DIRECTION
(see also PURPOSE)
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the first African Secretary General of the United Nations, has
more than a passing interest in politics. His grandfather, Boutros Ghali, the only
Christian prime minister of Egypt, was shot by an assassin in 1910. Cairo crowds hailed
his Moslem killer, but the family did not intend anyone to forget the grandfather. They
adopted his given name, Boutros (Peter), and anointed the new grandchild with the same
given name. The family then built a church in Cairo to honor the martyred patriarch.
"On his tomb were the words 'God is witness that I served my country to the best of
my ability,'" says Boutros-Ghali. "For a boy to grow up with such things creates
an impact. I felt I would betray the tradition of our family if I didn't play a political
role."
Stanley Meisler in Los Angeles Times Magazine, in
Reader's Digest.
Men who live in the past remind me of a toy I'm sure all of you have seen. The toy is a
small wooden bird called the "Floogie Bird." Around the Floogie Bird's neck is a
label reading, "I fly backwards, I don't care where I'm going. I just want to see
where I've been."
The Words of Harry S. Truman, selected by Robert J. Donovan.
In November, 1975, 75 convicts started digging a secret tunnel designed to bring them
up at the other side of the wall of Saltillo Prison in northern Mexico. On April 18, 1976,
guided by pure genius, they tunneled up into the nearby courtroom in which many of them
had been sentenced. The surprised judges returned all 75 to jail.
Campus Life, September, 1980.
A man on a flight across America in 1976 rose from his seat, drew a gun and took the
stewardess hostage. "Take me to Detroit," he said. "We're already going to
Detroit," she replied. "Oh...good," he said and sat down again.
Source Unknown.
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