How our inner Ego sometimes misjudges a person! A lady in a faded grey dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun suit walked in timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University Presidents outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didnt even deserve to be in Harvard. We want to see the President the man said softly. Hell be busy all day the secretary snapped. Well wait the lady replied. For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didnt and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president. Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, theyll leave she said to him. The President, stern faced and 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. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus. The president wasnt touched….He was shocked. Madam he said, gruffly, we cant 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 dont 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, and 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 buildings here at Harvard.. For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, Is that all it costs to start a university ? Why dont we just start our own? Her husband nodded. The presidents face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name- Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 17:32:25 +0000