GINAinLA
11-04-2006, 08:55 PM
Too Busy for a Friend....
One day a teacher asked her students to list the
names of the other students in the room on two
sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they
could say about each of their classmates and write
it down.
It took the remainder of the class period to finish
their assignment, and as the students left the room,
each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of
each student on a separate sheet of paper, and
listed what everyone else had said about that
individual..
On Monday she gave each student his or her list.
Before long, the entire class was smiling..
"Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I
meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know
others liked me so much," were most of the
comments..
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again.
She never knew if they discussed them after class or
with their parents, but it didn't matter. The
exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students
were happy with themselves and one another. That
group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed
in Viet Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of
that special student. She had never seen a
serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so
handsome, so mature.
The church was packed with his friends. One by one
those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin.
The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.
As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as
pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's math
teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "yes." Then he said:
"Mark talked about you a lot."
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates
went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and
father were there, obviously waiting to speak with
his teacher.
"We want to show you something," his father said,
taking a wallet out of his pocket.. "They found this
on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might
recognize it."
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn
pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been
taped, folded and refolded many times.. The teacher
knew without looking that the papers were the ones
on which she had listed all the good things each of
Mark's classmates had said about him.
"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother
said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."
All of Mark's former classmates started to gather
around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said,
"I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my
desk at home."
Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our
wedding album."
"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her
pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn
and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with
me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an
eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our
lists."
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried.
She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would
never see him again..
The density of people in society is so thick that we
forget that life will end one day. And we don't know
when that one day will be.
Remeber to tell the people you love and care for,
that they are special and important. Tell them,
before it is too late.
One day a teacher asked her students to list the
names of the other students in the room on two
sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they
could say about each of their classmates and write
it down.
It took the remainder of the class period to finish
their assignment, and as the students left the room,
each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of
each student on a separate sheet of paper, and
listed what everyone else had said about that
individual..
On Monday she gave each student his or her list.
Before long, the entire class was smiling..
"Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I
meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know
others liked me so much," were most of the
comments..
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again.
She never knew if they discussed them after class or
with their parents, but it didn't matter. The
exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students
were happy with themselves and one another. That
group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed
in Viet Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of
that special student. She had never seen a
serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so
handsome, so mature.
The church was packed with his friends. One by one
those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin.
The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.
As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as
pallbearer came up to her. "Were you Mark's math
teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "yes." Then he said:
"Mark talked about you a lot."
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates
went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and
father were there, obviously waiting to speak with
his teacher.
"We want to show you something," his father said,
taking a wallet out of his pocket.. "They found this
on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might
recognize it."
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn
pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been
taped, folded and refolded many times.. The teacher
knew without looking that the papers were the ones
on which she had listed all the good things each of
Mark's classmates had said about him.
"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother
said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."
All of Mark's former classmates started to gather
around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said,
"I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my
desk at home."
Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our
wedding album."
"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary."
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her
pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn
and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with
me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an
eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our
lists."
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried.
She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would
never see him again..
The density of people in society is so thick that we
forget that life will end one day. And we don't know
when that one day will be.
Remeber to tell the people you love and care for,
that they are special and important. Tell them,
before it is too late.