Five lessons to make you think about the way we treat people.

Thirdfox

I read this a long time ago but just recently got them in an e-mail again, thought it might be useful to remind people of the happier side of life (even if these stories are urban legends )





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 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 50s, 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, at11:30 p.m., 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 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 1960s. 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 is 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 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 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.

Ponster

I'd probably leave out the

Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

bit seeing as it didn't actually happen and that one bit of fiction kinda sours it for the rest of the stories IMHO.

Sleipnir

I think I'm getting diabetes that was so sugary.
I feel sick.

Dyr

what really impressed me is that Mrs nat king cole travelled to the future just to get this guy a giant console colour TV. no wonder her car broke down, it musta been a delorean..

PrettyInPunk

i loved it!!!

Hail 2 Da Chimp

That's really inspired me... a huge boulder in the road!!!

Why didnt i ever think of that?

//Runs off to try it

Thirdfox

Ponster wrote:

I'd probably leave out the

Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

bit seeing as it didn't actually happen and that one bit of fiction kinda sours it for the rest of the stories IMHO.

Bambi wrote:

what really impressed me is that Mrs nat king cole travelled to the future just to get this guy a giant console colour TV. no wonder her car broke down, it musta been a delorean..

Just to reply to the point that these are fictional stories look at my first sentence! I kept everything as I found it in the e-mail. Look up google to find these urban legends...

No need to be pointing them out again (especially if some people believe it to be true and act on it). Ignorance is bliss!

simu

Wow. Those should be in the Bible - next edition. In the middle of Leviticus or something.

growler

Thirdfox wrote:

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 is 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 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 couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

.

no sure about that one tbh. I don't think the service given warranted a tip particularly with her speaking "brusquely" and all.
Daft kid, get the sundae, give a tip when you can afford it lad.

monkeyfudge

There's no f*cking way I'm ever leaving a tip for an ice cream vendor!

simu

monkeyfudge wrote:

There's no f*cking way I'm ever leaving a tip for an ice cream vendor!

And reading that anecdote has just iron-clad your resolve, right? Mwuha!

funky penguin

/me hits head off nearby wall.

Lets all hold hands and dance, with lots of thrustation!

Don't forget the parsnips!

monkeyfudge

simu wrote:

And reading that anecdote has just iron-clad your resolve, right? Mwuha!

Yep.. Have you any idea how much they charge for a simple 99 these days? Money grabbing bastards... and when the summer rolls in... THEY UP THEIR PRICES!!!

Bixmoo

just a note about the cleaning lady in my secondary school:

she was quite probably the rudest person i've ever met. A miserable old bitch, went around all day taking the crappiness of her life out on everybody. just thought i'd get that in there

youcancallmeal

I like stories

growler

And what kind of king goes around scattering boulders all over the roads, he's meant to be king not some bleeding eco-warrior / vandal, he should be fired immediately for (a) having too much time on his hands (b) wasting tax payers money by rewarding people for moving rocks he just put there, this should be the job of the council and the unions should get involved in this.

If there is a lesson here it is for the kings of the world , do your job and stop thinking up of stupid pranks to annoy the peasants.

Thirdfox

growler wrote:

no sure about that one tbh. I don't think the service given warranted a tip particularly with her speaking "brusquely" and all.
Daft kid, get the sundae, give a tip when you can afford it lad.

I know it's all fictional and all (and that I didn't write this stuff anyway) but perhaps in America where most waiters' pay comes from tips there is a different attitude to tipping?

Civilian_Target

Meh - thanks to a friendly cleaning lady I got a double sized room all to myself for a year. I think I left her an easter egg and a nice postcard...

Patricide

A good way to improve your life i think, Pity most people(including me) have trouble with some of the stuff mentioned, not that we dont try to be good we just arent.Still Rather good.

Ruu_Old

Cool stories

Dr. Loon

Hmmm... although complete and utter tripe, it appears you idiots are missing the point. Read the stories again, then think about the shít that let a door slam in your face, or the motherfúcker who moans every day in work because he/she has to work, or those rare and genuine people who would do anything to make someone else happy.

Quite obviously you bunch are the **** I meet every day. It's a rare kind that show the character of these stories, no matter how bóllox they are. Though they do exist. Clearly not any poster on this thread so far. All you idiots can do is pick apart the plot holes?!

Although the stories are bóllox and make me ill just reading them, I recognise the morals involved and appreciate them. If more people applied these morals to everyday life we'd all be better off. No?

Zillah

simu wrote:

Wow. Those should be in the Bible - next edition. In the middle of Leviticus or something.

Somehow I think it would be a bit uncomfortable in Leviticus. Perhaps revelations would be better...

growler

Dr. Loon wrote:

Hmmm... although complete and utter tripe, it appears you idiots are missing the point. Read the stories again, then think about the shít that let a door slam in your face, or the motherfúcker who moans every day in work because he/she has to work, or those rare and genuine people who would do anything to make someone else happy.

Quite obviously you bunch are the **** I meet every day. It's a rare kind that show the character of these stories, no matter how bóllox they are. Though they do exist. Clearly not any poster on this thread so far. All you idiots can do is pick apart the plot holes?!

Although the stories are bóllox and make me ill just reading them, I recognise the morals involved and appreciate them. If more people applied these morals to everyday life we'd all be better off. No?

think its missing the parable about the lad who took himself far too seriously before dissappearing up his own ....

Font22

i thought that was just lovely.

Cake Fiend

Dr. Loon wrote:

Clearly not any poster on this thread so far. All you idiots can do is pick apart the plot holes?!

It's the 21st century. People are a lot more cynical of little pull-at-the-heartstrings stories (particularly fictional ones) where you can clearly see what the author is trying to get you to feel, especially when they've heard or read saccharine-sweet cliches like this several times before. That doesn't automatically make their humanity irredeemable.

Does the fact that I rolled my eyes upon reading these trite little quips (for the third or fourth time) make me a bad person?

Tar.Aldarion

Ah stories, maybe they will make some assholes feel guilty, but most likely not.
The cleaning lady where I go to college died recently, cancer, lovely lady. Knew her name, shock.

'Bible - Next edition'

lollers!

DonkeyStyle \o/

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
Be nice to people who you're sure are beneath you; you never know when you might be able to use them by pretending to be their friend.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain
Do good deeds and you'll get big screen TV's and cash prizes!

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.
You can guilt-trip rude staff by leaving them a tip... it's a real head-f*ck and you're sure to have the last laugh.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.
Do all the crappy thankless tasks nobody else can be bothered doing... it'll pay off... honestly.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...
Kids say the darndest things.

I swear I'm not cynical.

bbbbb

Somehow makes me think of the alchemist...

Capt'n Midnight

10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop

a 10 year old leaving a 43% tip ?

and besides she probably got more than 15c off the others

In the states the waiters union found that tips were on average 3% higher if they told people it was a nice day when asked about the weather than if they told the truth.

simu

DonkeyStyle \o/ wrote:

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
Be nice to people who you're sure are beneath you; you never know when you might be able to use them by pretending to be their friend.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain
Do good deeds and you'll get big screen TV's and cash prizes!

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.
You can guilt-trip rude staff by leaving them a tip... it's a real head-f*ck and you're sure to have the last laugh.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.
Do all the crappy thankless tasks nobody else can be bothered doing... it'll pay off... honestly.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...
Kids say the darndest things.

I swear I'm not cynical.

*applauds*