~
Looks
Can
Deceive
~
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
Harvard
University
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.
"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.
"Maybe
if
you
see
them
for
a
few
minutes,
they'll
leave,"
she
said
to
him.
He
sighed
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
and
with
dignity,
strutted
toward
the
couple.
The
lady
told
him,
"We
had
a
son
who
attended
Harvard
for
one
year.
He
loved
Harvard.
He
was
happy
here.
But
about
a
year
ago,
he
was
accidentally
killed.
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
buildings
here
at
Harvard."
For
a
moment
the
lady
was
silent.
The
president
was
pleased.
Maybe
he
could
get
rid
of
them
now.
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.
Mr.
and
Mrs.
Leland
Stanford
got
up
and
walked
away,
traveling
to
Palo
Alto,
California
where
they
established
the
university
that
bears
their
name,
Stanford
University,
a
memorial
to
a
son
that
Harvard
no
longer
cared
about.
"You
can
easily
judge
the
character
of
others
by
how
they
treat
those
who
they
think
can
do
nothing
for
them."
Note:
Since
publishing
the
above,
it
has
been
brought
to
my
attention
that
this
is
in
fact
fictional,
but
the
moral
is
a
good
one,
and
I
hope
you
enjoyed
it
just
the
same.
~Spiritisup~
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