This story is just an old Hoax, but at least it really teaches us about how to respect other people:

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 president's outer office. 

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 snapped. "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. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted to do. "Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told him. And he signed 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. And 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 exclaimed, "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. 

And 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.

One day a woman was walking down the street when she spied a beggar sitting on the corner. The man was elderly, unshaven, and ragged. As he sat there, pedestrians walked by him giving him dirty looks They clearly wanted nothing to do with him because of who he was -- a dirty, homeless man. But when she saw him, the woman was moved to compassion.It was very cold that day and the man had his tattered coat -- more like an old suit coat rather than a warm coat -- wrapped around him. She stopped and looked down. "Sir?" she asked. "Are you all right?"

The man slowly looked up. This was a woman clearly accustomed to the finer things of life. Her coat was new. She looked like that she had never missed a meal in her life. His first thought was that she wanted to make fun of him, like so many others had done before. "Leave me alone," he growled.To his amazement, the woman continued standing. She was smiling -- her even white teeth displayed in dazzling rows. "Are you hungry?" she asked.

"No," he answered sarcastically. "I've just come from dining with the president. Now go away."

The woman's smile became even broader. Suddenly the man felt a gentle hand under his arm. "What are you doing, lady?" the man asked angrily. "I said to leave me alone."

Just then a policeman came up. "Is there any problem, ma'am?" he asked.

"No problem here, officer," the woman answered. "I'm just trying to get this man to his feet. Will you help me?"

The officer scratched his head. "That's old Jack. He's been a fixture around here for a couple of years. What do you want with him?""See that cafeteria over there?" she asked. "I'm going to get him something to eat and get him out of the cold for awhile."

"Are you crazy, lady?" the homeless man resisted. "I don't want to go in there!" Then he felt strong hands grab his other arm and lift him up. "Let me go, officer. I didn't do anything."

"This is a good deal for you, Jack," the officer answered. "Don't blow it."

Finally, and with some difficulty, the woman and the police officer got Jack into the cafeteria and sat him at a table in a remote corner. It was the middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had already left and the lunch bunch had not yet arrived. The manager strode across the cafeteria and stood by the table. "What's going on here, officer?" he asked. "What is all this. Is this man in trouble?"

"This lady brought this man in here to be fed," the policeman answered.

"Not in here!" the manager replied angrily. "Having a person like that here is bad for business."

Old Jack smiled a toothless grin. "See, lady. I told you so. Now if you'll let me go. I didn't want to come here in the first place."

The woman turned to the cafeteria manager and smiled. "Sir, are you familiar with Eddy and Associates, the banking firm down the street?"

"Of course I am," the manager answered impatiently. "They hold their weekly meetings in one of my banquet rooms."

"And do you make a good profit from providing food at the weekly meetings?"

"What business is that of yours?"

"I, sir, am Penelope Eddy, president and CEO of the company."

"Oh."

The woman smiled again. "I thought that might make a difference." She glanced at the cop who was busy stifling a giggle. "Would you like to join us in a cup of coffee and a meal, officer?"

"No thanks, ma'am," the officer replied. "I'm on duty."

"Then, perhaps, a cup of coffee to go?"

"Yes, ma'am. That would be very nice."

The cafeteria manager turned on his heel. "I'll get your coffee for you right away, officer."

The officer watched him walk away. "You certainly put him in his place," he said.

"That was not my intent. Believe it or not, I have a reason for all this." She sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She stared at him intently. "Jack, do you remember me?"

Old Jack searched her face with his old, rheumy eyes "I think so -- I mean you do look familiar."

"I'm a little older perhaps," she said. "Maybe I've even filled out more than in my younger days when you worked here, and I came through that very door, cold and hungry."

"Ma'am?" the officer said questioningly. He couldn't believe that such a magnificently turned out woman could ever have been hungry.

"I was just out of college," the woman began. "I had come to the city looking for a job, but I couldn't find anything. Finally I was down to my last few cents and had been kicked out of my apartment. I walked the streets for days. It was February and I was cold and nearly starving. I saw this place and walked in on the off chance that I could get something to eat."

Jack lit up with a smile. "Now I remember," he said. "I was behind the serving counter. You came up and asked me if you could work for something to eat. I said that it was against company policy."

"I know," the woman continued. "Then you made me the biggest roast beef sandwich that I had ever seen, gave me a cup of coffee, and told me to go over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was afraid that you would get into trouble. Then, when I looked over, I saw you put the price of my food in the cash register. I knew then that everything would be all right."

"So you started your own business?" Old Jack said.

"I got a job that very afternoon. I worked my way up. Eventually I started my own business that, with the help of God, prospered." She opened her purse and pulled out a business card. "When you are finished here, I want you to pay a visit to a Mr. Lyons. He's the personnel director of my company. I'll go talk to him now and I'm certain he'll find something for you to do around the office." She smiled. "I think he might even find the funds to give you a little advance so that you can buy some clothes and get a place to live until you get on your feet And if you ever need anything, my door is always opened to you."

There were tears in the old man's eyes. "How can I ever thank you," he said.

"Don't thank me," the woman answered. "To God goes the glory. Thank Jesus. He led me to you."

Outside the cafeteria, the officer and the woman paused at the entrance before going their separate ways. "Thank you for all your help, officer," she said.

"On the contrary, Ms. Eddy," he answered. "Thank you. I saw a miracle today, something that I will never forget. And... And thank you for the coffee."

She frowned. "I forgot to ask you whether you used cream or sugar. That's black."

The officer looked at the steaming cup of coffee in his hand. "Yes, I do take cream and sugar -- perhaps more sugar than is good for me." He patted his ample stomach.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I don't need it now," he replied smiling. "I've got the feeling that this coffee you bought me is going to taste as sweet as sugar."

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"

I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course, you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel." "No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet and I'll never forget what she taught us.She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said "I'm sorry. I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began: "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. 

There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success.

"You have to laugh and find humor every day.

"You've got to have a dream.When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!"

"There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change."

"Have no regrets.The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did,but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."

She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's Never Too Late to be young.

(Source : http://www.wrensworld.com/itsnever.htm )

Two good friends had a quarrel one day, and one of them slapped another. The man felt pain, but said nothing and wrote on the sand: “Today my best friend slapped me.”

Two friends continued walking and found an oasis. They decided to swim in a wellspring and suddenly the one who was slapped, started to sink, but his friend saved him.

When he regained consciousness, he wrote on the stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.”

The other friend, who slapped and saved his friend’s life, asked him: "When I hurt you, you wrote on the sand and now you are writing on the stone. Why?"

His friend said : "When someone hurts us, we should write it on the sand, so that the wind could erase it. But when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it on the stone, so that the wind could not erase it."

A poor boy was selling goods from one door to another to pay for his studies. One day he found that he had only one dime left, and he was hungry. While approaching the next house, he decided to ask for a meal.

But when a young woman has opened the door, he only dared to ask for a glass of water. She looked at him and understood that probably the boy is hungry. So she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it and then asked how much he owed her. The woman replied: „You don‘t own me anything. Mother taught us never to accept pay for a kindness“. „Then I thank you from the bottom of my heart“, – he said and felt that now is stronger not only physically, but his faith in God has grown as well. The boy‘s name was Howard Kelly.

Many years have passed. One day that woman became seriously ill. Local doctors could not help her. Therefore they sent her to a big city, where her rare disease would be studied by specialists. Dr Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he entered her room in the hospital, he immediately recognized the woman, that showed kindness to him, when he was poor. The doctor was determined to do his best to help her recover from her disease.

The struggle was long, but together they managed to overcome her illness. After some time the woman received a bill for her treatment. She was worried that the amount to pay would be so significant, that it would take the rest of her life to pay for it. Finally, when the woman looked at the bill, she noticed words that were written on the side of the bill. The words were: „Paid in full with a glass of milk“.

. 

THE RICKSHAW OPERATOR WHO HAD DONATED 53,000 $ TO THE ORPHANAGE :

BAI FANG LI. a rickshaw operator most of his life, providing services to people who need to go from one place to another for a small fee. 

His body is small, even too small compared to the other rickshaw operators. However, he is very energetic and enthusiastic. He starts his routine at 6 am in fellowship with his God. He then cruises the streets of the city on his rickshaw, either to get a customer or to bring the customers to their destination. He ends his day after the hard work, no sooner than 8 pm.

All his customers like Bai Fang Li because he is friendly, and his smile never leaves his face. He never determine the fee that his customers must pay, but he relies on the customers' generosity to pay for his services. Because of his good heart, more people prefer to use his services more than others. Perhaps because of their compassion to him, many are willing to pay more than the going rate that most rickshaw operators charge. Maybe this is because they see how hard he, with his small body sweating, has to push till his breathing is heavy.Bai Fang Li lives in an old and rusty hut in a slum area of the city where many rickshaw operators and garbage collectors live. He rents a portion of the hut and pays daily for a place to sleep. 

Bai Fang Li has no family or relatives. People just know that he comes from another place. However, he never feel lonely because he is always surrounded by people who love his company. They love him for his positive attitude and his generosity. He helps everybody who need help, and he does it with joy in his heart and without expecting anything in return. 

From what he earns, he should be able to afford better food and clothes. However, he donated most of his earnings to an unknown orphanage that takes care of over 300 orphans in Tianjin. This orphanage also runs a school for the orphans and other poor children in the area.Bai Fang Li started giving to the orphanage at the age of 74. This is the story how his heart was touched and how he made the decision to do what he did. 

One day he was resting after dropping off a customer. He saw a tiny and skinny six year old boy on the street offering his service to an older lady to carry her groceries that she bought from a nearby market. He saw this little boy carrying the heavy grocery bags with a lot of struggle, but he was determined to do the job well. There was a big smile on the boy's face when had completed the duty and receive some loose change from the lady for his service. This boy looked up the sky mumbling something as if he was thanking God for the blessing that he has just receive. Bai watched the boy doing it to several ladies who were shopping in the market, and every time he received payment for his services, he would looked up to the sky and mumbled something. 

Later, he saw the boy going to a pile of garbage and digging into the garbage looking for something. When he found a dirty piece of bread, he was so happy. He cleaned the bread the best he could, and put the bread in his mouth and enjoyed it as if it were a piece of bread from heaven. Bai's heart was so touched by what he saw. He approached the boy and offered to share his lunch with him. Bai was wondering why the boy did not buy a decent lunch with the money he earned from providing services to the ladies. The boy said, "I will use the money to buy food for my siblings." Bai asked, "Where are your parents?" The boy replied, "My parents were separating stuff from garbage everyday. However, one month ago, they disappeared and I have never seen them again. Thus, I have to work to feed myself and my two younger sisters." 

Bai Fang Li asked the boy to take him to his sisters. Bai's heart was crying when he saw the two girls, 5 and 4 years old. The girls were dirty and skinny, and their clothes were very dirty. The neighbours did not care about the condition of these three children because they too were struggling to cope with their own lives. 

Bai Fang Li took these three children to an orphanage in Tianjin. He told the manager of the orphanage that he would bring the money he made and give it to the orphanage to help the children there to get food, care and education. Since then Bai Fang Li decided to work harder and with more determination in operating the rickshaw to earn money for the orphanage. He started early and finished late to get the extra money. From all his earnings everyday, he put aside some money to pay the rent for his living space in the hut, to buy two raisin bread for his lunch and a small piece of meat and egg for his dinner. The rest of the income was donated to the orphanage to help them feed and care for the children.He is very happy doing all these things, despite his limitations. He felt that it was a luxury that he had a place to live, food to eat and clothes to wear, eventhough the clothes he got from a garbage disposal. He was always thankful for what he had.

Bai Fang Li worked as a rickshaw operator 365 days a year, regardless of the weather, and often when it was snowing or when the sun was very strong and hot. When asked why he would sacrifice so much for these children, he always said, "It is OK that I suffer, as long as the poor children have something to eat and that they can have a proper education. I am happy just to do all these things."  Bai Fang Li started donating to the orphanage since 1986. He has never asked anything in return from the orphanage. He does not even know which children benefitted from his donations. For the next 20 years, Bai Fang Li operated his rickshaw for one purpose: to be able to give donations to the orphanage in Tianjin. At the age of 90, he brought all of his savings of about RMB500 (about US$80) that he has stored neatly in a box to the school named Yao Hua that was run by the orphanage. 

Bai Fang Li said in a sad voice, "I am too old and weak to operate rickshaw now. I cannot continue with the donations. This could be my last donation.." All the teachers in the school were touched and cried. When Bai Fang Li died at the age of 93, he died in poverty. Despite of that, he had donated RMB 350,000 (about US$53,000) to the orphanage and the school that was run by the orphanage. 

A little girl was decorating a box with a gold wrapping paper to put it under the Christmas tree. Money was tight, so the girl‘s father punished her for wasting almost all roll of that expensive paper.

However, the next morning the girl brought the gift to her father. „This is for you, Daddy” – she said. He opened a box and found it empty, so he became angry again. „Don‘t you know, that when you give someone a gift, it is supposed that there would be something inside it” – he said severely.

The little girl looked at her father with tears in her eyes. „Daddy, this box is not empty, I filled it with my kisses, all for you“.

The father was stunned. He felt so embarrassed that could just put his arms around his little daughter and beg for her forgiveness.

For many years of his life the man kept that golden box near his bed. Wherever he felt sad and downhearted he opened the box and thought of love that the little child had put into it.

Each of us have been given a present of unconditional love from our children, family, friends and God. It is the most precious possession that anyone could hold.