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. A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the

backyard patio 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 dial up to listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding gentleman, with a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the

broadcasting business. He was telling whoever he was talking with something about “a thousand marbles”. I was intrigued and stopped 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 about seventy-five years.”

“Now then, I multiplied 75 times 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 to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five,

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 the shack next to my gear. 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 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 meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your

family, and I hope to meet you again.”

You could have heard a pin drop on the radio when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work that

morning. 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 while 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.”

– Author Unknown