A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the Florida Room with a steaming cup of hot tea in one hand and a book 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 on the ham radio to find something to listen to when, along the way, I came across an older sounding chap 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 loved ones so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet." 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," he said, "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 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 running 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 loved ones, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. 75 year Old Man, this is K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!"

You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my loved one with a kiss. "C'mon , I'm taking you to breakfast" I said. "What brought this on?" I was asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday enjoying life together. Oh yes," I said. "and by the way, could we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."