A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun
threadbare suit, stopped 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 and probably didn't even deserve to be
in
Cambridge. She frowned. "We want to see the president," the man said
softly. "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 him.
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
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. And my husband and I
would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus."
The president wasn't touched, he was shocked. "Madam," he said gruffly,
"we
can't put up a statue for every person who 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. He could
get
rid of them now. And 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. And Mr. and
Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California,
where
they established the university that bears their name, a memorial to a
son
that Harvard no longer cared about.
You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who
do
nothing for them or to them.
-- Malcolm Forbes
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BE HONEST
Even if others are not
Even if others will not
Even if others cannot
"He who walks honestly walks securely."
Proverbs 10:9
A message from The Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals.
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