RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS: Penicillin & Friendship (Lucky 13 March 2007)

. Hi Everyone,

I had a great weekend... saw "The 300" film and enjoyed it, got a ton of gaming in, enjoyed my brother-in-law's birthday party, and took plenty of photos, which I hope to share soon. But until then, I have the following to share...

Every now and then, a friend sends me something other than dirty jokes and I get such a smile out of what I receive that I decide to share it with others.... so here goes:

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer.

One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer.

At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel."Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of."

And that he did.

Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time?
Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman?
Lord Randolph Churchill.

His son's name?
Sir Winston Churchill.

When I recieved this old yarn, I decided to fact check it and here's what I came up with:

The story is FALSE, a FABLE, an URBAN MYTH.

I still highly recommend checking out the Wikipedia entry on Sir Alexander Fleming, very interesting man. I've included the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Alexander_Fleming

The popular story of Winston Churchill's father's paying for Fleming's education after Fleming's father saved young Winston from death is false. According to the biography, "Penicillin Man: Alexander Fleming and the Antibiotic Revolution" by Kevin Brown, Alexander Fleming is quoted as saying that this was "a wonderful fable". Nor did he save Winston Churchill himself during WWII. Churchill was saved by Lord Moran, using sulphonamides, since he had no experience with penicillin, when Churchill fell ill in Carthage in Tunisia in 1943. The Daily Telegraph and The Morning Post on 21 December 1943 wrote that he had been saved by penicillin. It is probable that, as sulphonamide was a German discovery, and there was a war with Germany, that the patriotic pride in the miracle cure of penicillin had something to do with this error in reporting.

However, I'm still a fan of the Churchills, even if they didn't have a hand in the discovery of penicillin. While they have had different viewpoints on one of my "hot button" issues, Israel, they have had a very good track record for supporting Israel. To that end, I can recommend the following book:

Churchill, Randolph S. and Winston S.
The Six Day War.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1967.

Churchill, Randolph S., and Winston S.
The Six-Day War.
N.Y.: Penguin, 1967.

There may be other editions of the book that I am not aware of. I have the Penguin edition.

And an article or two by or about Churchills:

My GRANDFATHER INVENTED IRAQ:
And He Has Lessons For Us Today
http://www.think-israel.org/churchill.html

THE LAST ROMANTIC ZIONIST GENTILE
http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=726

------

And here are a few axioms on how to achieve happiness:

A Few Axioms For Achieving Happiness:

- What goes around, comes around.

- Work like you don't need the money.

- Love like you've never been hurt.

- Dance like nobody's watching.

- Sing like nobody's listening.

- Live like it's Heaven on Earth!

It's National Friendship Week. Go figure!

And lastly, I hope this prayer brightens someone's day:

AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP PRAYER:

May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
Amen!

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures: These are not all my images. I am using various images from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).