GREAT LESSONS:
The Important Things Life Teaches You ....
~ 1 ~ Most Important Question
During my second month of night school, our professor gave us a
pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the
questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the
woman who cleans the school?" Obviously, this was some kind of
joke... I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed
in my paper, leaving the last question blank.
Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would
count toward our quiz grade.
"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your lives, in your careers,
you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your
attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'."
I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was
Dorothy.
2 ~ Pickup 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 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get
assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed
to be in a big hurry! She wrote down his address, thanked him and
drove away.
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 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?"
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand
out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it.
"How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired. Some people
were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient.
"Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the 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 departed. When
the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then
swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the
empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies - her tip.
~ 5 ~ Giving Blood
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at Stanford
Hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a
rare and 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 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 Liz." As the transfusion
progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did,
seeing the color returning to her cheeks.
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 boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he
was going to have to give his sister all of his blood.
Carrie Lisabeth Orr
"If I had my life to live over again, I'd pick more daisies. I'd
make more mistakes...be sillier...relax...be crazier...take more
chances...climb more mountains, swim more rivers, watch more
sunsets...play hooky more, ride merry-go-rounds, swing more...turn
more somersaults. I'd just be me more and more...Yes, I'd pick daisies
next time."