STORY    OF    TWO    AILING    MEN
 
 

               Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up on 
               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, where they had been on vacation. And 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 colour 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 colour 
               of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the  landscape, 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. Though 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.
   
               Then unexpectedly, a sinister thought entered his mind. Why should the other man alone experience 
               all the pleasures  of seeing everything while he  himself  never  got to see anything? It didn't 
               seem fair. At first thought the man felt ashamed. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more 
               sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He began to brood and he found 
               himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window - that thought, and only that thought now
               controlled his life.
   
               Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the  window  began to  cough. He was 
               choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man  watched  in  the   dimly  lit  room as the 
               struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room
               he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running in. In less 
               than five minutes the coughing and choking stopped, along with that the sound of breathing. 
               Now there was only silence - deathly silence.
   
               The following morning the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the 
               lifeless body of the man by the window, she was  saddened and called the hospital attendants to 
               take it 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 world outside.  
               Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out 
               the window beside the bed.
      
               It faced a blank wall.
   
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               Epilogue:

               You can interpret the story in any way you like. But  one  moral stands out: There is tremendous 
               happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, 
               but happiness when shared, is doubled.