The Aramaic word is “sweetness.”
So few realize how powerful one act of kindness or one word of encouragement can start a chain of events.
Many years ago an elderly couple entered the lobby of a small hotel and asked for a room. Because of three conventions in the town, the hotel was filled. The hotel clerk said, “I just can’t send a nice couple like you out into the rain at one in the morning. Would you be willing to rest in my own room?” The couple hesitated, and the clerk insisted they stay. The next morning, when the man paid his bill, he said, “You’re 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 man’s joke made the clerk smile and laugh. Several years passed by, and one day, the hotel clerk received a letter from that elderly man he cared for on that stormy night. He asked the hotel clerk to come to New York City for several days and enclosed a round-trip ticket for him. When the clerk arrived, his host took him to the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street where stood a beautiful, elegant new building.
The elderly host said to the clerk, “This is the hotel I have just built for you to manage.” The clerk said, “You’re kidding me, right?” The old man said, “No, I am very serious.” The clerk stammered, “Who … who are you?” The answer was “My name is William Waldor Astor.” The hotel was the world-famous Waldorf-Astoria. The name of that young clerk who became its first manager was George C. Boldt who was amply rewarded for doing his best one stormy night.
Pay it forward and watch favor catch up with you, my friend!
By Brian Simmons