Friday, August 17, 2012

The Five Lessons

By way of my inbox via good blogbuddy aA:


THE FIVE LESSONS 



- 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 questions until 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 woman several times. She was tall,

Dark-haired and in her 50's, 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 toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely, " said the professor. "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. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain 



One night, at 11:30 p.m., 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 - Third Important Lesson - 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 t he 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 - Fourth Important Lesson. - 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 - Fifth Important Lesson - 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. 


Now you have  choices. 


1 Delete this email, or 

2. Forward it other people. 

I hope that you will choose No. 2 and remember. 



Most importantly.... "Work like you

don't need the money, love like you've never been

hurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching." 



NOW more than ever - Please...     Pass It On...
You never know how or when you'll be paid!
In God We Trust

6 comments:

  1. Good post, Inno. I've seen a couple of these in the past, and they always seem to come at a time when I need to be reminded of what it means to live an honorable life.

    At the risk of a loooooong comment...I learned early on in life to get to know the name (at least first name) of everyone that crossed my path. Now that I work at a facility with about 500 employees, it's almost impossible. But, I still do my best...been there almost two years, and sometimes I get really frustrated that I can remember so few.

    I blame my aging brain.

    And, George Bush.

    The story about the man moving the boulder really sparked something in me. I guess from my earliest days, my parents drilled in to me the importance of "the other guy."

    Many instances can be shared. But one stands out. My Dad owned an appliance and television store, so I grew up around machines. One day I was learning how to change a particular part on a Whirlpool washing machine. I remember distinctly getting it all put together...proudly.

    Then, Daddy looked at my job. I had shortcut a step or two, using what I had close at hand, rather than using what was "supposed to be used." Daddy was not pleased.

    I was like, "Well Dad, it works!" His reply was, "Yeah, it works. But, you've got to think about the next guy. One of these days that part might need to be replaced again. What you've done is going to make it MUCH harder on 'the next guy' to fix it. He'll shake his head, and get red in the face at what you left him to work with."

    I like to think that I always think about "the next guy." It has served me well to move obstacles that others behind me are going to encounter. Never found a big bag of gold under one, though. Just satisfaction in knowing that the next guy's path will be a little easier.

    Lastly...the story about the kid with his nickels, and the one giving his blood made me cry. Well...not really cry, like good old snot-runnin', gut-shot cry...but moist where the eye-boogers should be.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes you say things that run so parallel to what I thinking, makes me think we're related or something.

      Delete
  2. Nice stuff there, Inno - heat must be getting to ya. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's so hot, it's burned all the pissy right out of me. :)

      Delete
  3. Inno, for your sake, I hope we're not. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Snopes tells me the "pick-up in the rain" story is bogus...yet, it does carry a good moral.

    ReplyDelete

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