Posted by Terry (24.94.59.215) on April 20, 2000 at 08:17:28:
One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife
> entered
> the
> >
> > >> lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of
> the rain,
> >
> > >> the couple approached the front desk hoping to get some shelter
> for the
> >
> > >> night. "Could you possibly give us a room here?" the husband
> asked.
> >
> > >>
> >
> > >> The clerk,a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the
> couple and
> >
> > >> explained that there were three conventions in town. "All of
> our
> rooms
> >
> > >> are taken," the clerk said. "But I can't send a nice couple
> like you
> out
> >
> > >> into the rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would you perhaps
> be
> >
> > >> willing to sleep in my room? It's not exactly a suite, but
> it will
> >
> > >> be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night."
> >
> > >>
> >
> > >> When the couple declined, the young man pressed on. "Don't
> worry about
> >
> > >> me; I'll make out just fine," the clerk told them.
> >
> > >>
> >
> > >> So the couple agreed. As he paid his bill the next morning, the
> elderly
> >
> > >> man said to the clerk, "You are the kind of manager who should
> be the
> >
> > >> boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday
> I'll
> build
> >
> > >> one for you." The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three
> of them
> >
> > >> had a good laugh. As they drove away, the elderly couple
> agreed that
> >
> > >> the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as finding people who
> are
> both
> >
> > >> friendly and helpful isn't easy.
> >
> > >>
> >
> > >> Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident
> when he
> >
> > >> received a letter from the old man. It recalled that
> stormy
> >
> > >> night and enclosed a round-trip ticket to NewYork, asking
> the
> >
> > >> young man to pay them a visit. The old man met him in New York,
> and led
> >
> > >> him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He then
> pointed to
> >
> > >> a great new building there, a palace of reddish stone,
> with
> turrets
> >
> > >>
> >
> > >> and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky. "That," said the older
> man,"is
> >
> > >> the hotel I have just built for you to manage."
> >
> > >>
> >
> > >> "You must be joking," the young man said.
> >
> > >>
> >
> > >> "I can assure you I am not," said the older man, a sly
> smile
> playing
> >
> > >> around his mouth.
> >
> > >>
> >
> > >> The older man's name was William Waldorf Astor, and the
> >
> > >> magnificent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
> The
> >
> > >> young clerk who became its first manager was George C. Boldt.
> This
> >
> > >> young clerk never foresaw the turn of events that would lead
> him to
> >
> > >> become the manager of one of the world's most glamorous
> hotels.
> >
> > >>
> >
> > >> The Bible says that we are not to turn our backs on those who
> are in
> >
> > >> need, for we might be entertaining angels. Life is more
> accurately
> >
> > >> measured by the lives you touch than the things you acquire.
> >