1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz.I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questionsuntil I read the last one:
‘What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?’
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning womanseveral times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50’s, but how wouldI know her name?
I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just beforeclass ended, one student asked if the last question would count towardour quiz grade.
‘Absolutely,’ said the professor. ‘In your careers, you will meetmany 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. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:3 0 p.m., an older African American woman wasstanding on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashingrainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride.
Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white manstopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled60s.. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put herinto a taxicab.
She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address andthanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. Tohis surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. Aspecial note was attached..
It read:
‘Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway theother night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also myspirits. Then you came along.
Becauseof you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s bedside just beforehe passed away.. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly servingothers.’
Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.
In the days when an ice cream sundaecost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and satat 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 is hand out of his pocket and stu died 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 andwalked 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 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then hehid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.
Someof the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simplywalked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roadsclear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Uponapproaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried tomove the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing andstraining, he finally succeeded.
Afterthe peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lyingin the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many goldcoins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for theperson 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 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts…
Many years ago , when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I gotto know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare &serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be ablood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculouslysurvived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed tocombat the il lness.. The doctor explained the situation to her littlebrother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give hisblood to his sister.
I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath andsaying, ‘Yes I’ll do it if it will save her.’ As the transfusionprogressed, 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 andhis 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 thoughthe was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order tosave her but he had chosen to save her anyway.