Lessons

I received this email from my Grandma and as I reread it today, I definitely thought that it related to what I have learned over the past two days.
Five lessons about the way to treat people.


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 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 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.



"Work like you
don't need the money, love like you've never been
hurt, and dance like you do when nobody's watching."

So it's been interesting. I've been having a hard. Trying to decide if it was such a great idea to come to Colorado in the first place, even just last year before I left for school. I've never let myself get close to people as I learned at a young age, people are never in your life for a long period of time. They'll leave sometime...
Well today, I went to the dentist (I have to get my wisdom teeth out within the next couple of weeks!) and this lady was cleaning up my mouth. I had no idea that she was a member of the church. I told her that I was attending the family ward and that I was almost 20 years old. She gave the coolest example that helped me realize that being in the family ward isn't that bad of a thing! She gave the example that when birds fly south for the winter, the older birds fly in the front because they've traveled the trail many times and know where they are going-they led the younger birds. While the younger birds on in the back because they're following the older birds that know where they're going. Also, the younger birds remind the older birds to keep going when the older birds really want to stop or slow down. I'm not sure why, but that made me feel absolutely amazing! It reminds me of the time, when I lived in Virginia, I used to babysit little girl in my neighborhood all the time, Katie, was her name. Her parents loved the example that I was to her and I cried when Katie told me that she wanted to grow up to be just like me. Ok, I'm going to change the subject before I really start crying.
So the other night I don't know where it came from but I started thinking about my older friends that are in their mid to late 20s or even older and aren't married. Like I said, I don't know where it came from, but I really felt like writing down some of my experiences with them into a fictional story. I don't understand this, and I don't want anyone to become critical of this, but I've always felt like, to a point, that I actually did understand what my friends meant when they said that they really wish that they had someone to share their life with. That they feel like they're searching for someone; like there's a hole in their heart that they always seem to remember being there.
But I really hate the fact that people always treat me like this little kid just because I'm younger than them. Age is just a number, it doesn't say anything about what you know, or what you've been through. It just says how many years, months, weeks, days, etc. since you were born. I still remember my cousin, William, telling me that I'm the most open minded member of the Church that he's ever met.
People of the Church talk about how "open minded" they are, but when it comes to worldly stuff, they're dead set against it. I can understand some people's positions, but I don't have to agree with it or even respect it, but that doesn't mean that I don't respect that person. And outside the Church talk about how open minded they are, but there's always something that their against. This world is just full of crazy people.
And people talk about being "normal". What is normal? Now there's average, but there's no such thing as normal!
Well, I really need to head to bed. But if y'all want to read anything else that I've written, you can check out my other blog. It holds all these lyrics that I've written over the years. Possibly, I'll maybe add the poems and/or stories that I've written over the years as well. I really should just probably get it all published! LOL! But the URL is: http://musicfromtheheart2512.blogspot.com
Good Night!
Addison