[Faith-talk] Five Lessons To Think About On How To Treat People, Paart Three

[Paul Smith]

The third important lesson is to 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 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.

It is an unfortunate fact of life (and I'm just as guilty about this as 
other blind people) that I too often take our sighted friends and 
acquaintances for granted, not realizing that some day they might not 
be around.  I'm referring to things that they do for us that we can't, 
like driving to places, reading our mail if we don't have screen 
readers etc.  Beginning today, if we engage in this unpleasant 
activity, lets try to tell those who help us on an individual basis 
that we appreciate their help in whatever it is they do.

When a Korean-owned Christian deli opened up in my area about six years 
ago the undersigned and his neighbor went there for Saturday morning 
breakfasts.  Well, you should have seen the surprised look on the 
waitress's face when I greeted her with the following statement (and 
please forgive spelling), "Yobo sayo, honja hasheneda?" In Korean that 
was "Hello, how are you?" That's the only bit of that language I know.  
However it not only broke the ice, so to speak, but we have been 
forever fast friends.

Now I know that most of you don't know other languages, but it just 
goes to show what a little kind act on our part as blind people can do 
to enhance service for others.  When returning to Baltimore from 
Cleveland several years ago, I tipped the porter at Union Station in 
Washington DC, and while I was waiting for my train to go to Baltimore 
he made arrangements for me to wait in the Estella Lounge, probably the 
classiest waiting room in Union Station.  It just goes to show that 
when we reach out to others, God reaches down to us, in my opinion.

And that will do it for today.  Until tomorrow when, Lord willing part 
four of this series of important lessons to learn will be posted, may 
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and 
collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian 
friend and brother, Paul