FIVE IMPORTANT LESSONS

1. CLEANING LADY

During my second month of college, our proffesor 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, but how would i know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the
last question blank.
Just before class ended, a student asked if the last question would count
towards our quiz grade.
"Absolutely", said the proffesor. "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 forgotton that lesson and also learned her name was 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 rainstorm.
Her car had broken down and she desperately wanted 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 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. Because or 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 where a ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old 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 jis 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 bought 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 couldnt have the sundae, because he had to have enough to leave
her a tip.


4 THE OBSTACLES IN OUR PATH

In ancient times the King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he
hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the big rock.
Some of the King's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply
walked around it.
Mainly blamed th 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 burdenand tried to move
the stone out 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.
The peasant learned
what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents a 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 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
neede 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 saves her."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled
as we all did,
seeing the colour returning to her cheeks.
Then his face grew pale snd his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and
asked him with a
trembling voice,"will i start to die right away?"

Being young, the little boy misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was
going
to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.