James Randi Speaks: It's the Way to Go

hi I'm James Randi let me tell you a short story folks recently I was driving on four-lane Broward Boulevard here in Florida alongside the canal and I noticed a huge box turtle perilously making his way across the road some distance away the driver ahead of me swerved to avoid the creature but hardly slowed down well I pulled over I stopped and lugged a very heavy traveller to the edge of the water he seemed not to express his thanks to me for his rescue but he plopped into the canal with what I fancied was that certain degree of relief it's the kind of thing I often do I pick up sharp objects I find when walking along the beach carrying about with me until I find a suitable place to safely deposit them for every stranded motorists that I report by telephone to the highway police there are many others who pass that person by but I'm well aware of the reason I feel compelled to make such calls you see I had a very good teacher my paternal grandfather who long ago left us from what he believed would be a far greater adventure was very important to me as I grew up he cared a lot he looked on lying as a grave infraction of proper social behavior though I will tell you that on one occasion and only one I deliberately lied to him I visited him as he was in his last hours and he asked me if I thought that he was going to meet my grandmother who had died a few years earlier I told him that yes he probably would though I had no such delusion at all he just smiled well there or not he believed me I'll never know but I did this to possibly bring up a bit of comfort in his last moments I've no regrets about that at all Gramps was one who would wipe away bits of chewing gum on a park bench because someone may sit in it he did explain quite unnoticed he'd pick up and replaced a hat that had fallen from a clothing rack and a restaurant a piece of wire for Tooting for defense that the playground would be bent back out of the way by my grandad I learned a lot from him watching him as he performed this part of his life now grandpa wasn't a caretaker or a watchman of any kind he worked as an electrician he wasn't employed to pick up after people or to ensure their safety but was nonetheless getting enormous satisfaction from his small contributions together at the beach one day we found a very old wallet containing two $1 bills and a faded identity card for some chap named Foster as I expected my granddad wrapped that wallet up and mailed it off to the address we'd found inside two weeks later it came back with a notification informing us that the owner had moved and had left no forwarding address grandpa simply distracted the $2.00 and stucked him into a book on the bookshelf we reluctantly discarded the wallet well the next Sunday morning I answered the door to find a lady there asking if we would contribute to a worthy charity grandpa lit up and retrieved the two dollars from the bookshelf he handed them to the lady and as she thanked him he shook his head no no no that's not mine he said it's from mr. Foster I'm sure he's glad he's been put to such a good use and when I dropped that turtle at the canal edge last week I said mr. foster wishes you a long life and my grandpa would have smiled I know it's the way to go folks the world turns a little more smoothly they're just a bit richer and someone someplace may very well notice your good deed and resolve to follow suit that way we're all better off won't you do something for mr. Foster please and in fact we thank you for watching this latest episode of James Randi speaks for more of James Randi and the Educational Foundation make sure you visit Randi org

Channel: JamesRandiFoundation

Views: 71,961

Rating: 4.9538717 out of 5

Keywords: James Randi Speaks, jref, magician, paranormal investigator

Id: txiW0Q4_Qsw

Length: 4min 24sec (264 seconds)

Published: Sun May 09 2010

Reddit Comments

[u/sifumokung]

I still pick up trash I find in public places. My father told me, "Any shit-face can bitch about a problem, but a man leaves a place better than he found it."

He wasn't as genial as Mr. Randi, but he was correct.

[u/Riquisimo]

For every time a theist tells me I will burn in hell for not believing in god, I will show them this video.

[u/FutuoMentis]

Goodness for goodness' sake. It's definitely the way to go.

[u/[deleted]]

i wish I could grow such an awesome beard, James Randi is awesome! I wish he would be my grandpa and sit me down in his study for awesome stories.

[u/cthulhulou]

So I googled him and it turns out Mr. Foster was a terroristrapenazi.

[u/akajimmy]

James Randi is my hero.