The husband had a new job that required a
move to another town, so on an autumn afternoon, the man and his wife drove to
the town.
As they entered, they saw an older man
raking leaves near the curb. The husband
drove opposite the man and stopped as his wife opened her side window so that
she could speak to the man.
“What kind of people live in this
town?” she asked him.
The man leaned on his rake handle and
stared thoughtfully into space for a moment before asking, “What kind of people
live in your town?”
The woman quickly replied, “They are
unfriendly, unpleasant people.”
“Then,” the man said, “You will find the
same kind of people here.”
This story, that I now suspect my father
developed for the benefit of my sister and me, was told to us at least once a
year if either Nancy or I complained about some matter. The entire story did not need to be retold
just “Rake man” said by one of our wise parents to remind us...
Perceiving situations
in a negative way
will result in a negative experience.
