Last month, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Rep. Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, a group of newsmen/women who covered him gathered to share reminisces of the famous Speaker of the House. The discussion was filled with anecdotal humor. He once returned from a meeting and told an aide "You won't believe it but they're going to invade Canada." He meant Grenada! At the conclusion O'Neill's son told this story that his father always used to close an address.
It concerned Henry Ford who in 1922 visited Cork, Ireland the home of his forebears. His visit coincided with the local effort to build a hospital. The locals asked Ford if he would like to make a donation on behalf of his parents and he sat down and made out a check for $5,000 which was a considerable sum back then. The next day the local paper headlined that Ford had donated $50,000.
They quickly apologized for the extra zero and said there would be a correction in the next day's edition. That would be embarrassing so Ford asked for the check back and tore it up. He then asked how much the total construction costs would be. They answered - $50,000. So he sat down and made out a check for $50,000 - held it up and said "There is one condition - I want the following phrase inscribed over the entrance - I CAME AMONG YOU AND YOU TOOK ME IN."
tjs
Next - Boola, Boola!
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