1) Cleaning Lady
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz.
I was a conscientious student and I had breezed through the questions, until I
read the last one : “What is the first name of the woman that cleans the
school?” Surely this was some kind of joke, I had seen the cleaning woman
several times, She was tall, dark haired and in her fifties, but how would I
know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just
before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count towards
our quiz grade. “Absolutely,” said the professor. “In your careers you will
meet many people. All are significant. They deserve attention and care, even if
all you do is smile and say, “Hello.” I’ve never forgotten that lesson or her
name, Dorothy.
2) Pick up in the rain.
One night, at 11:30 pm, an older African American
woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing
rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking
wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help
her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man took her to
safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be
in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by
and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV
was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank
you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched
not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you,
I was able to make it to my dying husband's' bedside just before he passed
away. God Bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3) Always remember those
who serve.
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much
less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A
waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he
asked. "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket
and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice
cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress
was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied. The
little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream,"
he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and
walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When
the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There,
placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You
see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave
her a tip.
4) The obstacle in
Our Path.
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on
a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the
huge rock. Some of the King's' wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and
simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads
clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a
peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder,
the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the
road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant
picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.
The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that
the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant
learned what many of us never understand!
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to
improve our condition.
5) Giving When it Counts...
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at
a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare
& serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion
from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and
had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained
the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing
to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before
taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her."
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as
we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale
and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling
voice, "Will I start to die right away". Being young, the little boy
had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister
all of his blood in order to save her.
