The Necklace

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  “SHE WAS one of those pretty, charming young ladies, born, as if through an error of destiny, into a family of clerks. She had no dowry, no hopes, no means of becoming known, appreciated, loved, and married by a man either rich or distinguished; and she allowed herself to marry a petty clerk in the office of the Board of Education. . . .  She had neither frocks nor jewels, nothing. And she loved only those things. She felt that she was made for them. She had such a desire to please, to be sought after, to be clever, and courted.” —THE NECKLACE Guy de Maupassant    France, 1884 (pic by Grok) Read this short story here:  https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace

What Has It Got In Its Pocketses?

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You will perhaps recognize that question as it was asked of Bilbo by Gollum in Tolkien's "The Hobbit."

We were out doing ministry on the street one night when this older man with a very long and scraggly beard came up to me and asked very directly, "You're a Christian, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," I replied, "but I can't help but wonder how you would guess."

He pointed to my shirt pocket containing gospel tracts and said, "Your pockets are bulging."  No doubt I was "packed for bear" that night as I had something to distribute from every pocket (I feel naked without something in my shirt pocket)!

What is in a man's pockets reveal much about him, don't they?  What is most important?  What does he hold dear, or what does he deem as absolutely essential?  And the things in his pockets change over time, as does the man.  Here is an interesting and humourous history of a man told by what he carried in his pocketses.

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