[phantomrose101]

Touching story​

Every morning, the CEO of a large bank in Manhattan walked to the

corner for a shoeshine. He sat in an armchair, examined the Wall

Street Journal and the shoe shiner buffed his shoes to a mirror shine.


One morning the shoe shiner asked the CEO, “What do you think about

the situation in the stock market?”


The businessman answered arrogantly, “Why are you so interested in

that topic?” The shoe guy replied, “I have millions in your bank and

I’m considering investing some of the money in the capital market.”


“What’s your name?” asked the executive.


“John H. Smith,” was the reply.


The CEO arrived at the bank and asked the Manager of the Customer

Service Department,


“Do we have a client named John H. Smith?


We certainly do,” answered the Manager. “He is a high-net-worth

customer with 12.6 million dollars in his account”


The astonished executive came out, approached the shoe shiner, and

said, “Mr. Smith, I would like to invite you next Monday to be the

guest of honor at our Board meeting and tell us the story of your

life. I’m sure we could learn something from your life’s experience.”


At the board meeting, the CEO introduced him to the Board Members. “We

all know Mr. Smith, from the corner shoeshine stand, but Mr. Smith is

also an esteemed customer. I invited him here to tell us the story of

his life. I am sure we can all learn from him.”


Mr. Smith began his story, “I came to this country 50 years ago as a

young immigrant from Europe with an unpronounceable name. I got off

the ship without a penny. The first thing I did was change my name to

Smith. I was hungry and exhausted. I started wandering around looking

for a job but to no avail. Fortunately, I found a coin on the

sidewalk. I bought an apple. I had two options: eat the apple and

quench my hunger or start a business. I sold the apple for 25 cents

and bought two apples with the money I also sold them and continued

in business.


“When I started accumulating a few dollars, I was able to buy a set of

used brushes and shoe polish and started polishing shoes. I didn’t

spend a penny on entertainment or clothing. I just bought bread and

some cheese to survive. I saved penny by penny and after a while, I

bought a new set of shoe brushes and polishes in different shades and

expanded my clientele. I lived like a monk and saved penny by penny.

After a while, I was able to buy an armchair so my clients could sit

comfortably while I shined their shoes, and that brought me more

clients. I did not spend a penny on the joys of life. I kept saving

every cent. A few years ago, when the previous shoe shiner on the

corner decided to retire, I had already saved enough money to buy his

shoeshine location at this great place.


“Then, six months ago, my sister, who was a prostitute in Chicago,

passed away and left me 12 million dollars.”