A lady and her husband in usual clothes walkedinto the president of Harvard's outer office. "We want to see thepresident," the lady said softly.Looking at the usual couple, the secretary said, "He'll be busy all day."" We'll wait," the lady replied.
For hours, the secretary did nothing for them,hoping that they would finally go away. They didn't. "Maybe if they justsee you for a few minutes, they'll leave," the secretary finallytold the president.
The presidentlooked down at the couple.The lady told him, "We had a son that hadstudied in Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. But he was accidentally killed.And my husband and I would like to build something for him in Harvard. "Madam," the president saidangrily, "we can't put up a statue forevery person who attended Harvard and died."
"Oh, no," the lady explainedquickly, "we mean we would givea building to Harvard." The president lookedat their usual clothes, and then said, "A building! Do youknow how much a building costs? It took us over seven and a half million dollarsto build Harvard."
The lady turned to her husband and said quietly,"Is that all it coststo start a university?" Her husband nodded.Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California wherethey built a university with their name—a memorial(纪念)to a son that Harvardno longer cared about.
You can easily judge the character of others byhow they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.