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 joy of not having to be at work.

A few weeks ago, I turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand

you from time to time. I turned on my radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. I came across an older sounding chap with a golden voice. You know the kind.

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 that has helped me keep a good perspective on my priorities.” And then 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 75 years on an average. I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the person has in their entire lifetime. Now, I’m getting to the important part.”

“It took me until I was 55 years old to think about all this in any detail and by that time I had lived through over 2,800 Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be 75, I only had about a 1,000 of them left to enjoy.”

“So I went to three toy stores and bought 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a clear plastic container. 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 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.”

You could have heard a pin drop on the radio station 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 work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “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.”