1 - An Important
Question on A
Test
During my second
month of nursing
school, 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.
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 and deserve
your attention, even
if all you do is
smile and say
'hello.' "
I've never
forgotten that
lesson.
I also
learned her name
was Dorothy.

2
- Serve All With
Dignity
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.
"50 cents,"
replied the
waitress.
The little boy
pulled his 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.
"35 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 his 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 2 nickels
and 5 pennies.
You see, he
couldn't have
the sundae,
because he had
to have enough
left to leave
her a tip.

3 -
Dealing
with Obstacles
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 came
by and simply
walked around
it.
Many loudly
blamed the king
for not keeping
the roads clear,
but none did
anything about
moving the
stone.
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.
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.

4 -
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 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
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
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
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.
You
see, after
all,
understanding
and attitude,
is
everything.
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