# Five lessons about the way we treat people

**URL:** https://forums.speedlife.net/t/five-lessons-about-the-way-we-treat-people/235254
**Category:** Shift518 Off Topic
**Created:** [December 17, 2007, 12:03pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/five-lessons-about-the-way-we-treat-people/235254 "2007-12-17T12:03:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![timmay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@timmay](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/timmay)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2007, 12:03pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/five-lessons-about-the-way-we-treat-people/235254/1 "2007-12-17T12:03:37Z")

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Long but a few are worth the read. I like the last one.

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.

1. 
  - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American  
woman was standing on the si de 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 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.

“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 hav e 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 ou t of t he 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.

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### Author: ![Vovchandr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/vovchandr/32/6275_2.png) [@Vovchandr](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Vovchandr)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/five-lessons-about-the-way-we-treat-people/235254/2 "2007-12-17T19:49:21Z")

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Cliff notes? :tong

Read that somewhere else, but still a good read non the less. Any read that makes you pause for a minute and think things over is a good one.

Definitely some good points in there.

:thumb

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### Author: ![timmay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@timmay](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/timmay)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/five-lessons-about-the-way-we-treat-people/235254/3 "2007-12-17T20:53:40Z")

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I suspect all the stories are bull shit, but it still makes you feel good reading them.

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### Author: ![JClark](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jclark/32/6309_2.png) [@JClark](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JClark)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2007, 9:46am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/five-lessons-about-the-way-we-treat-people/235254/4 "2007-12-18T09:46:37Z")

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Eagles may soar, but weasels dont get sucked into jet engines.

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### Author: ![votblindub](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/votblindub/32/6280_2.png) [@votblindub](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/votblindub)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2007, 5:49am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/five-lessons-about-the-way-we-treat-people/235254/5 "2007-12-20T05:49:57Z")

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> [@JClark](#):
>
> Eagles may soar, but weasels dont get sucked into jet engines.

the 2nd mouse gets the cheese from the mousetrap

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### Author: ![Vovchandr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/vovchandr/32/6275_2.png) [@Vovchandr](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Vovchandr)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2007, 6:55am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/five-lessons-about-the-way-we-treat-people/235254/6 "2007-12-20T06:55:32Z")

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> [@timmay](#):
>
> I suspect all the stories are bull shit, but it still makes you feel good reading them.

Some of them actually seemed plausable.

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### Author: ![Kicklow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@Kicklow](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Kicklow)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/five-lessons-about-the-way-we-treat-people/235254/7 "2007-12-20T13:47:36Z")

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im not reading all that…vlad, please explain!

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### Author: ![redroof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@redroof](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/redroof)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/five-lessons-about-the-way-we-treat-people/235254/8 "2007-12-20T16:57:03Z")

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> [@JClark](#):
>
> Eagles may soar, but weasels dont get sucked into jet engines.

No, they get run over by Mexican landscapers, which is a hell of a lot more commonplace than getting sucked into a fucking jet engine, you pessimistic schmuck.

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### Author: ![Vovchandr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/vovchandr/32/6275_2.png) [@Vovchandr](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Vovchandr)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2007, 10:26am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/five-lessons-about-the-way-we-treat-people/235254/9 "2007-12-21T10:26:05Z")

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> [@Kicklow](#):
>
> im not reading all that…vlad, please explain!

Stop being a Deouche! :tong

> [@redroof](#):
>
> No, they get run over by Mexican landscapers, which is a hell of a lot more commonplace than getting sucked into a fucking jet engine, you pessimistic schmuck.

:lmao
