A water bearer in India had two large pots, one hung in each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house. The cracked pot arrived only half full.

For two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it was made to do.

After two tears of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”

“Why?” asked the water bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”

“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half of my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts.” The pot said.

The water bearer felt so sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half of its load, and so again, it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The water bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

The moral of the story is this; each of us has our own unique flaws. We are ALL cracked pots. But it is the cracks and flaws that make our lives so very interesting and rewarding. You’ve just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. There is a lot of good out there.

Used & printed with permission.

“Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little
children.” – Alex Haley

“The history of grandparents is remembered not with rose petals but in the laughter and tears of their children and their children’s children. It is into us that the lives of grandparents have gone. It is in us that their history becomes a future.”
– Charles and Ann Morse

“Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly…” – Moses, Lev 19:32

These are words of wisdom from wonderful people who knew a thing or two about grandparents. I know a thing or two about grandparents as well. I have very fond memories of my grandparents on both sides of my family. I was fortunate to have many influential adults who were grandparents in other families, but dear friends to me.

Just a few of the lessons I learned from these wonderful people include how to bait a fishhook and skin and clean a catfish, how to cook the BEST beef stew, that a garter snake is a friend in the strawberry patch and how to make the most of life after age 100. I also learned how to recognize and appreciate each and every blessing. I learned that when I thought my world would crumble because of one spoiled situation, that there was a bigger picture to see, and that time heals all wounds. I learned that the passage of time is a great teacher. I learned that love is unconditional.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed a proclamation setting aside the first Sunday following Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. This year’s observation will be September 11, 2011. This special observance has a three-fold purpose: to honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children’s children and to help children become aware of the strength, information and guidance older people can offer.

If you still have your grandparents, find a special way to celebrate them. If you have children, help them to celebrate their grandparents. If you have a rift in your relationship with your parents, the greatest gift you can give your children is a
relationship with their grandparents. There is no greater sorrow than the regret of the lost time in a soured relationship.

My Grandpa Lee told fascinating stories about growing up in the deep south and life during the Great Depression. We
wanted to preserve those stories, so we bought him a tape recorder and asked him to record his memories. I cannot imagine living during those times that he described.

I also cannot imagine what I would be like today if my
character had not been shaped by so many wise people who loved me enough to impart some of that wisdom into me.

I am Becky Lee Hinton, the Director of Marketing at The Fountains Senior Living Community in Bettendorf where I enjoy dozens and dozens of grandparents every day!

18th Annual National Senior Health & Fitness Day

Put on your sneakers and join more than 100,000 seniors nationwide at The Nation’s Largest Older Adult Health Promotion Event on Wednesday, May 25 at The Fountains Senior Living Community in Bettendorf, the Quad-Cities’ Official Event Site.

National Senior Health & Fitness Day “Make Fitness a Goal for Life!” is a nationwide health and fitness event for older adults that is held on the last Wednesday in May during Older Americans Month. The event’s goals are to promote the importance of regular physical activity, and to showcase what local organizations are doing to improve the health and fitness of older adults in their communities.

The Quad-Cities’ Official Event Site, The Fountains Senior Living Community, will host an event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is free and open to the public. Participants will receive free health and fitness information provided by The Fountains and many local businesses. There will also be free health and fitness screenings and wellness activities. A variety of exercise classes emphasizing balance, strength training and flexibility
specifically designed to meet the needs of seniors will be presented. A healthy lunch prepared by The Fountains chefs will be available. There will be free give-a-ways and door prizes.

For more information about this National Senior Health & Fitness Day event, please call Becky Lee Hinton at The Fountains Senior Living community at (563) 332-5775.

When Mr. Don Neer traveled to Costa Rica on a mission trip in 2009, he saw a need and recognized that his students in Rock Island could make a difference to a family they will probably never meet. Mr. Neer told his fourth grade students and the fourth grade students of Mrs. Katy Slininger about some people he had met who struggle with everyday life. They often having to carry clean water long distances and may not have enough food to feed their families. This is a culture and lifestyle very difficult to comprehend for 52 children who live in America, “the land of plenty.” Mr. Neer’s solution to help, not just one family, but many families in the future was to purchase a cow.

Missionary Lillian Solt has a program to end poverty and hunger and improve nutrition very similar to that of “Heifer International” where a pregnant cow is given to a family in need, provided that the family has ample pasture land to sustain a cow. The family can then use the milk from that cow to feed their family, to sell or produce butter and cheese for additional income or to use those products to barter for other foods they need. The beauty of the program really happens when the cow gives birth to a female offspring. When the offspring cow reaches adulthood, she is bred and donated to another needy family where the cycle continues, and the gift is passed on and on.

Mr. Neer asked the two fourth grade classes to help him raise the $500 needed to buy a cow and vaccinate her. The students eagerly brought in what money they could, and Mr. Neer issued them receipts. The donations ranged from pennies to dollars. One girl felt so strongly that she took $30 of her own money out of her savings account. Another student brought two cents and asked if that gift was too little. Mr. Neer replied that it was “two cents more than what I started with,” and cheerfully issued him a receipt.

“The amounts of the kids’ donations didn’t matter. What touched me most was their enthusiasm and willingness to help kids in another part of the world. It was really overwhelming to me.” said Mr. Neer.

Mrs. Slininger was also impacted by the generosity of her students. “Even the children who I know could afford it the least were giving to the project. They really took ownership and learned so much.”

What if the family in need of help doesn’t have ample land to sustain a cow? Then the self-sustaining gift is a pregnant sow or a dozen baby chicks. The pastor at the church in Horquetas, Costa Rica was given a dozen baby chicks over a year ago. Today, Pastor Don Carlos has a flock of over 50 laying hens and shares the eggs with members of his congregation and sells the eggs to help support his church.

“This all began because I wanted my students to get more involved in social studies. This is a real practical application of social studies where they made the difference in the world. They will understand and remember much more than just reading from a book.” Mr. Neer said of this unusual educational endeavor.

“Kids are great nowadays. They’re just the best!” remarked Mr. Neer.

And I agree with him wholeheartedly.

Becky Lee Hinton is the Director of Marketing at The Fountains Senior Living Community in Bettendorf. For information about The Fountains or to schedule your personal tour, call Becky at (563) 332-5775.

Look at these beautiful smiling children. What do you see? Do you see their unmistakable youthful enthusiasm and zest for life? Do you see hungry young minds eager to learn new things from new people brave enough to venture into their neighborhood, the poorest squatter community in all of Costa Rica? Do you notice their arms that one minute swing to the fast-paced music and the next minute embrace these strangers from thousands of miles north? Look at these beautiful smiling children. They are the reason I travel to Costa Rica each year, and they are the reason I plan to go back next year.

Beautiful girls & best friends

These children live in Guarari, a squatter community in the capitol city of San Jose. It is estimated that 3000 people, 1200 of which are children, live in a six square block area. Even after visiting Guarari twice, I still can’t seem to wrap my mind around that number of people in that small of a space.

Becky helping a young girl paint.

Our mission team spent a day in Guarari conducting a vacation Bible school experience for 100 children. These children were issued tickets admitting them as a reward for attending school and church. Each child was issued a coloring book with lessons from our Bible school themed “God’s Backyard Bugs.” Each lesson was taught by an example from the insect kingdom. My daughter Sydney and I taught our change of heart lesson by painting sun-catchers in the form of a butterfly. Many of the children, and even their mothers, wanted to paint more than one butterfly. Each one was a unique work of art that I would be proud to display in my home or office. My daughter Maggie and her friend Christian taught of God’s immeasurable love by creating an inchworm out of home-made play-dough. The children’s creativity proved to be immense as they created many creatures and scenes all within the theme of that lesson. The lesson of industry was taught by the example of a hard-working honey bee. We gave each child a taste of honey, and it was unbelievable to me that most of them had never tasted honey before. At the end of the morning the 100 children were fed a hotdog lunch, perhaps their only meal of the day.

The squatter community of Guarari. We guessed that this photo shows homes for 35 to 40 families. The yellow building in the far background is a luxury mall.

Most Americans have never witnessed such abject poverty as this. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to touch their lives. I feel thankful to live in America, the land of opportunity and the land of plenty.

Look at these beautiful smiling children. Would you like to go meet them next year?

Becky Lee Hinton is the Director of Marketing at The Fountains Senior Living Community in Bettendorf. For more information about The Fountains or about the Quad City’s Mission Team 2012 Costa Rica trip, call Becky at (563) 332-5775.

The earliest-known festival celebrating the New Year dates from about 2000 B.C. in Mesopotamia where the New Year began with the first new moon following the spring equinox, sometime in mid March. Throughout medieval Christian Europe the New Year was celebrated on the date of March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, the occasion on which it was revealed to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus.

In 1582, New Year’s Day was first observed on January 1st with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar by the Roman Catholic Church in Europe. In cultures that use a lunar calendar, dates other than January 1st are often observed. Rosh Hashanah, The Feast of Trumpets, is the Jewish New Year and falls sometime between September 6th and October 5th. The Muslim calendar has 354 days each year and the New Year is celebrated at the beginning of the month of Muharram. The Chinese New Year is celebrated officially for a month beginning in late January or early February. In Japan, New Years is a 3 day long festival beginning January 1st through the 3rd.

Symbolic foods are often a part of the New Years festivities. In many European countries, cabbage or other greens are eaten to ensure financial prosperity in the coming year. In the southern U.S.A., black eyed peas are the traditional good luck food that must be eaten on January 1st. This is the tradition I grew up with as my father is from Alabama. This year, my family will be in Costa Rica for a mission trip on New Years Day and you better believe that we will be packing black eyed peas so we can eat them to ensure our financial prosperity for 2011!

Many cultures treat the passing of the New Year with both regret and anticipation. The New Year is often depicted as a new baby looking forward to the future with youthful optimism, while a gruff, old man with a long, white beard represents the old year. The month of January was named for the Roman god Janus, who had two faces, one facing forward and one facing backwards.

The tradition of making New Year’s resolutions to rid oneself of bad habits and adopt better ones dates back to ancient times. Oscar Wilde wrote: “A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.” The three most common New Year’s resolutions are to quit smoking, lose weight & exercise and to be better organized. Here at The Fountains Senior Living Community, I performed an unofficial, unscientific poll of our residents about their New Year’s resolutions. I was surprised to find out that just over 25 % of our residents did not plan to make any kind of resolution at all. Twelve folks stated that they had plans to eat less and exercise more. Here is a list of some of the resolutions The Fountains residents shared with me.

“To have a good year in 2011 full of peace, happiness and love.”
“To be a better daughter to The Big Guy Upstairs.”
“To be more tolerant of the people who annoy me.”
“To be a more loving Christian and not get upset over little things.”
“To be kinder and gentler to everyone.”
“To become aware of people who may not like me and to make peace with them. To not leave any enemies on this Earth.”
“To never, never, never complain about anything, and to thank God for my health everyday.”
“To do my best to put others first.”
“To listen to my physical therapist and work really hard to get well.”
“To look ahead for the future and to enjoy my little grandchildren.”
“To take off the other 50 lbs.”
“To read The Bible every day, every day, every single day!”

All of these are very hopeful thoughts, wishes and prayers. I am encouraged by the ambition of our residents. I have a few thoughts about what my New Year’s resolutions might be. Perhaps I will be better organized in 2011. I, too, plan to exercise more and eat less. I, too, want to be a better daughter to The Big Guy Upstairs. I want to spend more time with my 3 daughters. I would like to save more money. I could go on and on, but I won’t.

I will challenge you, gentle reader, to challenge yourself.

What will your New Year’s resolution be?

While planning for a flagpole dedication ceremony for The Fountains Active Retirement Community in Bettendorf, I learned about the rich tradition and significance of Veterans Day. The first Veterans Day parade was organized on November 11, 1947 in Birmingham Alabama, to honor all of America’s Veterans for their loyal service. The date of November 11th each year set aside for the observance of Veterans Day coincides with Armistice Day, the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I on November 11, 1918. This commemorates the armistice, the cease fire on the Western Front, signed at Rethondes, France between the Allies and Germany on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Armistice Day was declared a national holiday in many allied nations, to honor and remember those who died in the war.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed legislation proclaiming November 11th as Veterans Day. President Eisenhower called upon “Americans every-where to rededicate themselves to the cause of peace.”

This sentiment seems just as relevant today as it was 55 years ago.

The Veterans Day National Ceremony is held at Arlington National Cemetery. At 11:00 a.m., a color guard made up of members of each branch of military service renders honors to Americans who have lost their lives in the service of our country at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The President then places a wreath at the Tomb and a bugler sounds “Taps.” The ceremony concludes with a Parade of Flags by numerous Veterans service organizations.

In 1921, an American soldier was buried on a peaceful Virginia hillside overlooking the Potomac River and Washington D.C. Inscribed on the monument it is stated very simply, “HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD.” The Tomb is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by the Third Infantry at Fort Myers. The sentinels of this honor guard march with much formality and precision. The sentinel on duty marches 21 steps, then turns crisply 90 degrees to face east for 21 seconds. He turns 90 degrees again and faces north for 21 seconds. Then, he marches 21 steps back and repeats this pattern for his entire shift. This ceremony alludes to the 21 gun salute.

The next time you see a veteran or soldier in uniform, thank them for their service to our country.

Becky Lee Hinton is the Director of Marketing at The Fountains Active Retirement Community. For information about The Fountains, please call Becky at (563) 332-5775.

By Becky Lee Hinton
Director of Marketing
The Fountains Senior Living Community

I don’t think that William Bradford would recognize the American holiday we all know as Thanksgiving. William Bradford was the leader of the Separatist settlers of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts whose journal was published as Of Plymouth Plantation. This is considered to be the single most complete authority for the history of the Pilgrims.

In this document, Bradford described the first harvest festival in 1621 that followed an extremely harsh New England winter. This festival is what is generally referred to as the “First Thanksgiving”, even though several earlier
thanksgiving ceremonies and masses by other settlers are historically documented.

William Bradford described what the Pilgrims were thankful for. He mentioned their houses and how they were fitted for winter. Bradford stated that they had “all things in good plenty.” He cited their recovered health and physical strength. He described the abundance and variety of foods they had stored as winter approached. He told of how the Wampanoag Native Americans and a Patuxet named Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to grow corn and catch eels. He reported that Squanto learned English when he was a slave in Europe. Bradford further illustrated the great quantity of fish and water fowl, of wild turkey and deer. He referred to exercise, games and entertainment. He writes of friendships of all kinds. And he talks about families being together.

What are you thankful for?

I can go down William Bradford’s list and think of my 21st century equivalent. I, too, am grateful for my home and for all of our “things in good plenty.” Sometimes I wish my “things in good plenty” were better organized, however. My family is strong and healthy and that is at the very top of my gratitude list. I am very thankful for the abundance and variety and safety of the foods we have access to every day. I am so blessed to have many friends, and to have friends from other countries and cultures. In this fragile economy, I am so very thankful to have a great job in a beautiful retirement community.

The Pilgrims left England to pursue religious freedom, to worship God differently than the Puritan Church of England. This band of Christians risked their lives crossing the Atlantic in wooden ships. I am thankful that in America we are free to worship how ever we want to worship.

What would Mr. Bradford think about our secular observances that include parades, football games and preparations for 3:00 a.m. shopping trips? The things we have in common are perhaps the most important. We are thankful for the freedoms we enjoy in America. We are grateful for the goodness of God. And, we are thankful for our families and the occasion to celebrate with them on Thanksgiving Day.

Becky Lee Hinton is the Director of Marketing at The Fountains Active Retirement Community. To schedule your personal tour, call Becky at (563) 332-5775.

Are ya’ hankerin’ for an afternoon of country fair fun for the whole family and food on a stick? Well, come on over to The Fountains Country Fair on Sunday afternoon, September 26th from 4:00 to 8:00.

There will be something for everyone to celebrate the 4th anniversary of The Fountains Senior Living Community offering the most in Independent Living, Assisted Living and Dementia Memory Care. There will be country line dancing lessons, square dancing demonstrations and a performance by The Boot Hill Ridge Band from 6:00 to 8:00. You can take a ride in a horse drawn carriage or take a hay rack ride. What would a country fair be without games & prizes? Of course we will have all of the best carnival games. How about an Iowa grilled pork chop sandwich or delicious barbeque pulled pork or a steak sandwich? Perhaps you prefer a corndog or Coney dog, a pretzel or a snow cone. Come and sample them all.

The Fountains Country Fair is free and open to the public, so come one, come all and celebrate with us. For more information or to schedule your personal tour of The Fountains Senior Living Community, please call Becky at (563) 332-5775.

Internationally renowned vocalist, Paddy Homan will give an Irish concert on Sunday August 29th at 3:00 p.m. at The Fountains Clubhouse. This concert will benefit The Alzheimer’s Association.

Paddy is an Irish Tenor and was voted Male Vocalist of the Year and Male Vocal Album of the Year 2010 by www.liveireland.com . Paddy’s passionate delivery of Irish songs and deep knowledge of the history of these songs has attracted appreciative notice from Irish music critics,
fellow musicians and an ever widening international audience.

Performing with Paddy is Jimmy Keane on the piano accordion. Jimmy was voted “Male Musician of the Year” by Irish American News.

The Fountains is proud to co-sponsor this concert along with Humana Market Point.

Tickets are $20 and benefit The Alzheimer’s Association. You may purchase tickets by sending your check to: The Alzheimer’s Association at 2208 Ste. B East 52nd Street, Davenport, IA 52807. Tickets may be charged by calling 563-324-1022. Please leave your name and telephone number and a staff member will call you to charge your tickets.

For more information, call Becky Lee Hinton at (563) 332-5775. Becky is the Director of Marketing at The Fountains Senior Living in Bettendorf. Please call Becky to schedule your personal tour.