ARTICLES

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER 

One day, a blind man sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet and a sign that read: “I am blind. Please help.”

A creative publicist who was walking by stopped and noticed that there were only a few coins in the hat.

He dropped some coins into the hat and, without asking for permission, took the sign, turned it around, and wrote something on it.

He placed the sign by the blind man’s feet and left.

That afternoon the publicist returned and saw that the hat was full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized his footsteps and asked what he had written on the sign.

The publicist reply: “Nothing that was not true. I just rewrote it differently.” He smile and went his way.

The blind man never knew it, but his new sign read: “TODAY IS SPRING AND I CANNOT SEE IT.”

REMEMBER THOSE WHO SERVE 

In the day 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,” she replied.

The boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. “Well, how much is a plain dish of ice-cream?”

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. “Thirty-five cents,” she said, brusquely.

Again the boy looked at his coins, then said, ”I’ll have the plain ice-cream.”

The waitress brought it, 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 nickel and five pennies.

You see, he couldn’t have the ice-cream sundae because he had to have enough to leave her a tip.

 THE 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 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 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving that question blank.

Just before class ended, one student asked if it 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 that her name was Dorothy.

 PICKUP IN THE RAIN 

Late one night, a middle-aged African American woman stood by the side of an Alabama highway in the midst of a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. She decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help the soaking wet woman, generally unheard of in the conflict-filled 1960s. He helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi. She seemed to be in a hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him.

seven days went by and there was a knocked on the man’s door. To his surprised, it was the delivery man, with a giant console colour TV. A special note attached to 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 spirit. 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.”

 THE OBSTACLE IN OUR PATH 

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed in the middle of a road. Then he hid and watch to see if anyone would remove the huge rock.

Some of the kingdom’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around the boulder. Many loudly blamed the ruler for not keeping the roads clear, but no one did anything about getting it out of the way.

Then along a peasant came carrying a load of vegetables. When he came to the boulder, he laid down his goods and attempted to move it to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant had picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying on the road where the boulder had been. It contained many gold coins and a note from the king stating that the coins were reward for whoever removed the rock.

The peasant learned how many of us understand: every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our lot.

 GIVING WHEN IT COUNTS

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of survival was a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and developed the antibody to combat it.

The doctor explained the situation to the boy and asked if he if he was willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes, if it will save her.”

He lay in the bed next to his sister and as the transfusion progressed, he smiled, as we all did, seeing the colour return 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?” The little boy had misunderstood the doctor-he thought he had give his sister all his blood in order to save her. Yet, he was willing to do it.