Quote from Forum Archives on July 7, 2000, 9:59 am

Posted by: tz8cy5 <tz8cy5@...>

One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the lobby
of a small hotel in Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, the couple
approached the front desk hoping to get some shelter for the night. Could you
possibly give us a room here?" the husband asked.

The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked at the couple and
explained that there were three conventions in town. "All of our rooms are
taken," the clerk said. "But I can't send a nice couple like you out into the
rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my
room? It's not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks
comfortable for the night. "When the couple declined, the young man pressed on.
"Don't worry about me; I'll make out just fine," the clerk told them.

So the couple agreed. As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man
said to the clerk, "You are 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
clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good laugh. As they
drove away, the elderly couple agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed
exceptional, as finding people who are both friendly and helpful isn't easy.

Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received
a letter from the old man. It recalled that stormy night and enclosed a
round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit. The
old man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th
Street. He then pointed to a great new building there, a palace of reddish
stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky. "That," said the
older man, "is the hotel I have just built for you to manage."

"You must be joking," the young man said. "I can assure you I am not," said the
older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth. The older man's name was
William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent structure was the original
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk who became its first manager was George
C. Boldt.

This young clerk never foresaw the turn of events that would lead him to become
the manager of one of the world's most glamorous hotels.

The Bible says that we are not to turn our backs on those who are in need, for
we might be entertaining angels. Life is more accurately measured by the lives
you touch than the things you acquire...