Tuesday, March 20, 2012

A BAG OF COOKIES

As I travel the world I get a wonderful opportunity to meet so many people with different backgrounds and beliefs.  I'd like to think that it has made me more well-rounded person as well as helping me create greater tolerance for my fellow man.  At any rate, I was reading last week and came across the story below.  While it has a bit a humor with it I think it certainly had a great story in regard to how we can sometimes jump to conclusions when judging people.  I hope you enjoy it.

A friend of mine, returning to South Africa from a long stay in Europe, found herself with some time to spare at London’s Heathrow Airport.  Buying a cup of coffee and a small package of cookies, she staggered, laden with luggage, to an unoccupied table.  She was reading the morning paper when she became aware of someone rustling at her table.  From behind her paper, she was flabbergasted to s ee a neatly dressed young men helping himself her cookies.  She did not want to make a scene, so she leaned across and took a cookie herself.  A minute or so passed.  More rustling.  He was helping himself to another cookie. 

By the time they were down to the last cookie in the package, she was very angry but could still not bring herself to say anything.  Then the young broke the remaining cookie in two, pushed half across to her, ate the other half and left.

Some time later, when the public-address system called for her to present her ticket, she was still fuming.  Imagine her embarrassment when she opened her handbag, and was confronted by her package of cookies.  She had been eating his.

-credited to Dan P. Greyling