Paulabear

Five(5) lessons to make you think about the way we treatpeople.
1 - FirstImportant Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
Duringmy second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was aconscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I readthe last one:
'What is the first name of the woman who cleans theschool?'
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen thecleaning 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 thelast question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if thelast question would count toward our quiz grade.
'Absolutely,'said the professor. 'In your careers, you will meet many people. All aresignificant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do issmile and say 'hello.'
I've never forgotten that lesson. I alsolearned her name was Dorothy.
2.- Second Important Lesson - Pickup in theRain
Onenight, at 11:30 p.m., an elderly African-American woman was standing onthe side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Hercar had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, shedecided to flag down the next car.A young white man stopped to helpher, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 60s.. The man tookher to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into ataxicab.
She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down hisaddress and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on theman's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered tohis home. A special note was attached..
It read:'Thank youso much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The raindrenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you camealong.Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband'sbedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me andunselfishly serving others.'
Sincerely, Mrs. Nat KingCole.
3- Third Important Lesson - Always remember those whoserve..
Inthe days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boyentered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glassof water in front of him. 'How much is an ice cream sundae?' heasked.
'Fifty cents,' replied the waitress.
The little boypulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins init.
'Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?' heinquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table andthe waitress was growing impatient.
'Thirty-five cents,' shebrusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins. 'I'llhave the plain ice cream,' he said.
The waitress broughtthe ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boyfinished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When thewaitresscame back, she began to cry as she wiped down the tableThere, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and fivepennies..
You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because hehad to have enough left to leave her a tip.
4- Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path
Inancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hidhimself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some ofthe king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walkedaround it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear,but none did anything about getting the stone out of theway.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables.Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and triedto move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing andstraining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load ofvegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder hadbeen. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the Kingindicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder fromthe roadway. The peasant learned what many of us neve runderstand!
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve ourcondition.
5- Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When itCounts...
Manyyears ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know alittle girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & seriousdisease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusionfrom her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the samedisease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked thelittle boy if he would be willing to give his blood to hissister.
I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deepbreath and saying, 'Yes I'll do it if it will save her.' As thetransfusion p rogressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, aswe all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grewpale and his smile faded.
He looked up at the doctor andasked with a trembling voice, 'Will I start to die rightaway'.
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood thedoctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of hisblood in order to save her.