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During my second month of nursing school, our
professor gave us 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.

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.

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?"

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket
and studied a number of coins in it. "How much
is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired.

Some people were now waiting for a table and the
waitress was a bit impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely.

The little boy again counted the 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 departed.

When the waitress came back, she began wiping
down the table and then swallowed hard at what
she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty
dish, were two nickels and five pennies--
her tip.

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 big
stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of
vegetables. On 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.

As 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 others never
understand.

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to
improve one's condition.

Giving Blood :

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer
at Stanford Hospital, I got to know a little
girl named Liza 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
needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her little
brother, and asked the 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 Liza."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed
next to his sister and smiled, as we all did,
seeing the color returning 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?"

Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor;
he thought he was going to have to give her
all his blood.....

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