The important things life teaches you...

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 the 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.

Most important question-

During the second month of nursing school, a professor gave his students a pop quiz.
They breezed through the questions, until they read the last one:
"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. They had seen the cleaning woman several times.
She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would they know her name?
They handed in their papers, leaving the last question blank.
Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward the 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'"
They never forgot that lesson.
They also learned her name was Dorothy.

Pickup in the rain-

"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

Giving blood-

Many years ago, there was 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 boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.
He hesitated for only a moment before taking a deep breath
and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liz."
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister
and smiled, as everyone 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 his sister all of his blood.

Beautiful story...

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid
from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle.
It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself,
"Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends
tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and
tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying,
and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.
My heart went out to him.
So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around
looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said,
"Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives."
He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
There was a big smile on his face.
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him
why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone
to private school before now. I would have never hung out
with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home,
and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football
with my friends. He said yes.
We hung all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle,
the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
I stopped him and said,
"Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!"
He just laughed and handed me half the books.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors,
we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown,
and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends,
that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor,
and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.
Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great.
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
Boy, sometimes I was jealous.
Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
"Thanks," he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began.
"Graduation is a time to thank those
who helped you make it through those tough years.
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends.
I am here to tell all of you that being a friend
to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker
so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me
from doing the unspeakable." I heard the gasp go through the crowd
as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
I saw his mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions.
With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.
God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
Look for God in others.

"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet
when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

Many people will walk in and out of your life,
But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
To handle yourself, use your head;
To handle others, use your heart.
Anger is only one letter short of danger.
If someone betrays you once, it is his fault;
If he betrays you twice, it is your fault
Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.
He who loses money, loses much;
He, who loses a friend, loses much more;
He, who loses faith, loses all.
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,
But beautiful old people are works of art.
Learn from the mistakes of others.
You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.
Friends, you and me....You brought another friend....
And then there were 3. We started our group....
Our circle of friends....And like that circle....
There is no beginning or end..Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery. Today is a gift.