This is a family story my father told me about his mother, my Grandmother.
In 1949, my father had just returned home from the war. On every American highway you could see soldiers
in uniform hitchhiking home to their families , as was the custom at that time in America.
Sadly , the thrill of his reunion with his family was soon overshadowed . my grandmother became
very ill and had to be hospitalized. It was her kidneys, and the doctors told my father that she
needed a blood transfusion immediately or she would not live through the night . The problem
was that Grandmother's blood type was AB- , a very rare type even today , but even harder to get
then because there were no blood banks or air flights to ship blood. All the family members were
typed, but not one member was a match . So the doctors gave the family no hope , my grandmother
was dying.
My father left the hospital in tears to gather up all the family members , so that everyone
would get a chance to tell Grandmother good - bye. As my father was driving down the highway ,
he passed a soldier in uniform hitchhiking home to his family .Deep in grief , my father had
no inclination at that moment to do a good deed . Yet it was almost as if something outside
himself pulled him to a stop , and he waited as the stranger climbed into the car.
My father was too upset to even ask the soldier his name , but the soldier noticed my father's
tears right away and inquired about them . Through his tears , my father told this total
stranger that his mother was lying in a hospital dying because the doctors had been unable to
locate her blood type AB_ , and if they did not locate her blood type before nightfall , she
would surely die.
It got very quiet in the car. Then this unidentified soldier extended his hand out to my father,
palm up. Resting in the palm of his hand were the dog tags from around his neck . The blood
type on the tags was AB- . The soldier told my father to turn the car around and get him to the
hospital.
My Grandmother lived until 1996, 47 years later , and to this day no one in our family knows
the soldier's name. But my father has often wondered , was he a soldier or an Angel in uniform.
Maths
A ten year old boy was failing in math. His parents tried everything from tutors to hypnosis,
but to no avail. Finally, at the insistence of a family friend, they decided to enroll their
son in a private Catholic school.
After the first day, the boy's parents were surprised when he walked in after school with a
stern, focused and very determined expression on his face, and went right past them straight
to his room, where he quietly closed the door.
For nearly two hours he toiled away in his room - with maths books strewn about his desk and
the surrounding floor. He emerged long enough to eat, and after quickly cleaning his plate,
went straight back to his room, closed the door, and worked feverishly at his studies until
bedtime. This pattern continued ceaselessly until it was time for the first quarter report
card.
The boy walked in with his report card -- unopened -- laid it on the dinner table and went
straight to his room. Cautiously, his mother opened it, and to her amazement, she saw a bright
red "A" under the subject of MATHS. Overjoyed, she and her husband rushed into their son's room,
thrilled at his remarkable progress.
"Was it the nuns that did it?", the father asked. The boy only shook his head and said, "No."
"Was it the one on one tutoring? The peer mentoring?"
"No."
"The textbooks? The teachers? The curriculum?"
"Nope," said the son. "On that first day, when I walked in the front door and saw that guy they
had nailed to the 'plus sign,' I just knew they meant business!"
AXE PORRIDGE
An old soldier was once on his way home where he meant to spend his furlough , and he was
tired and hungry. He came to a village and he rapped at the door of the first hut he saw.
"Let a traveller in for the night!", he called .
The door was opened by an old woman.
"Come in , soldier," she said.
"Have a bite of food for a hungry man, good dame?" the soldier asked.
Now , the old woman had plenty of everything, but she was stingy and pretended to be very poor."
Ah , me , I've had nothing to to eat myself today, dear heart, there is nothing in the house,"
she wailed.
"Well , if you've nothing , you've nothing, " the soldier said. Then , noticing an axe without
a handle under the bench: "If there's nothing else , we could make porridge out of that axe."
The old woman threw up her hands in astonishment .
"Axe porridge? Who ever heard anything like that!" she said "I'll show you how to make it.
Just give me a pot. "said the soldier
The old woman brought a pot, and the soldier washed the axe, put it in the pot, and , filling
the pot with water, placed it on the fire. The old woman stared at the soldier and never
taking her eyes off him.
The soldier got out a spoon . He stirred the water and then tasted it ." It will soon be
ready," said he ."A pity there's no salt.". "Oh i have salt . Here take some." said the
old woman.
The soldier put some salt in the pot and then tried the water again . "If we could just
add a handful of groats to it. " said he .
The old woman brought a small bag of groats from the pantry . "Here ,add as much as you need,"
said she .The soldier went on with his cooking, stirring the meal from time to time and tasting
it. And the old woman watched and could not move her eyes away.
"Oh how tasty this porridge is!" the soldier said, trying a spoonful. "With a bit of butter
there could be nothing more delicious ." The old woman brought some butter, and they added it
to the porridge.
"Oh how tasty this porridge is!" the soldier said, trying a spoonful. "With a bit of butter
there could be nothing more delicious ." The old woman brought some butter, and they added it
to the porridge.
"I never thought that axe porridge could taste so good!" the old woman marvelled .
"And the soldier ate, laughing up his sleeve, all the while
A LESSON IN WISDOM
A bear, a wolf and a fox once met and began bemoaning their lot and saying that they were often
obliged to go hungry for so long a time that they got cramps in their bellies. Feeling that
something had to be done about it , they talked it over and decided to live as brothers and to
share whatever food came their way. This resolved on, they embraced in true brotherly fashion,
vowed to be faithful to one another and set out together to hunt for prey.
On they walked and they came upon a young wounded deer . They killed it there and then , seated
themselves in a shady spot and began dividing their booty.
Said the Bear to the wolf whose jaws were stiff , so long had he been gnashing his teeth:
"Come , Wolf you divide the deer among the three of us ." "Very well , if that's what you want
," said the Wolf . "The head will go to you , Bear, you being our lord and master, the body to
me, and the legs to the Fox."
But the Wolf had not finished speaking when the Bear struck him such a blow on the head with
his paw that the mountains rang with the sound of it. The wolf gave a howl of pain and fell in
a heap .And the Bear turned to the Fox and said :'And now , Mistress Fox , you divide the deer ".
And the fox , who was very sly , rose and said in flattering tones:
"The deer's head is yours by right , Bear , for you are our lord and master, his body is yours
, for you have always cared for us like a father, and his legs are yours too, for you have
always tried to do all you could for the rest of us."
"You are clever indeed , Mistress Fox," said the Bear . "Whoever taught you this very wise
and sensible way of dividing a deer?"
"You did , my lord ", said the fox . "I'm not one to whom things have to be pointed out twice."
