Perfectly Unforgettable

One pouring night a man ducked into a taxi that happened to come along just as he walked out of his office.

"Perfect timing," said the cabbie.  "You're like Harold."

"Who?" the man asked.

"Harold Curry," the driver said.  "A most memorable character.  He did everything right.  Like this cab coming along when you needed it.  That's exactly what would have happened to Harold.  He was always right."

The man responded, "Nobody's that perfect."

The cab driver went on, "He was a great athlete. He played tennis and golf like a pro and was a superb dancer.  Harold never forgot birthdays and anniversaries.  He knew which fork to use and how to taste wine.  He was also a great handyman.  He could fix anything.  Me?  I'm all thumbs."

Soon they reached the man's destination.  "That Harold was quite a guy," he said, stepping out of the cab.  "No wonder he's your most unforgettable character."

As the driver made change for the man he said, "He'd be yours too, if you married his widow."

- Steve May, The Story File (Hendrickson Publishers, 2000)

Reward Gone Means No More Insults

If we come to view ourselves as working for an external reward, we will no longer find the activity worth doing in its own right.

There is an old joke that illustrates this.  An elderly man, harassed by the taunts of the neighborhood children, devised a scheme.  He offered to pay them a dollar each if they would return on Tuesday and yell their insults again.  The children did so eagerly and received the money.

Then he told them he would pay only twenty-five cents on Wednesday.

When they returned, insulted him again, and collected their quarters, he informed them that Thursday's rate would be just a penny.

"Forget it," they said -- and never taunted him again.

- Alfie Kohn, Boston Globe, submitted by Dr. William T. McConnell to The Pastor's Story File (October 1995)