postcards from nowhere

Greetings!

Today's postcard is a reprint of one of those stories that travels 
by email.  Very profound.  I wish the author had been named so I 
could credit him or her, so if anyone knows that information 
please send it along to me.

take care,
karen  

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. 
One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each 
afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.  His bed 
was next to the room's only window. The other man had to 
spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for 
hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, 
their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military 
service, and where they had been on vacation. 

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could 
sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate 
all the things he could see outside the window.  The man in 
the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where 
his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity 
and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park 
with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while 
children sailed their model boats.  Young lovers walked arm in 
arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city 
skyline could be seen in the distance. 

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, 
the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and 
imagine the picturesque scene.  

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade 
passing by.  Although the other man couldn't hear the band, he 
could see it, in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window 
portrayed it with descriptive words. 

Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to 
bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body 
of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. 
She was saddened and
called the hospital attendants to take the body away. 

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he 
could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to 
make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, 
she left him alone. 

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take 
his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly 
turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. 

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased 
roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this 
window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could 
not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to 
encourage you." 

Epilogue: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, 
despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, 
but happiness, when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, 
just count all the things you have that money can't buy. 
Even just being alive today is a gift ... that's why it is 
called the present.