February 11, 2025

On The Upside with Marley

An Example Of The Power Of Selflessness

A few summers ago, my spouse and I went down to the city for a Blue Jays game with a close couple from our neighbourhood. We started the evening with dinner, laughing and talking like friends do. One of them couldn’t finish her meal and asked for it to be boxed up. I remember thinking—almost dismissively—that’s going to be awkward to carry into a ball game.

As we walked toward Rogers Centre, swept up in the noise and energy of the city, we passed a homeless man sitting quietly on the sidewalk. Without hesitation, she stopped. She knelt down, handed him the container of food, met his eyes, and then stood up and kept walking. No pause. No announcement. No expectation of thanks. It was as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I hadn’t known them very long at that point, but in that moment I learned something important about her—and about kindness. I was caught off guard, deeply moved. I witnessed the quiet power of selfless giving. And what struck me most was what didn’t happen next: she never mentioned it. Neither did we. There was no need. That’s how real generosity works.

It wasn’t kindness performed for applause. There was no camera, no social media post, no manufactured moment where dignity is exchanged for content. No one was asked to suffer publicly so someone else could feel virtuous online. It was simply one human recognizing another and responding with compassion.

If the world needs anything right now, it’s more of that. No clicks. No follows. No performance. Just small, genuine acts of care, done quietly and often. We can all do this—every day—without a second thought. And when we do, we make the world a little more human.

Selflessness, isn’t for show, and the profoundness of it when witnessed is life changing

I Didn’t Know That!!

• Earth’s rotation is gradually slowing, adding about 1.8 seconds to each day every 100 years.

• The fear of long words is ironically called hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, a term coined in ancient times to mock wordy writers.

• Chainsaws were originally medical tools, invented in 18th-century Scotland to assist difficult childbirths. Did you just say Ouch?

• Avocados are fruit, specifically classified as single-seeded berries.

• The Eiffel Tower grows about 15 cm in summer as heat causes the metal to expand.

• Allodoxaphobia is the fear of other people’s opinions. Do you know someone affected?

• Australia is wider than the moon, stretching nearly 4,000 km east to west.

• Mellifluous describes a sound that’s smooth, flowing, and pleasant to hear.

• Before fame, the Spice Girls were called Touch, a name they felt was too bland.

• In Switzerland, owning only one guinea pig is illegal since they require companionship.

• Ancient Romans dropped toast into wine for health, giving rise to the phrase “raise a toast.”

• A shrimp’s heart is in its head, and its organs float freely in its blood.

Buried Treasure in Oshawa?

Oshawa tells a salty tale of a buried army pay chest, said to hold £37,000—near $100,000 in gold. Two miles west of today’s harbour lies Stone’s Cove and Rogers’ Beach, once open waters when Lake Ontario ran higher.

So the story goes: during wartime, a sloop called the Mary Ann was hauling military wages from Kingston to York when she was chased by American ships under Commodore Chauncey. Outgunned, the crew ran her ashore at Bonniebrae, hid her in the creek, buried the strongbox, and fled.

The Americans found the ship abandoned and burned or scuttled her, but the treasure was nowhere to be found. Some say it was tossed into the marshy shallows; others claim it was buried nearby to be recovered later—a plan that never came to pass.

To this day, the gold remains lost… waiting for a lucky soul with a shovel and a bit o’ nerve.

If this makes you want to talk like a pirate… Here’s an online pirate speak converter, for your amusement.

Arr Some Pirate Humour!

A pirate goes to the doctor to have the spots on his arm examined. The doctor says: “They’re benign.”
The pirate replies: “no, no doc, there be eleven. I counted them before I came here.”
*  *  *  *  *  *  *
Q. What’s the difference between a hungry pirate and a drunken pirate?
A. One has a rumbling tummy, and the other’s a tumbling rummy.
*  *  *  *  *  *  *
Q. Why do pirates bury their treasure 18 inches under the ground?
A. Because booty is only shin deep!
*  *  *  *  *  *  *
Q. What do you get when you cross a pirate with a zuchnni?
A. A Squashbuckler!!!

Editors Quote Book

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.”

—Robert Louis Stevenson

Comedian Trivia Quiz

(Click Question For Answer)

Your Horoscope

For Amusement Only

Speaking Of Treasure Hunts

Did you know an organization called The Great Canadian Treasure Hunt has hidden 1.3 millions dollars in gold in Canada somewhere and you can get clue to find it on their website Here?  Somewhere in Canada, a treasure chest filled with $1 million in gold lies hidden—waiting for a bold adventurer to uncover it. But that’s not all. Over the next 12 months, 12 additional hunts will offer $25,000 prizes, giving treasure seekers even more chances to win.

Last Day Of Hunting

Growing Up In Music

The Missing Dollar Riddle.  Can You Solve It?

Three guests check into a hotel room. The manager says the bill is $30, so each guest pays $10. Later the manager realizes the bill should only have been $25. To rectify this, he gives the bellhop $5 as five one-dollar bills to return to the guests.

On the way to the guests’ room to refund the money, the bellhop realizes that he cannot equally divide the five one-dollar bills among the three guests. As the guests are not aware of the total of the revised bill, the bellhop decides to just give each guest $1 back and keep $2 as a tip for himself, and proceeds to do so.

As each guest got $1 back, each guest only paid $9, bringing the total paid to $27. The bellhop kept $2, which when added to the $27, comes to $29. So if the guests originally handed over $30, what happened to the remaining $1?

The Last Word

I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change…
I am changing the things I cannot accept!