Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

It is well

for one to know

more than he says.

Where there are friends

there is wealth.

Nothing

but heaven itself

is better

than a friend

who

is really a friend.

~Plautus~

  INDIGENOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRANTS OF AUTUMN

     Birthday greetings to Major Cole and Fred Higgins...Anyone

knowing the locale of Major, extend to him greetings on behalf

of his classmates.  Correspondingly for you Fred, with the Senior

Superlative designation of "Most Friendly", the Roman

playwright Plautus specialized in Comedy and his comedies are

the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their

entirety. Much like the wealth of comedy and friendship that

you've bestowed on folks over the ages.

     As you celebrate with your family today, may benevolence,

diplomacy and spontaneous gifts from God resemble the wealth

you predominantly receive. Now that the seasonal

"Heatwave" has initially moved on, I wish you a Greg

Karukas kind of day. Take a ride down "Riverside Drive"

for relaxation, but slow down for the speed bumps....if you

should see Major Cole, give him a mask and a ride to Beale

Street and Fourth... enjoy your day and stay safe my friend.... 

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

Nature

is a good name

for an effect

whose cause

is God.

Man

may dismiss

compassion

from his heart,

but

God never will. 

~William Cowper~

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

Thankfulness

is the beginning of gratitude.

Gratitude

is the completion of thankfulness.

Thankfulness

may consist merely of words.

Gratitude

is shown in acts.

~Henri Frederic Amiel~

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult,

but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart

is developed. Love many things, for therein lies the true

strength, and whosoever loves much performs much,

and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.

The best way to know God is to love many things.

~Vincent Van Gogh~

INDIGENOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRANTS OF AUTUMN

     Birthday greetings to Mary Lipson Richardson. Achieving

another milestone during your daily walk deserves a reward.

May you continue to experience the gifts of grace and mercy

granted to only a few as we advance through life. While you

celebrate with your family, I wish you a Willie Bradley type of

day. While numerous degrees of LOVE are being bestowed upon

you, proudly proclaim to all that today is special because "It's

On Now". As Van Gogh has stated " Love many things, for

therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much

performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in

love is done well. The best way to know God is to love many

things. As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult,

but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is

developed." Enjoy your day my friend....stay safe.... 

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

Time has been transformed,

and we have changed;

it has advanced and set us in motion;

it has unveiled its face,

inspiring us

with bewilderment and exhilaration.

We choose our joys

and sorrows

long before we experience them.

Forget not

that the earth delights

to feel your bare feet

and the winds

long to play with your hair.

~Khalil Gibran~

INDIGENOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRANTS OF AUTUMN

     Birthday Greetings to you Helen. Milestones are achievable,

when we have faith, in spite of our daily circumstances. The

bestowal of favor and compassion has been your first gift of

today. As you celebrate with your family, may the inheritance of

other gifts be given and received unpretentiously. As Khalil has

stated, "Time has been transformed, and we have changed; it

has advanced and set us in motion; it has unveiled its face,

inspiring us with bewilderment and exhilaration."

     You've experianced numerous joys and sorrows over the past

year, I'm sure. Today, you began a new journey down an earthen

path where you may walk barefooted and let the wind blow

through your hair as you admire the fall transition of seasons.

All from the safety of your backyard, that is...I wish you a

Gregg Karukas type of day, when the evening hours have

approached and you're exhausted from the celebration. May you

change your uniform in preparation to work the Night Shift

and enjoy the Music All Night of Stevie

(Wonderful)....enjoy your day and stay safe my friend.....

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

Forgiveness is not always easy.

At times,

it feels more painful

than the wound we suffered,

to forgive the one that inflicted it. 

And yet,

there is no peace without forgiveness.

Unforgiveness

is like drinking poison yourself

and waiting for the other person to die.

~Marianne Williamson~

Blessed and Highly Favored - The Clark Sisters
Lyrics:
He brought me through hard trials
He brought me through tribulations
Never let a day go by and not realize
Had not been for the Lord who was on my side

Back was against the wall
He looked out for me
He heard my cry and rescued me
Never let a day go by and not realize we are blessed

Don't take it for granted that we are here today
Just know that we're blessed and highly favored
Just know that we're blessed and highly favored

As I look back through the years,
It's amazing how He kept me.

What the devil mean't for evil,
God turned it around,
Turned it around just for my good.

I know that I am blessed and highly favored.
Just know that we're blessed and highly favored.

It coulda' been me,
It shoulda' been me,
It woulda' been me if it wasn't for the blood.

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

Negative thinking

is subtle and deceptive.

It wears many faces

and hides

behind the mask of excuses.

It is important

to strip away the mask

and discover

the real,

root emotion.

~Robert H. Schuller~

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

I

want to tell everybody

to celebrate

every day,

to savor the day

and be good to yourself,

love yourself,

and then

you can be good to others

and be of service to others.

All we have is today.

Just live it.

We don't know about tomorrow.

So, enjoy the day.

Love yourself, and spread love around.

~Charlotte Rae~

INDIGENOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRANTS OF AUTUMN

     Birthday Greetings to you Lillie!! Special homage is due today

for the attainment of another plateau. Furthermore, September

21st is recognized as "The International Day of Peace,

sometimes officially known as World Peace Day". Sanctioned by

the United Nations, it is dedicated to world peace, and

specifically the absence of war and violence. With the yearbook

dedication of our class theme "Let There Be Peace", little did we

know fifty-one years ago, that the uncertainty of our daily

existance without peace would remain continuous. There is little

peace experianced by individuals and families affected by this

world-wide pandemic. May your celebration today be without

related systemic issues.

     Although Charlotte Rae, was a character actress and

comedienne, her quote isn't hysterically funny. As she

emphasized, "tell everybody to celebrate every day, to savor

the day and be good to yourself, love yourself, and then you

can be good to others and be of service to others. All we have is

today. Just live it. We don't know about tomorrow. So, enjoy

the day. Love yourself, and spread love around." The

manifestation and potentiality to enjoy additional plateaus of

life, is my wish for your day of celebration. May you have a

Nathan Mitchell type of day as you co-exist within a

Smooth Groove....because you've been blessed, and you're a

"Survivor"....enjoy your day and stay safe my friend...

Kenneth Davis

Proverbs 10:7 Easy to Read Version

Good people leave memories that bless us,

but the wicked are soon forgotten.

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

Delicious autumn!

My very soul is wedded to it,

and if I were a bird

I would fly about the earth

seeking the successive autumns.

It seems to me

we can never give up

longing and wishing

while we are thoroughly alive.

There are

certain things we feel

to be beautiful and good,

and we must hunger after them.

Blessed

is the influence of one true,

loving human soul on another.

~George Eliot~

INDIGENOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRANTS OF AUTUMN

     Birthday Greetings to you Audrey and Larry. Kudos to you

both for this glorious achievement. Besides your great event,

today marks the first day of Fall. As with anything creative,

change is inevitable. The spring, summer, is quite a hectic time

for people in their lives, but then it comes to autumn, and to

winter, and you can't but help think back to the year that was,

and then hopefully looking forward to the year that is

approaching. (Enya)

     Thinking back upon the year that was, many aspects of a

normal lifestyle were interrupted by the pandemic. But as

George mentioned above, "We can never give up longing and

wishing while we are thoroughly alive". Your internal longings

and wishings have been sustained by the bestowed spiritual

blessings of mercy and grace. George summed up your

experiances as being certain things we feel to be beautiful and

good, and we must hunger after them.

     The first day of Fall should make you feel beautiful and good,

as well as sustaining a hunger to celebrate one more birthday.

While "En route" to the year that is approaching, I wish you

both a Four80East type of day. Enjoy your celebrations with a

bowl of "Noodle Soup" to keep the cool weather and winter

chills away...enjoy your day and stay safe my friends....

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

  L i f e 

 i s   t h e   c h i l d h o o d 

 o f   o u r   i m m o r t a l i t y . 

~J o h a n n   W o l f g a n g   v o n   G o e t h e~

      Good morning to the readers of Thoughts For Consideration.

As referenced in the thought for today, another mortal life

within my family structure, has transitioned toward the

direction of immortality. The daily website posts will be

discontinued for awhile. A deeply sincere and heartfelt attitude

of gratitude to everyone who has stated their level of

encouragement and enjoyment from reading the posts. You

humble me, as your servant. I'll be traveling to Memphis to

attend memorial and burial services. Thank you, to all who've

expressed condolences, and if anyone continues to not believe it,

COVID IS REAL.....stay safe my friends.....now, having said all

that, today is still....

Kenneth Davis

There can be life after breast cancer.

The prerequisite is early detection.

~Ann Jillian~

I take pride in knowing the NFL

is pink in October,

sparking conversations

everywhere about breast cancer

and prevention,

all in the spirit of my mom.

~DeAngelo Williams~

TO

EVERY INDIVIDUAL

FROM THE CLASS OF 1970

WHO HAS SURVIVED BREAST CANCER

OR

HAS BEEN A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

 T o   t h o s e   o u t   t h e r e 

 w h o   a r e   s u f f e r i n g   f r o m   c a n c e r , 

 f a c i n g   a d v e r s i t y , 

 I   w a n t   y o u   t o   k n o w 

 t h a t   y o u r   w i l l   t o   l i v e 

 c a n   m a k e   a l l   t h e   d i f f e r e n c e 

 i n   t h e   w o r l d .   

W h a t e v e r

   I  m i g h t   h a v e   i m a g i n e d 

 a   t e r m i n a l   d i a g n o s i s 

 w o u l d   d o   t o   m y   s p i r i t , 

 i t   s u m m o n e d 

 q u i t e   t h e   o p p o s i t e 

 -   t h e   g r e a t e s t   a p p r e c i a t i o n 

 f o r   l i f e   i t s e l f .   

S o   

I   w i l l 

 n e v e r   g i v e   u p , 

 a n d   

I   w i l l 

 n e v e r   g i v e   i n . 

~ C r a i g   S a g e r~

Kenneth Davis

PRAYER SUBMITTED BY JAMES STONE

There are a lot of people

who don't know what metastatic breast cancer is.

~DeAngelo Williams~

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

T h e   B i b l e   t e l l s   m e   t h a t   e v e r y   l i f e   i s   h o l y ; 

t h e   B i b l e   t e l l s   m e   t h a t   e v e r y   l i f e   i s   l o v e d ; 

t h e   B i b l e   t e l l s   m e   t h a t   e v e r y   l i f e   i s   c a l l e d 

t o   b e   a l l   t h a t   i t   c a n   b e .   

~J o h n   S h e l b y   S p o n g~

 "OCTOBER" THE MONTH OF PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES

     Birthday greetings to Eugene Grayer. May the words of John

Shelby Spong, richly embody your day of celebration. Thank you

once again for your assistance provided in times past. Having

arrived at another milestone, may continuous blessings of mercy

and grace flow throughout each of your daily preludes with the

family. I wish you a day of remembrance, conceived in thought,

and performed by your frat brother, Booker T. Jones. As you

celebrate today and the days to come, "Sound The Alarm",

whereas you've arrived and considered your blessings, which

institute reasons to "Feel Good". I can envision the two of you

"NUPES" stomping across East McLemore Avenue and College

Street, to his beats....enjoy your day and stay safe my friend....

Kenneth Davis

With over 3 million women battling breast cancer today,

everywhere you turn there is a mother, daughter, sister, or

friend who has been affected by breast cancer.

~Betsey Johnson~

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

The strength people need

to proceed

along the path of human development

can come only

from the spiritual worlds.

You cannot be

an educator

or a teacher

without relating to children

with full insight.

Their urge to imitate

has been transformed

into a receptivity

based on a natural

and uncontested relationship

of authority,

and you must take this into account

in the broadest possible sense.

~Rudolf Steiner~

 "OCTOBER" THE MONTH OF PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES

     Birthday greetings to you, Alice Holman Nesbitt!! The Fall

Season has arrived, with benevolent blessings of gentility and

compassion on your behalf today. May these gifts encourage you

and your family as the normal daily decorum, while anticipating

your next milestone achievement. The Austrian philosopher

referenced above, Rudolf Steiner was a social reformer,

architect, esotericist and claimed clairvoyant. Having

transitioned in 1925, his statements definately pertain to you

and your profession. (if you're still employed, teachers never

officially retire, they just make schedule reassessments). As you

celebrate today with family, may you continuously gain

spiritual, physical, mental and emotional strength to become the

social reformer, architect and educator this world needs, for

children and adults. It is not possible to educate the will and the

healthy soul that underlies it unless we develop insights that

awaken energetic impulses in the soul and will. (Rudolf Steiner)

I wish you a Sam Levine, Smooth Praise type of day. May

you encounter divine favor as you openly Shout To The Lord,

giving thanks for blessings received....enjoy your day and stay

safe my friend....

Kenneth Davis

I joined forces with the American Cancer Society in 2010 as a

spokesperson for the N.F.L.'s 'A Crucial Catch' campaign, which

benefits the American Cancer Society. This was important to me

because I lost my mother to breast cancer, and I have always felt

a strong commitment to doing all I can to fight this disease.

~ Larry Fitzgerald~

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

He who has faith has...

an inward reservoir

of courage, hope, confidence, calmness,

and assuring trust

that all will come out well

- even though to the world

it may appear to come out most badly.

There is more credit

and satisfaction

in being a first-rate truck driver

than a tenth-rate executive.

~B. C. Forbes~

 "OCTOBER" THE MONTH OF PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES

     Birthday greetings to Octavia Harris and Jerry Hosey. A

(BOLO) be on the lookout for Octavia has been issued. Should

you see her, please extend to her a glorious day today. Jerry, the

blessings of a fall harvest will be reaped by you upon this day.

Although the landscape has been shifting over the years, your

bounty of seeds planted, have come to actualization with

extraordinary benevolence. May your celebration with family

provide you with every gift of compassion, thoughtfulness,

charity and  goodwill, that children and grandchildren are able

to bestow upon a parent.

     Forbes described you as "He who has faith". By the same

token, he mentions your profession and further elevates your

status; "There is more credit and satisfaction in being a first-rate

truck driver than a tenth-rate executive." I've often been in a

state of wonderment, when it comes to driving 18 Wheelers,

especially during winter months. But Forbes indicates that not

only are you a man of faith, but you also have "an inward

reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring

trust that all will come out well - even though to the world it

may appear to come out most badly." Today, those

characteristics remain within you and are a portion of specific

reasons for being blessed to achieve another milestone. I wish

you a Chieli Minucci type of day. As you continue to shift

gears to obtain your top speed for the day, don't forget to put on

the Cruise Control.....enjoy your day and stay safe my

friend....

Kenneth Davis

When someone has cancer,

the whole family

and everyone who loves them

does, too.

~Terri Clark~

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

Take stock of

your thoughts and behavior.

Each night ask yourself,

when were you negative

when you could have been positive?

When did you withhold love

when you might have given it?

When did you play a neurotic game

instead of behaving in a powerful way?

Use this process to self-correct.

~Marianne Williamson~

Kenneth Davis

On the morning of May 1, 2018, I woke up knowing that the day

I had anticipated for nine years had finally arrived. It was the

day of my preventative double mastectomy - the day I would

attack my BRCA 2 genetic mutation head-on and take my

chances of breast cancer from 84 percent to virtually zero.

~Kayleigh McEnany~

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

 W e   c a n   a l l   f i g h t   a g a i n s t   l o n e l i n e s s 

 b y   e n g a g i n g 

 i n   r a n d o m   a c t s   o f   k i n d n e s s . 

~G a i l   H o n e y m a n~

Kenneth Davis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Baptist Women’s Center is partnering with

organizations during Breast Cancer Awareness Month to provide

mammograms to underinsured and underserved women in Shelby County.

Baptist Women’s Health Center partnered with the Shelby County

Commission and Vitalant for the initiative. Throughout the month of October,

Vitalant will make a donation to provide free mammograms in the community

for every blood donation received. Vitalant will donate $20 for every new

donor and $10 for every returning donor.

     “Early detection and treatment of breast cancer leads to higher survival

rates,” said Nikki Gast, administrative director at Baptist Women’s Health

Center. “Through Baptist Women’s Health Center’s mobile mammography

unit, we can connect women to accessible breast care, education and

resources. Thank you to the Shelby County Commission and Vitalant for their

support and dedication in getting this life-saving care to our communities.”

The Baptist mobile mammography unit will be onsite at the next Vitalant

blood drive Friday, October 8 at the Benjamin L. Hooks Library on Poplar

Avenue in Memphis. Mammograms will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. To

schedule an appointment, call 901-227-PINK.

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

My cancer scare changed my life. I'm grateful for every new,

healthy day I have. It has helped me prioritize my life. Men need

to be aware of the health of their bodies, as well - prostate

cancer and breast cancer are almost on the same level. It's

fascinating to me that the correlation between the two is almost

the same - people don't talk about it so much, but they are

almost equal in numbers. ~Olivia Newton-John~

Kenneth Davis

If I can get people to accept that a DNA test is nothing to be

intimidated about, then we can do tests that determine how well you

metabolise certain drugs and test for breast cancer.

~Chris Toumazou~

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

Students should learn about the long-standing values of truth,

beauty, and goodness, think hard about them, and interrogate

them skillfully. For most, the school is the first model of a

community, and it can be a very powerful one. We need to

ensure that young people are raised in educational communities

that they admire and that they will seek to emulate or re-create

for the rest of their lives. ~Howard Gardner~

 "OCTOBER" THE MONTH OF PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES

     Birthday greetings to you Wendolyn Wooten Petties. Congrats on

your achievement of another milestone. The blessings forthcoming will

be substianted by your numerous Facebook friends, followers and

possibly acknowledgements from your former students. As a retired

educator within the Memphis City Schools, I choose to think that you

realized and administered your own theory of intelligence.  Unlike

traditional theories of intelligence that focus on one single general

intelligence, Howard Gardner believed that people instead have

multiple different ways of thinking and learning. After spending time

working with two very different groups, normal and gifted children,

and brain-damaged adults, Gardner began developing a theory

designed to synthesize his research and observations.

     In 1983, he published Frames of Mind which outlined his theory of

multiple intelligences. From your profile, it appears that you've

spawned several of his theories, for sustainment during retirement.

The use of Interpersonal intelligence, Intrapersonal intelligence,

Linguistic-verbal intelligence and, Visual-spatial intelligence leave no

doubt of the successfulness you'll enjoy as an author, illustrator and

poetess. Although you've retired from MCS, you're still educating folks

and Howard says "Students should learn about the long-standing

values of truth, beauty, and goodness, think hard about them, and

interrogate them skillfully." Your publications will adhere to that

requirement.  As you celebrate today with family, I wish you a School

House Rock type of day. May you become the word indicating the

occurrence or performance of an action, the existence of a state or

condition, etc...enjoy your day and stay safe my friend....

Kenneth Davis

I had male breast cancer and had dual radical modified mastectomy,

and I've spent a lot of time working with the Susan G. Komen

foundation to make men aware of male breast cancer - if you have

breast tissue, you can have breast cancer. ~Edward Brooke~

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

SMALL STRAWS

Beloved, REFUSE to allow anything to undermine or destroy your

faith. I know that you have wondered if your faith and hope are enough

to break through your challenges. And I tell you, Yes. It is enough to

sustain you. Do not waver in your belief that there is spiritual, invisible

help available to you in every situation. “Put YOUR trust in Me, and be

strong” Luke 17:6 So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard

seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, be pulled up by the roots 

and be planted in the sea, and it would obey you."

Have a beautiful

Spectacular Sunday!!

This is the day the Lord has made

Rejoice and be glad! 

("SMALL STRAWS" CONTRIBUTED BY DE' CLAYBORN)

Helen Suttles (Shaw)

Good Evening Kenneth and Classmates,

Kenneth their cannot be enough escalates given to you in the way of thanks for a website

that keeps us (the class of 1970) suited and booted.   Your features and sources are great to

see and read about. Thank you again and again.

Kenneth Davis

Make it a habit

to tell people thank you.

To express your appreciation,

sincerely

and without the expectation

of anything in return.

Truly appreciate those around you,

and you'll soon find

many others around you.

Truly appreciate life,

and you'll find

that you have more of it.

~Ralph Marston~

Thank you so much, Helen...stay safe my friend...

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N

One day, right after my mastectomy, I went for a walk in Central

Park, and there was this mob of people blocking the road. I

thought, 'Oh, great, now I'm stuck!' but then I suddenly realized

that it was a breast cancer walk. If it weren't for my breast

cancer, I wouldn't be a 'Today' host. After I got better, I talked to

my boss about working on the show. Six months before, I'd have

been terrified to go in there and ask for what I wanted. But after

what I'd been through, how could I be scared of being told no?

~Hoda Kotb~

Kenneth Davis

T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

I feel that between my experience and my mother's, breast

cancer is a little bit like someone who lives next door. I know

what that person looks like and what their daily habits are. I

always sort of thought, 'I'm probably going to get breast cancer.

There's a really good chance.' My mother has battled breast

cancer three times.

~Cynthia Nixon~