Famous Story
A Thousand Marbles
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday
mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes
with being the first to rise. Or maybe it's the unbounded
joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first
few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
Won't you agree?
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling towards the kitchen
with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the
morning paper in the other. What began as a typical
Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons
that life seems to hand you from time to time.
Let me tell you about it.
I turned the volume up on my radio in order to listen
to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older-sounding
chap with a golden voice. You know the kind. He sounded
like he should be in the broadcasting business himself.
He was talking about "a thousand marbles"
to someone named Tom. I was intrigued, and sat down
to listen to what he had to say.
"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy
with your job. I'm sure they pay you well, but it's
a shame you have to be away from home and your family
so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have
to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends
meet. Too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital."
He continued, "Let me tell you something, Tom,
something that has helped me keep a good perspective
on my own priorities."
And that's when he began to explain his theory of
"a thousand marbles."
"You see, I sat down one day and did a little
arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five
years. I know, some live more and some live less,
but on average, folks live for about seventy-five
years."
"Now then, I multiplied 75 by 52, and I came
up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that
the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now
stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part."
"It took me until I was fifty-five years old
to think about all this in any detail", he went
on.
"And by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight
hundred Saturdays. I got down thinking and realized
that if I lived to seventy-five years old, I only
had about a thousand of them left to enjoy."
"So I went to a toy store and bought every single
marble they had. I ended up having to visit three
toy stores to round-up 1000 marbles. I took them home
and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container
right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every
Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and
thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles
diminish, I focused more on the really important things
in life. There is nothing like watching your time
here on this earth run out to help get your priorities
straight."
"Now let me tell you one last thing before I
sign off with you and take my lovely wife out for
breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble
out of the container. I figure that if I make it until
next Saturday, then I have been given a little extra
time. And the one thing we can all use is a little
more time."
"It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you'll
spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to
meet you again someday. Have a good morning!"
You could have heard a pin drop when he finished.
Even the show's moderator didn't have anything to
say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot
to think about.
I had planned to do some work that morning, and then
go to the gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my
wife up with a kiss.
"C'mon, honey, I'm taking you and the kids to
breakfast."
"What brought this on?" she asked with a
smile.
"Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time
since we spent a Saturday together with the kids.
Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I
need to buy some marbles."
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