. To illustrate my point, I used my finger as an imaginary reading guide directed at her lips and continued with a straight face, "Once upon a time..." I've been an avid lip-reader all my life. So much so in that I can read more than just lips. Your whole face is an open book. Your body language and gestures paint the picture for me. Without you uttering one single word. I've made it my life to study mannerisms and facial expressions to help accentuate the spoken word when the spoken word by itself was...well, Greek to me. I've come to rely on it so much that if someone were to approach me while I was in the middle of cleaning my glasses, I'd say, "Wait! I need my glasses to hear!" One audiology course I took in college brought home to me how much I relied on lip-reading to understand people. My instructor asked that we all take out a sheet of paper and number it one through twenty. Then she lip-synched twenty words to us. Her point was to educate us on the skills required in the art of lip-reading. She glanced my way with a twinkle in her eye, knowing I would ace it. And of course I did. My classmates looked at me like I had sprouted an IQ far above my shoe size. As a result, my occupation as a lip-reader has made me privy to conversations in public places. Eavesdropping by proxy, if you will. I've watched a couple send their kids to the salad bar so they could discuss their impending divorce. I've seen two girls being catty about another girl sitting two rows down at a high school football game. An old man snuggled up to his feline companion in the park one time and baby-talked sweet nothings to its benign expression. One poignant experience, however, haunts me to this day. It wasn't noon yet so not many customers filled the food court at the mall. I was enjoying my stir-fry, and two tables across from me was a man biting into his sandwich while perusing the sports section of a newspaper. A cursory glance told me that he was single at the moment, probably a grandfather. An older woman -- probably a grandmother herself -- sidled up to him. "Excuse me. Is anyone sitting here?" He shook his head and returned to his newspaper. I already knew the score. She was single herself -- no wedding band -- and with all the seats available in the food court, the woman chose that particular spot to sit next to a prospect. She wore designer jeans, her hair and nails styled professionally, and her crisp, white shirt made me think of an Army officer's wife. An officer's wife whose husband was either mired in a midlife crisis with a young thing or had passed away. She began idle chatter with the man, who politely folded the newspaper and answered her questions. From his glazed eyes, I ventured he was clearly not interested in the conversation, but his broad smile reassured her that she was indeed worthy of his attention. This seemed to make her more animated, glowing like she was sweet sixteen again. Then I saw kindling in his eyes as they began to traverse interests in common. She was very much a fan of his basketball team, and they both enjoyed Friday night bingo. Both of their spouses had passed away from long-term illnesses. Well, look at that. Exchanging wallet-sized photos of their grandchildren. I felt a small thrill as they both stood up, and like the gentleman that he was, he cleared her table of napkins, wrappers, and an empty soda cup along with his. They left the borders of the food court, bumping elbows, into a future left to my imagination. I had just borne witness to an old-fashioned chat room at the mall. My husband enjoys the fact that I can read lips. The other morning, just as I shifted the car into reverse, I happened to glance up to the second-story window. Stephen was in the window, waving goodbye to me with the "I love you" hand sign. "I love you!" he mouthed to me so as not to wake up the rest of the household. "I'll have dinner waiting for you, hot mama!" Sigh. Much like a classic novel, that's one open book I will never tire of reading. Jennifer Oliver four_ears@msn.com E-mail Jennifer and let her know your thoughts on her story! Copyright © 2002 by Jennifer Oliver. All rights reserved. ________________________________ HeartTouchers Featured Author and Heartwarmers Gem Jennifer Oliver resides in the heart of Texas with her househubby, Stephen, and four kids, ages 1 to 7 years. One of her stories has just come out in "Chicken Soup for the Soul of America." Subscribe to her Stories of Heart e-zine at: www.geocities.com/jenniferioliver2001 ...and pass on the love! ___________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "Money is a very excellent servant, but a terrible master." --P.T. Barnum Verse for the Day: "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." 1 Timothy 6:17 Kid's Thought For The day: "Wait for your little brother." Parent's Thought For The Day "Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be." --David Bly Coach's Thought For The Day "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." --Hebrews 12:11 Writer's Thought for the Day: "Success is a finished book, a stack of pages each of which is filled with words. If you reach that point, you have won a victory over yourself no less impressive than sailing single-handed around the world." --Tom Clancy Deep Thought For The Day: "I knew we were in for a long season when we lined up for the national anthem on opening day and one of my players said, 'Every time I hear that song I have a bad game.'" -- Jim Leyland ___________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS \_\ / HeartTouchers@aol.com /_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no \_\/\ \ longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I \_\/ live in the body I live for the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 ___________________________________________ The copyrights to the stories that appear in HeartTouchers.com are owned by the authors and are used with their permission. We refuse to run stories without the author's permission and contact info listed after the story. We also refuse to publish stories listed as "author unknown." (All of which violates Copyright Law and the rights of the authors.) This e-mail may be forwarded in its entirety, but please do not cut and paste the stories to be used elsewhere unless you have contacted and been given permission by the individual writer. Thank you so much for honoring the rights of those writers who graciously share their stories with us! __________________________________________ Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business "I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was the best Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such a beautiful job! They were so surprised and so touched--they really, really, really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all. My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for the video too! Thanks again!" Kelli-- College Station, TX Let me make you a video from your pictures or home movies! Check out the web page for Michael's video production business! Visit: http://www.hearttouchers.com/video_imagery/ AOL Users click here: Video Imagery ___________________________________________ Would you like to see your story in HeartTouchers.com? Writer's guidelines can be found on our Web site here: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/guidelines/ AOL Users click here: Writer's Guidelines ___________________________________________ SUBSCRIBE: "I need a daily source of inspiration and encouragement in my life!" To become a HeartTouchers.com Member send an e-mail with "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@AOL.COM Then get ready to laugh, cry, and be deeply touched by some of the best stories on the Internet! __________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: All you have to do is send an e-mail with the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Give it a day or two to be processed... __________________________________________ Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm AOL Users click here: The Four Spiritual Laws __________________________________________ |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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