VOICE OF COMPASSION
Source of Recipe
internet
Recipe Introduction
All too often we do not hear when compassion is
whispering to us; may we be sensitive to those who really
need for us to hear them this day; have a great one!
List of Ingredients
VOICE OF COMPASSION
I heard a story about Fiorello LaGuardia who was mayor of
New York City during the worst days of the Great
Depression and all of WWII. He was adored by many New
Yorkers who took to calling him the "Little Flower,"
because he was so short and always wore a carnation in
his lapel.
He was a colorful character -- he rode the New York City
fire trucks, raided city "speakeasies" with the police
department, took entire orphanages to baseball games, and
when the New York newspapers went on strike, he got on
the radio and read the Sunday funnies to the kids.
One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor
turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward
of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the
evening and took over the bench himself. Within a few
minutes, a tattered old woman was brought before him,
charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told LaGuardia
that her daughter's husband had deserted her, her
daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were
starving.
But the shopkeeper, from whom the bread was stolen,
refused to drop the charges. "It's a real bad
neighborhood, your Honor," the man told the mayor. "She's
got to be punished to teach other people around here a
lesson."
LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said, "I've
got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions. Ten
dollars or ten days in jail." But even as he pronounced
sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket.
He extracted a bill and tossed it into his famous hat,
saying, "Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit;
and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this
courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person
has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr.
Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the
defendant."
The following day, New York City newspapers reported that
$47.50 was turned over to a bewildered woman who had
stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren
Fifty cents of that amount was contributed by the grocery
store owner himself, while some seventy petty criminals,
people with traffic violations, and New York City
policemen, each of whom had just paid fifty cents for the
privilege of doing so, gave the mayor a standing ovation.
Someone beautifully said, "Sympathy sees and says, 'I'm
sorry.' Compassion sees and says, 'I'll help.' When we
learn the difference, we can make a difference.
Recipe
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