The Gift

            Two men shared a hospital room, confined to their beds.  The one nearest the window had a weakened heart after several attacks.  The other had a broken hip.

          For days, the man near the window would describe for his new friend what was going on outside the window.  He described the beautiful flowers, the greenness of the tress and grass and the children playing.  He described a beautiful young nurse who walked through the park everyday at the same time and a young intern who daily passed her traveling in the opposite direction.  At first they exchanged looks and as days passed, they began to exchange pleasantries for a few minutes each day.  Slowly, the two men experienced the relationship as it bloomed.

          One day, the man near the window passed away.  After a few days, the man with the broken hip asked to be moved near the window. He was anxious to finally view the park that now lived in his mind.  Late that evening, he was moved next to the window.  At the crack of dawn, he awoke and pulled up the shade.  There was nothing there but a dreary, asphalt covered parking lot.

           Not until then had he realized what a magnificent gift his friend has given him. 

            How many gifts have we been given that we don’t even know of?