Excellent!!  Thanks.

At 10:40 PM 10/24/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Seeing and saying the good in others is important. The story below speaks to
>that.
>It is so easy to focus on other people's shortcomings and criticize them.
>Have you given a thought to what always trying to see the good in people can
>do?
>+AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQ-
>KMF
>
>+AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0- BEGIN FORWARDED
MESSAGE +AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0APQA9AD0-
>ALL GOOD THINGS
>
>He was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary's School in
>Morris, Minn.  All 34 of my students were dear to me, but Mark Eklund was
>one
>in a million.  Very neat in appearance, but had that  happy-to-be-alive
>attitude that made even his occasional mischievousness delightful.  Mark
>talked incessantly.  I had to remind him again and again that talking
>without
>permission was not acceptable.  What impressed me so much, though, was his
>sincere response everytime I had to correct him for misbehaving -
+ACI-Thank you
>for correcting me, Sister+ACEAIg- didn't know what to make of it at first,
 but
>before long I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day.
>
>One morning my patience was growing thin when Mark talked once too often,
>and
>then I made a novice-teacher's mistake.  I looked at Mark and said,
+ACI-If you
>say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth shut+ACEAIg- It wasn't ten
>seconds
>later when Chuck blurted out, +ACI-Mark is talking again.+ACI- I hadn't
asked any of
>the students to help me watch Mark, but since I had stated the punishment in
>front of the class, I had to act on it.  I remember the scene as if it had
>occurred this morning.  I walked to my desk, very deliberately opened by
>drawer and took out a roll of masking tape.  Without saying a word, I
>proceeded to Mark's desk, tore off two pieces of tape and made a big X with
>them over his mouth.  I then returned to the front of the room.   As I
>glanced
>at Mark to see how he was doing, he winked at me. That did it+ACEAIQ-  I
started
>laughing.  The class cheered as I walked back  to Mark's desk, removed the
>tape, and shrugged my shoulders. His first words were, +ACI-Thank you for
>correcting me, Sister.+ACI-
>
>At the end of the year, I was asked to teach junior-high math.  The years
>flew
>by, and before I knew it Mark was in my classroom again.  He was more
>handsome
>than ever and just as polite.
>Since he had to listen carefully to my instruction in the +ACI-new
math,+ACI- he did
>not talk as much in ninth grade as he had in third.  One Friday, things just
>didn't feel right.  We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and sensed
>that the students were frowning, frustrated with themselves -and edgy with
>one
>another.  I had to stop this crankiness before it got out of hand.  So I
>asked
>them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of
>paper, leaving a space between each name.  Then I told them to think of the
>nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it
>down.
>It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as
>the students left the room, each one handed me the papers.  Charlie smiled.
>Mark said, +ACI-Thank you for teaching me, Sister.  Have a good weekend.+ACI-
>
>That Saturday, I wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of
>paper, and I listed what everyone else had said about that individual. On
>Monday I gave each student his or her list.  Before long, the entire class
>was
>smiling.  +ACI-Really?+ACI-  I heard whispered.  +ACI-I never knew that
meant anything
>to
>anyone+ACEAIg-  +ACI-I didn't know others liked me so much.+ACI-  No one
ever mentioned
>those papers in class again.  I never knew if they discussed them after
>class
>or with their parents, but it didn't matter.  The exercise had accomplished
>its purpose.  The students were happy with themselves and one another again.
>That group of students moved on.
>
>Several years later, after I returned from vacation, my parents met me at
>the
>airport.  As we were driving home, Mother asked me the usual questions about
>the trip -the weather, my experiences in general. There was a lull in the
>conversation.  Mother gave Dad a side-ways glance and simply says,
+ACI-Dad?+ACI- My
>father cleared his throat as he usually did before something important.
>
>+ACI-The Eklunds called last night,+ACI- he began. +ACI-Really?+ACI- I
said.  +ACI-I haven't
>heard from them in years.   I wonder how Mark is.+ACI-  Dad responded
quietly.
>+ACI-Mark was killed in Vietnam,+ACI- he said.  +ACI-The
>funeral is tomorrow, and his parents would like it if you could
attend.+ACI-  To
>this day I can still point to the exact spot on I-494 where Dad told me
>about
>Mark.
>
>I had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before.  Mark looked so
>handsome, so mature.  All I could think at that moment was, Mark I would
>give
>all the masking tape in the world if only you would talk to me.
>
>The church was packed with Mark's friends.  Chuck's sister sang +ACI-The
Battle
>Hymn of the Republic.+ACI-  Why did it have to rain on the day of the
funeral?
>It
>was difficult enough at the graveside. The pastor said the usual prayers,
>and
>the bugler played taps.  One by one those who loved Mark took a last walk by
>the coffin and sprinkled it with holy water.
>
>I was the last one to bless the coffin.  As I stood there, one of the
>soldiers
>who acted as pallbearer came up to me.  +ACI-Were you Mark's math
teacher?+ACI- he
>asked.  I nodded as I continued to stare at the coffin.  +ACI-Mark talked
about
>you a lot,+ACI- he said.  After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates
>headed to Chuck's farmhouse for lunch. Mark's mother and father were there,
>obviously waiting for me. +ACI-We want to show you something,+ACI-  his
father said,
>taking a wallet out of his pocket.  +ACI-They found this on Mark when he was
>killed. We thought you might recognize it.+ACI-  Opening the billfold, he
>carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been
>taped, folded and refolded many times.  I knew without looking that the
>papers
>were the ones on which I had listed all the good things each of Mark's
>classmates had said about him. +ACI-Thank you so much for doing that,+ACI-
Mark's
>mother said.
>
>+ACI-As youcan see, Mark treasured it.+ACI-
>
>Mark's classmates started to gather around us.  Charlie smiled rather
>sheepishly and said, +ACI-I still have my list.  It's in the top drawer of my
>desk
>at home.+ACI- Chuck's wife said, +ACI-Chuck asked me to put  his in our
wedding
>album.+ACI- +ACI-I have mine too,+ACI- Marilyn said.  +ACI-It's in my
diary.+ACI-  Then Vicki,
>another classmate, reached into her pocketbook,  took out her wallet and
>showed her worn and frazzled list to the group.  +ACI-I carry this with me at
>all
>times,+ACI- Vicki said without batting an eyelash.  +ACI-I think we all
saved our
>lists.+ACI-
>
>That's when I finally sat down and cried.  I cried for Mark and for all his
>friends who would never see him again.
>
>THE END
>
>Written by:  Sister Helen P. Mrosla
>
>The purpose of this letter is to encourage everyone to compliment the people
>you love and care about.  We often tend to forget the importance  of showing
>our affections and love.  Sometimes the smallest of things, could  mean the
>most to another.  I am asking you, to please send this letter around and
>spread the message and encouragement, to express your love and caring by
>complimenting and being open with communication.  The density of  people in
>society is
>so thick that we  forget that life will end one day.
>
>And we don't know when that one day will be.  So please, I beg of you, to
>tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important.
>Tell them, before it is too late.
>
>