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Thought you guys would like this story:
MR. Malcolm Forbes relates the following story which highlights the sin of
treating people shabbily because of their outward appearance:
***
A lady and her husband stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly
without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer
office.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had
no business at Harvard.
"We want to see the president," the man said courteously.
"He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped.
"We'll wait," the lady replied.
For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally
become discouraged and go away. They didn't and the secretary grew
frustrated,
and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore
she
always regretted.
"Maybe, if they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told
the president.
He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously
didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses
and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. The president,
stern-faced
and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him, "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He
loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally
killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere
on campus."
The president wasn't touched... "Madam," he said gruffly, "we can't put up
a statue for every person who has attended Harvard and died. If we did,
this place would look like a cemetery."
"Oh, no," the lady explained quickly. "We don't want to erect a statue. We
thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun
suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a
building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the
physical plant at Harvard."
For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could
get rid of them now...
The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to
start a university? Why don't we just start our own?"
Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and
bewilderment.
Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo
Alto, California where they established the university that bears their
name, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared
about.
***
You can judge the character of people by how they treat the poor and the
lowly, or who look like them as in the case of the Stanfords.
MR. Malcolm Forbes relates the following story which highlights the sin of
treating people shabbily because of their outward appearance:
***
A lady and her husband stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly
without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer
office.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had
no business at Harvard.
"We want to see the president," the man said courteously.
"He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped.
"We'll wait," the lady replied.
For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally
become discouraged and go away. They didn't and the secretary grew
frustrated,
and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore
she
always regretted.
"Maybe, if they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told
the president.
He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously
didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses
and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. The president,
stern-faced
and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him, "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He
loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally
killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere
on campus."
The president wasn't touched... "Madam," he said gruffly, "we can't put up
a statue for every person who has attended Harvard and died. If we did,
this place would look like a cemetery."
"Oh, no," the lady explained quickly. "We don't want to erect a statue. We
thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun
suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a
building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the
physical plant at Harvard."
For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could
get rid of them now...
The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to
start a university? Why don't we just start our own?"
Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and
bewilderment.
Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo
Alto, California where they established the university that bears their
name, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared
about.
***
You can judge the character of people by how they treat the poor and the
lowly, or who look like them as in the case of the Stanfords.
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