The more I think about it, the more I think "I find some person, place, thing,
or situation unacceptable to me" and "I must accept that person, place, thing,
or situation" means I'm powerless over it. As somebody else said, the concept
is the same, & those words are in the Book.

Interestingly enough, if you go back & read that story (which is funnier than
Reader's Digest, IMHO), you'll notice that a LOT of the most frequently repeated
"cliches" come from that one story.

"A new pair of glasses," my "magic magnifying mind," "acceptance was the answer"
(heck! people recommend reading that whole paragraph/page!), "my serenity is
inversely proportional to my expectations" - a BUNCH of them!

So I still don't think it is impossible for the use of the phrase "powerless
over people, places, & things" to have originated as a paraphrase, or
mis-quotation, from this story. It may not have in actual fact come from that
story, but it is certainly not beyond the realm of possibility.

That's my story, & I'm stickin' to it.

Marlo D.
Del Valle, Texas