A Dish of Ice Cream

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”

  50  replied the waitress

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it

“How much is a dish of plain ice cream?” he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient

“35 ,” she said brusquely

The little boy again counted the 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 departed

When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw

There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were 15 cents – her tip

. Everyone Has a Story in Life

A 24 year old boy seeing out from the train’s window shouted

“Dad, look the trees are going behind!”

Dad smiled and a young couple sitting nearby, looked at the 24 year old’s childish behavior with pity, suddenly he again exclaimed

“Dad, look the clouds are running with us!”

The couple couldn’t resist and said to the old man

“Why don’t you take your son to a good doctor?”The old man smiled and said…“I did and we are just coming from the hospital, my son was blind from birth, he just got his eyes today.

Every single person on the planet has a story. Don’t judge people before you truly know them. The truth might surprise you.

Boy Starts Huge Fire

A ten-year-old boy confessed to his parents that he was playing with matches on a windy day in October in southern California. The Santa Ana winds were howling that day, and his carelessness resulted in the Witch fire. That fire destroyed 18,000 acres of woodland and 12 homes. The total damage and the cost of firefighting efforts were estimated at $25 million. Ironically, his parents' house was untouched by the fire.a

The authorities did not immediately announce what they would do to the boy or his parents. An official in the district attorney's office said that, probably, no criminal charges would be filed. But the parents would still be liable for civil charges. That is, victims could sue for their losses and rebuilding costs. Suing the middle-class family for millions would be the easy part, though; collecting the millions would be unlikely. a

Homeowners disagreed on what should be done. "I don't have a house anymore," said John Ritter. "It will take at least two years to build a new house, and my insurance is only going to pay about half the cost of the new house. Ordinarily, I would say that the boy and his parents ought to be put in jail for at least 10 years. But because their house didn't burn down, I think the law should just allow me to trade property with them. They can have my burned-down house, and I can move into their house. That's fair enough for me."a

"We all make mistakes, especially when we're young," said Michael Richards, another homeowner whose house burned down. "I remember setting my sister on fire when I was about 10. I didn't mean to do it, of course, and she jumped into the lake, so she was okay. But it could have been a terrible accident. I think the poor boy has learned a valuable lesson. People should forgive, rebuild, and get on with their lives." a

He Goes to War to Save His Baby 

Roland was a carpenter in Virginia. He and Sheila had three kids—two boys and baby Jessica. The baby had been in and out of the hospital for the last year because of infections and other problems. She was very weak and sick. The doctors were not confident that she would live another year.a

Taking care of Jessica was expensive. The family was deep in debt. Roland, an independent subcontractor, had medical insurance, but he had very high deductibles.a

Things were bad. Roland saw no light at the end of this tunnel. Then he saw an ad in the newspaper: "Security guards/contract workers wanted. $100,000 a year. First $80,000 tax free. $20,000 bonus for extending contract an extra year." He called the number. The line was busy, but he kept calling and finally got through. He was worried that the jobs were all taken, but they told him plenty of jobs were still available. They said they would give him two weeks of training in Texas. Then they would fly him to Iraq for his assignment. a

Roland told Sheila he had to take this job. He knew it was dangerous; he might get injured or killed, but the money was too good. Plus, the family would have full medical benefits, which would enable the baby to get the care she needed. Roland said if he survived the first year, he would probably sign up for the bonus and a second year. a

Sheila was worried. She asked, "What if you get killed? What are we going to do without you?" a

"You can't think like that, honey," he said. "You've got to think positive. Think about how well off we'll be in two or three years after I bring back all that money. This is the best thing I could do for this family." a

Sheila hugged him and sobbed. "I don't want you to go." a

Roland flew to Houston five days later.a