Only the brave hearted ones dared to take my classes in the past and even fewer dare to let me guide them in the privacy of my little kingdom. I am not an easy taskmaster and have extremely high expectations and standards of work. One of the FEW students who have asked me to coach them is Hobart Lim Zi Ying, formerly from Chung Ling High School, Penang who is now pursuing his A-levels at Disted College, Penang. Here he is behind one of the four Bosendorfers in Penang at the Trinity Guildhall & Rockschool Penang Awards and Concert 2008.
I must confess that I hate to take on the responsibility of coaching anyone in view of the appalling standard of education these days - which is the primary reason why I retired in the first place. Hobart's mom is indeed patient and persuasive because it took many phone calls since January 2008 and even more emails before I finally agreed to coach Hobart on a short-term basis in January 2009!!!
Unlike many other teens, Hobart is fairly cultured as he has acquired his Diploma in Music Performance for both the piano and cello and will be taking his fellowship exams for both instruments in June.
His resume is immaculate. He scored 12 A1's for the 2008 SPM, was one of the top achievers in Penang (see pic below), was also the conductor of the Chinese Orchestra in his school and is an eloquent and polished debater. But there was only one teeny weeny problem - he had never ever been taught by anyone like yours truly :-). My former students can testify that if anyone can survive my classes, indeed, they will definitely make it in life.
And so our journey began in January. Each lesson was probably an ordeal for poor Hobart as he had to rewrite his outlines and essays four or five times. I was amazed that a top student like him could accept my stringent standards and no holds barred type of criticism. He was probably in a state of shock for the first few sessions as every single line he wrote had red marks all over. Even when he emailed his works to me, a large part of it would be highlighted and he had to rewrite many parts almost endlessly.
Frankly, I thought he would quit my classes but he did not. He plodded on amazingly and yielded to my requests for corrections after corrections (aren't you glad you were never my student hehehe?). During some of our sessions, I tried to make him see that he had to get in touch with himself and to speak from his heart, without thinking in BM or Mandarin and without using any unnecessary ornaments in writing which to me, unless skillfully executed, would make an essay sound most unnatural and stiff.
I never fail to emphasize that they must write to express, not to impress and that some of the most important elements would be grace, vitality, crackling energy, simplicity, honesty, accuracy etc. including the 5C's of communication which include conciseness, concreteness, correctness, completeness and clarity of expression, not forgetting the KISS formula which is Keep it short and simple. For over twenty years, I have never ever in any of my classes given any model answer because I believe in original work and that each must unleash the writer within.
Without a doubt Hobart must have felt quite crushed during many moments although I always tried to inspire him and to shower him with positive comments either in class, via emails or google chats. :-) I am both astounded and thankful that he persevered to be coached by this eccentric old lady. Somehow, our class last week must have struck a chord in his heart because this evening, he gave me a piece of work that did not have to be rewritten at all! Needless to say, yours truly had been chasing him for the past few days for this piece of work and we both knew that he found writing to be quite tedious which was why I instructed him to write an essay using the analogy technique to compare life with essay writing!
He attended his JPA scholarship interview two weeks ago and if he is successful, we will be parting ways but he will have a place in my heart because it is rare that I get students like him any more. The last time I had a group of brilliant students was in 2004 with people like Nisha, Wei Lyn, Nicholas Aw, Seleen (all doing their 4th year in medicine), Vanmala (Uni of Toronto), Xinch (HELP), Huey Sian (Curtin Uni), Chris Chua (currently in Uni of Sydney and recently interned with Microsoft in Seattle) etc. Can you imagine? Since 2004, I have NOT had any brilliant student so Hobart is like a breath of fresh air to me :-) although I am sure he felt quite suffocated with my high expectations. Whatever the case, I am glad our paths crossed and I hope that somehow, I did help him to get in touch with himself and to write straight from his heart like he did in the following essay. Many of the ideas he discussed were pointers that I shared with him to teach and to inspire him to be more than what he has achieved thus far.
To challenge him to give his best, I wrote this post COOKIES AND CREAM on April 6th and told him that he had to do better than I did :-)...and in his own way, he has done brilliantly, despite the many challenges I threw in his path. Ho! Ho! Ho! Hobart! I am very proud of you!
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Hobart Lim....
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THE ANALOGY TECHNIQUE IN WRITING BY HOBART LIM
Life can be described in many ways. Forest Gump called it a box of chocolates while William Shakespeare likened it to a stage. To me, life is similar to the process of writing an essay, not so much because of any deep, philosophical reasons but more so because of my current predicament with essay writing.
The preliminary stage of essay planning is akin to the act of charting one’s life. To write an excellent essay or live a fulfilling life, one needs to be organized and to have a clear direction. Above all, one needs to take pride both in one’s works and life. Only by believing in and loving what one does can one produce a masterpiece or lead the life one has dreamed of.
Like life, one will encounter ups and downs in the course of writing an essay. There will be times when one suffers from writers’ block and subsequently loses faith, just as how there will be frustrations and disappointments in life. On the other hand, writers do enjoy periods of heightened creativity which enable them to churn out high quality passages at a fast pace, similar to how we sometimes experience periods of good fortune in life where things seem to always happen without fault.
Unfortunately, unlike the task of essay writing which can be put off at any time, there is no ‘pause button’ in life. Indeed, time and tide wait for no man. As much as we would like to escape from life even just for a while, it is impossible to stop the continual clockwork motion of life. Similarly, as much as we yearn to change our life to how we want it with just a snap of a finger, it is not as easy as merely erasing the parts we dislike in an essay.
Additionally, while essay writing takes place at most over a few hours, life is far longer. Also, the effect of an essay is rather limited compared to the how our lives affect not only us but also the many different people with whom we interact. Finally, the greatest difference has to be the fact that while a bad essay rarely makes an imprint on anyone, a bad deed is sure to be remembered, even if the person has turned over a new leaf.
Life and essay writing, although as different as heaven and earth when placed side by side, do surprisingly yield many similarities. Perhaps this essay is a testimony of how I should open my eyes to the limitless ways in which one can view the world. Maybe then I can lead the life I want and write the essay that showcases my full potential.
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Well done, Hobart Lim. I am truly VERY proud of you!!!
P.S. Everyday, I try to improve in my writing and also in other areas of my life. I do not claim to be an expert in any area but would always want to share my experiences with others :-). Life is a long but exciting journey of learning, growing and changing for us to be better than what we were yesterday.
Having being in the education industry for over twenty years, I have never hit any of my students. In the first school where I served, public caning was reserved for die-hard deviants who defiantly rebelled despite being given many chances. In all the other institutions where I taught, capital punishment was not practised at all.
However, the times seem to be changing and reports of clashes in schools be it students hitting other students, teachers hitting students or vice versa seem to be quite common. Many have advocated caning as the best means to deal with problematic students.
The following story poses an interesting perspective to caning and the meaning of 'grace'. Yet, I cannot help but wonder what might happen if this REALLY happened...Read on and please leave a comment if you like. I would definitely love to hear your view. Thanks!
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The boy stood with back arched, head cocked back and hands clenched defiantly. "Go ahead, give it to me."
The principal looked down at the young rebel. "How many times have you been here?"
The child sneered rebelliously, "Apparently not enough."
The principal gave the boy a strange look. "And you have been punished each time have you not?"
"Yeah, I been punished, if that's what you want to call it." He threw out his small chest, "Go ahead I can take whatever you dish out. I always have."
"And no thought of your punishment enters your head the next time you decide to break the rules does it?"
"Nope, I do whatever I want to do. Ain't nothin' you people gonna do to stop me either."
The principal looked over at the teacher who stood nearby. "What did he do this time?"
"Fighting. He took little Tommy and shoved his face into the sandbox."
The principal turned to look at the boy, "Why? What did little Tommy do to you?"
"Nothin', I didn't like the way he was lookin' at me, just like I don't like the way your lookin' at me! And if I thought I could do it, I'd shove your face into something."
The teacher stiffened and started to rise but a quick look from the principal stopped him. He contemplated the child for a moment and then quietly said, "Today my young student, is the day you learn about grace."
"Grace? Isn't that what you old people do before you sit down to eat? I don't need none of your stinkin' grace."
"Oh but you do." The principal studied the young man's face and whispered. "Oh yes, you truly do..."
The boy continued to glare as the principal continued, "Grace, in its short definition is unmerited favor. You can not earn it, it is a gift and is always freely given. It means that you will not be getting what you so richly deserve."
The boy looked puzzled. "Your not gonna whup me? You just gonna let me walk?"
The principal looked down at the unyielding child. "Yes, I am going to let you walk."
The boy studied the face of the principal, "No punishment at all? Even though I socked Tommy and shoved his face into the sandbox?"
"Oh, there has to be punishment. What you did was wrong and there are always consequences to our actions. There will be punishment. Grace is not an excuse for doing wrong."
"I knew it," Sneered the boy as he held out his hands. "Let's get on with it."
The principal nodded toward the teacher. "Bring me the belt." The teacher presented the belt to the principal. He carefully folded it in two and then handed it back to the teacher.
He looked at the child and said. "I want you to count the blows."
He slid out from behind his desk and walked over to stand directly in front of the young man. He gently reached out and folded the child's outstretched, expectant hands together and then turned to face the teacher with his own hands outstretched. One quiet word came forth from his mouth.
"Begin."
The belt whipped down on the outstretched hands of the principal.
Crack!
The young man jumped ten feet in the air. Shock registered across his face, "One" he whispered.
Crack! "Two." His voice raised an octave.
Crack! "Three..." He couldn't believe this.
Crack! "Four." Big tears welled up in the eyes of the rebel.
"OK stop! That's enough. Stop!"
Crack! Came the belt down on the callused hands of the principal.
Crack! The child flinched with each blow, tears beginning to stream down his face.
Crack!
Crack! "No please," the former rebel begged, "Stop, I did it, I'm the one who deserves it. Stop! Please. Stop..."
Still the blows came, Crack! Crack! One after another.
Finally it was over. The principal stood with sweat glistening across his forehead and beads trickling down his face. Slowly he knelt down. He studied the young man for a second and then his swollen hands reached out to cradle the face of the weeping child.
"Grace..."
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Any comments, dear reader? Have a nice day...
Dear reader,
These are some of the best jokes I have sourced from various places . Read at your own peril. The degree of humor increases as you scroll down so if you are reading this in the office, be forewarned :-) and don't laugh too loudly :-).
Enjoy! I do apologize if you find any of these jokes offensive. It is just for laughs and not to insult anyone. Thanks and have a great day!
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WHAT IS PMS?
1. Pass My Shotgun
2. Psychotic Mood Shift
3. Perpetual Munching Spree
4. Puffy Mid-Section
5. People Make me Sick
6. Provide Me with Sweets
7. Pardon My Sobbing
8. Pimples May Surface
9. Pass My Sweat pants
10. Pissy Mood Syndrome
11. Plainly; Men Suck
12. Pack My Stuff
13. Potential Murder Suspect
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What is the difference between girls/woman aged: 8, 18, 28, 38, 48, 58, 68, and 78 ?
At 8 — You take her to bed and tell her a story.
At 18 — You tell her a story and take her to bed.
At 28 — You don’t need to tell her a story to take her to bed.
At 38 — She tells you a story and takes you to bed.
At 48 — She tells you a story to avoid going to bed.
At 58 — You stay in bed to avoid her story.
At 68 — If you take her to bed, that’ll be a story!
At 78 — What story??? What bed??? Who the hell are you???
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DIVORCE Vs MURDER
A nice, calm and respectable lady went into the pharmacy, walked up to the pharmacist, looked straight into his eyes, and said; ‘I would like to buy some cyanide.’
The pharmacist asked; ‘Why in the world do you need cyanide?’
The lady replied; ‘I need it to poison my husband.’
The pharmacist’s eyes got big and he exclaimed; ‘Lord have mercy! I can’t give you cyanide to kill your husband. That’s against the law! I’ll lose my license! They’ll throw both of us in jail! All kinds of bad things will happen. Absolutely not! You CANNOT have any cyanide!’
The lady reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of her husband in bed with the pharmacist’s wife.
The pharmacist looked at the picture and replied; ‘Well now, that’s different. You didn’t tell me you had a prescription.’
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U.S. BANKING PROBLEM EXPLAINED
Young Chuck moved to Texas and bought a donkey from a farmer for $100.00. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.
The next day he drove up and said, “Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.”
Chuck replied, “Well, then just give me my money back.”
The farmer said, “Can’t do that. I went and spent it already.”
Chuck said, “OK, then, just bring me the dead donkey.”
The farmer asked, “What ya gonna do with him?”
Chuck said, “I’m going to raffle him off.”
The farmer said, “You can’t raffle off a dead donkey!”
Chuck said, “Sure I can. Watch me. I just won’t tell anybody he’s dead.”
A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, “What happened with that dead donkey?”
Chuck said, “I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars apiece and made a profit of $898.00.”
The farmer said, “Didn’t anyone complain?”
Chuck said, “Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back.”
Chuck now works for Wall Street.
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FROM THE WORLD OF LAME AND CORNY JOKES...
I bet a kid has told you these before. It’s Thursday and I am feeling a bit silly so here we go.
1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian .
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.
7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, “You stay here, I’ll go on a head.”
14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then, it hit me.
15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said, “Keep off the Grass.”
16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, “No change yet.”
17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
18. It’s not that the man did not know how to juggle, he just didn’t have the balls to do it.
19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
20. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
21. A backward poet writes inverse.
22. In democracy, it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism, it’s your count that votes.
23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
24. Don’t join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects!
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The Lone Ranger was ambushed and captured by an enemy Indian War Party.
The Indian Chief proclaims, “So, YOU are the great Lone Ranger” …
“In honor of the Harvest Festival, YOU will be executed in three days.”
“Before I kill you, I grant you three requests”
“What is your FIRST request ???’
The Lone Ranger responds, “I’d like to speak to my horse.”
The Chief nods and Silver is brought before the Lone Ranger who whispers in Silver’s ear, and the horse gallops away.
Later that evening, Silver returns with a beautiful blonde woman on his back. As the Indian Chief watches, the blonde enters the Lone Ranger’s tent and spends the night.
The next morning the Indian Chief admits he’s impressed. “You have a very fine and loyal horse”, “But I will still kill you in two days.”
“What is your SECOND request ???”
The Lone Ranger again asks to speak to his horse. Silver is brought to him, and he again whispers in the horse’s ear.
As before, Silver takes off and disappears over the horizon.
Later that evening, to the Chief’s surprise, Silver again returns, this time with a voluptuous brunette, more attractive than the blonde.
She enters the Lone Rangers tent and spends the night.
The following morning the Indian Chief is again impressed. “You are indeed a man of many talents,” “But I will still kill you tomorrow.”
“What is your LAST request ???”
The Lone Ranger responds, “I’d like to speak to my horse, …. alone.”
The Chief is curious, but he agrees, and Silver is brought to the Lone Ranger’s tent.
Once they’re alone, the Lone Ranger grabs Silver by both ears, Looks him square in the eye and says,
Listen Very Carefully !!!! FOR… THE… LAST… TIME… I SAID …
“BRING POSSE”
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Every day, a male co-worker walks up very close to a lady standing at the coffee machine, inhales a big breath of air and tells her that her hair smells nice.
After a week of this, she can’t stand it anymore, takes her complaint to a supervisor in the personnel department and states that she wants to write a sexual harassment grievance against him.
The human resources supervisor is puzzled by this decision and asks, “what’s sexually threatening about a co-worker telling you your hair smells nice?”
The woman replies, “Its Keith, the midget.”
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And now the best for the last....
Here is mine: Years ago I got a support ticket saying the user lost their CD inside the computer. So I go see the user and she explains that she thought the CD tray that slid out was “too big” so she closed it and slid the CD into the crack in the case that was just below the CD drive.
Here are the rest:
Tech support: What kind of computer do you have?
Female customer: A white one…
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Customer: Hi, this is Maureen. I can’t get my diskette out.
Tech support: Have you tried pushing the Button?
Customer: Yes, sure, it’s really stuck.
Tech support: That doesn’t sound good; I’ll make a note.
Customer: No , wait a minute… I hadn’t inserted it yet… it’s still on my desk… sorry….
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Tech support: Click on the ‘my computer’ icon on to the left of the screen.
Customer: Your left or my left?
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Tech support: Good day. How may I help you?
Male customer: Hello… I can’t print.
Tech support: Would you click on “start” for me and…
Customer: Listen pal; don’t start getting technical on me! I’m not Bill Gates.
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Customer: Hi, good afternoon, this is Martha, I can’t print. Every time I try, it says ‘Can’t find printer’. I’ve even lifted the printer and placed it in front of the monitor, but the computer still says he can’t find it…
============== =
Customer: I have problems printing in red…
Tech support: Do you have a color printer?
Customer: Aaaah………………..thank you.
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Tech support: What’s on your monitor now, ma’am?
Customer: A teddy bear my boyfriend bought for me at Woolies.
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Customer: My keyboard is not working anymore.
Tech support: Are you sure it’s plugged into the computer?
Customer: No. I can’t get behind the computer.
Tech support: Pick up your keyboard and walk 10 paces back.
Customer:! OK
Tech support: Did the keyboard come with you?
Customer: Yes
Tech support: That means the keyboard is not plugged in. Is there another keyboard?
Customer: Yes, there’s another one here. Ah…that one does work…
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Tech support: Your password is the small letter “a” as in apple, a capital letter V as n Victor, the number 7.
Customer: Is that 7 in capital letters ?
== =============
Customer: can’t get on the Internet.
Tech support: Are you sure you used the right password?
Customer: Yes, I’m sure. I saw my colleague do it.
Tech support: Can you tell me what the password was?
Customer: Five stars.
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Tech support: What anti-virus program do you use?
Customer: Netscape.
Tech support: That’s not an anti-virus program.
Customer: Oh, sorry…Internet Explorer.
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Customer: I have a huge problem. A friend has placed a screen saver on my computer, but every time I move the mouse, it disappears.
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Tech support: How may I help you?
Customer: I’m writing my first e-mail.
Tech support: OK, and what seems to be the problem?
Customer: Well, I have the letter ‘a’ in the address, but how do I get the circle around it?
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A woman customer called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer.
Tech support: Are you running it under windows?
Customer: “No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his printer is working fine.”
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Tech support: “Okay Colin, let’s press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now type the letter “P” to bring up the Program Manager.”
Customer: I don’t have a P.
Tech support: On your keyboard, Colin.
Customer: What do you mean?
Tech support: “P”…..on your keyboard, Colin.
Customer: I’M NOT GOING TO DO THAT!!
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:-) Have a great day!
A language instructor was explaining to her class that in French, nouns unlike their English counterparts, are grammatically designated as masculine or feminine. "House," in French, is feminine: "la maison." "Pencil," in French, is masculine: "le crayon."
One puzzled student asked, "What gender is computer?" The teacher did not know, and the word wasn't in her French dictionary. So for fun she split the class into two groups appropriately enough, by gender, and asked them to decide whether "computer" should be a masculine or feminine noun.
Both groups were required to give four reasons for their recommendation.
The men's group decided that computers should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computer"), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine ("le computer") because:
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your pay check on accessories for it.
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;The women won.
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you'd waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.
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Any comments?
Have a nice day!
Dedicated to women ...may you and the man in your life never forget your worth...Have a nice day!
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When God created woman he was working later on the 6th day.
An angel came by and said: "Why spend so much time on that one?"
And the Lord answered:
"Have you seen all the specifications I have to meet to shape her? She must be washable, but not made of plastic, have more than 200 moving parts which all must be replaceable and she must function on all kinds of food, she must be able to embrace several kids at the same time, give a hug that can heal anything from a bruised knee to a broken heart and she must do all this with only two hands."
The angel was impressed. "Just two hands...impossible! And this is the standard model? Too much work for one day...wait until tomorrow and then complete her."
"I will not", said the Lord. "I am so close to completing this creation, which will be the favorite of my heart. She cures herself when sick and she can work 18 hours a day."
The angel came nearer and touched the woman. "But you have made her so soft, Lord."
"She is soft", said the Lord, "But I have also made her strong. You can't imagine what she can endure and overcome."
"Can she think?" the angel asked.
The Lord answered: "Not only can she think, she can reason and negotiate."
The angel touched the woman's cheek. "Lord, it seems this creation is leaking! You have put too many burdens on her."
"She is not leaking...it's a tear" the Lord corrected the angel.
"What's it for?" asked the angel.
And the Lord said, "Tears are her way of expressing grief, her doubts, her love, her loneliness, her suffering and her pride."
This made a big impression on the angel; "Lord, you are genius. You thought of everything. The woman is indeed marvelous!"
"Indeed she is! Woman has strengths that amaze man. She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens. She holds happiness, love and opinions. She smiles when feeling like screaming. She sings when she feels like crying, cries when she is happy and laughs when she is afraid.
She fights for what she believes in. Stands up against injustice. She doesn't take "no" for an answer, when she can see a better solution. She gives herself so her family can thrive. She takes her friend to the doctor if she is afraid. Her love is unconditional.
She cries when her kids are victorious. She is happy when her friends do well. She is glad when she hears of a birth or a wedding. Her heart is broken when a next of kin or friend dies. But she finds the strength to get on with life. She knows that a kiss and a hug can heal a broken heart.
There is only one thing wrong with her…
SHE FORGETS WHAT SHE IS WORTH."
--- Author Unknown ---
A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.
She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even the total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.
Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good.
Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!
"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question.
"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick...and I want to buy a miracle..."
"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.
"His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"
"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little.
"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."
The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?"
"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money."
"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago.
"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly.
"And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to."
"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a miracle for little brothers."
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said, "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need."
That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well. Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.
"That surgery," her Mom whispered. "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost….one dollar and eleven cents....plus the faith of a little child.
--- Author Unknown--
