by Rev Robert A Wendel
In everything, do to others, as you would have them do to you. Matthew 7:12
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely. Hebrews 12:1
In the town where I grew up, Robert and Charles Livingston were a pair of brothers who delivered the daily newspaper to our town of six hundred. They did this for more than a decade and a half. Most of us took them for granted. The paper was always there, come rain or shine.
Recently I began to think about so many other service workers we hardly notice: garbage workers, mail carriers, garage mechanics, and even policemen and emergency workers. Through the years there have always been those workers in discount stores, restaurants, hospitals, swimming pools, and school classrooms. All of them serve the public well. As I moved into apartments, there were plumbers, electricians, painters, and electronic repair people.
One important lesson we all can learn is not to take such ordinary people for granted. A “Thank you” and an occasional cash tip might be appreciated.
One special person I remember meeting is Phil Coyne, who had been an usher for the Pittsburgh Pirates for eighty-one years, doing nothing more than showing people to their seats. Before his retirement, he became a legend among Pittsburgh sports fans, dying in April at age 102. His biggest achievement was the thousands of friends he made over the years. People can easily remember those around us who live out the Golden Rule.
“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa