GIVING
There is a story of two young men who were working their way through Stanford University. The day came when they were broke, and something had to be done. One of them had an idea. They would engage the great Paderewski for a piano recital and put their profits toward their board and tuition. All they had to do was guarantee two thousand dollars.
The recital was held but only sixteen hundred dollars was raised. Following the performance, the two young men went to Paderewski, offered him the $1600 and added a promissory note for $400 which indicated they would earn the balance as quickly as possible and send it to him. "No," replied Paderewski, "that isn't necessary." In addition to tearing up the note, he also gave them back all but 10% of the sixteen hundred dollars. The years went by, and Paderewski became Premier of Poland. The devastation of World War I descended upon Europe, and he was faced with the prospect of starvation for thousands of people. Only one man could help him, the United States Food Administrator at the time. Soon thousands of tons of food began to arrive in Poland for distribution among the people. Following the gift of life-giving food, Paderewski went to Paris to thank the U.S. Food Administrator for the relief he had sent. The administrator told Paderewski, "That's not necessary, Mr. Paderewski. You don't remember, but you once helped me when I was a student without income or money for food. I never forgot it." The gifts we give come back to us in many different ways.
CAPT Jane F. Vieira, CHC, USN
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