What a shot in the arm!
By Herb Drill
Among the major influences in my life have been people who as a young man, I wouldn’t stretch to encounter. They include a Connecticut Yankee and strict Quaker who was a business news editor; a Southern musician/journalist and (kidding) avowed “redneck;” an English teacher quoting Shakespeare, and an English professor who was quite a poetess.
I was reminded of this when I read an article regarding a man named Fleming. It seems e was a poor Scottish farmer trying to make a living for his family. One day in the fields, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran there. Mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. The farmer saved the boy from what probably would have been a slow and terrifying death.
The next day, an obviously expensive carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's spare surroundings. A nobleman, dressed elegantly, stepped down and introduced himself as the father of the boy the farmer had saved.
"I want to repay you," the nobleman said. "You saved my son's life."
"I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied as he waved off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family’s poor home.
"Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.
"Yes," the farmer replied with noticeable pride.
"I'll make you a deal,” the nobleman said. “Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man of whom we both will be proud."
The agreement was reached. The farmer's son attended the very best schools and, in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London.
He went on to become known throughout the world as Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin.
Years later, the nobleman's son - who was saved from the bog – was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? It was penicillin.
What was the name of the nobleman? It was Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name later became Sir Winston Churchill.
Can you identify some instances of daily - or business – life akin to that one?\
Remember the adage: What goes around comes around!