A Supposedly True Story...

The Loony Bin ( loonies@bloodaxe.demon.CO.UK )
Mon, 8 Feb 1999 18:38:42 +0000


The Loony Bin - http://loonies.net800.co.uk/

Hiya All...

Here's a story to remind you that you just never know...

Wishes & Dreams...

- ANDREA
        xx

*******************************************************
*******************************************************
***                                                 ***
***                 THE LOONY BIN                   ***
***              loonies@bloodaxe.com               ***
***      Archive: http://loonies.net800.co.uk/      ***
***                                                 ***
*******************Internet Goddess********************
**********************ANDROMEDA************************

  ------- Forwarded foolishness follows -------

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun,
threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston and walked timidly,
without an appointment, into the outer office of the President of
Harvard University.

The secretary could tell in a moment that such  backwoods,country hicks
had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in
Cambridge. She frowned. "We want to see the  president," the man said
softly. "He'll be busy all day," the secretary replied. "We'll wait,"
the lady replied.

For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would
finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't.

The secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the
president, even though it was a chore she always regretted. "Maybe if
they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave." she told him. He
sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously
didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses
and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.

The president, stern-faced, with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him, "We had a son that 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 wasn't touched, he was shocked! "Madam," he said gruffly,
"We can't 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 don't 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, then
explained. "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
plant at Harvard."

For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. 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 don't we just start our own?" 

Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and
bewilderment.

And Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto,
California, where they established the University that bears their name, 
a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.


______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, write to loonies-unsubscribe@listbot.com
Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/