Inspirational Stories...!

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.  Two Nickels and Five Pennies . .  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 have enough left to leave her a tip.  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 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 grow, or gain).  Giving ALL  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 die right away, or how soon?"  The boy had misunderstood the doctor;  he thought he would have to give his sister  all of his blood in order to save her.  The 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 that her  Name was Dorothy.

One Real, Amazing, Hero (Tango-Mike-Mike) (video, 6 minutes) Motivation to:   Stand up, be counted, contribute, make a difference, take responsibility, shirk petty selfish concerns, let the past go, and look forward - considering: What will you leave behind?

Last Wish of a Fireman  12/3/2004 Those Phoenix people are OK!!! Read on.....Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead tell your storm how big your GOD is! In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year old son, who was dying of terminal leukemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent, she wanted her son to grow up and fulfill all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible.. The leukemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son's dreams to come true. She took her son's hand and asked, "Billy, did you ever think about what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you would do with your life?" "Mommy, I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up." Mom smiled back and said, "Let's see if we can make your wish come true." Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona, where she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix. She explained her son's final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her six-year-old son a ride around the block on a fire engine. Fireman Bob said, "we can do better than that. If you'll have your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary fireman for the whole day. He can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And if you'll give us his sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat - not a toy one, a yellow slicker like we wear and rubber boots. They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix, so we can get them fast." Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his fire uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder truck. Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the fire station. He was in heaven. There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day and Billy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire engines, the paramedic's van, and even the fire chief's car. He was also videotaped for the local news program. Having his dream come true, with all the love and attention that was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Billy that he lived three months longer than any doctor thought possible. One night all of his vital signs began to drop dramatically and the head nurse, who believed in the hospice concept that no one should die alone, began to call the family members to the hospital. Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a fireman, so she called the Fire Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition. The chief replied, "We cando better than that. We'll be there in five minutes. Will you please do me a favor? When you hear the sirens screaming and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system that there is not a fire? It's just the fire department coming to see one of its finest members one more time. And will you open the window to his room?" About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window. Sixteen firefighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's room. With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they loved him. With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, "Chief, am I really a fireman now?" "Billy, you are, and the Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your hand," the chief said. With those words, Billy smiled and said, "I know, He's been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been singing . . " He closed his eyes one last time.