LIMITATIONS, BORG WARNER, HARRY SLEEPS WELL, THE FIRST AND LARGEST, HEAT TREATING IDEA, TONY CAMPOLO

LIMITATIONS - When Roy and Nancy were about to give birth, doctors told them their unborn child had a serious medical condition and would probably never survive. When the doctor recommended abortion, Roy and Nancy thanked him for the diagnosis, walked out, and never looked back.

That daughter who was born to them, Joanna, is now a teenager. And although she has extremely limited use of her hands, Joanna has disciplined herself to play the piano – in this video you'll see her playing with only two fingers on each hand. God bless Joanna, a remarkable young woman undaunted by her limitations!  Click HERE for an incredible video.

BORG WARNER was my employer for 15 years during the 1970's and '80's. It used to be called YORK MANUFACTURING COMPANY.  In 1901 the company president was P. H. Glatfelter and his General Manager was Thomas Shipley.  Click HERE for an image of the "Main Office and Works" as it looked in 1901 and click HERE for one of the products they manufactured.  Today I found a 1951 company newsletter and thought a couple of the headlines were interesting:

HARRY SLEEPS WELL - "Two York Manufacturing units were recently installed in the Blair House in Washington DC for President Harry Truman.  One in his bedroom and the other in the library of the temporary White House."

THE FIRST AND LARGEST - "When the steamship UNITED STATES floated slowly out of the dock at Newport News, Virginia it was the largest and first completely air conditioned passenger ship ever built in this country.....and it is an - All York job!"

HEAT TREATING IDEA - Fast forward 30+ years to 1985.  At this time I was responsible for employee communications and publications.  One of the things I really enjoyed was shooting pictures and uncovering stories about employees.  This is one example of a picture I used on the front cover of a monthly publication that was sent to the home of every employee.  It shows Louis Spiegel demonstrating his idea, which ended up saving lotsa' money for the company.  Click HERE.



TONY CAMPOLO wrote a book that found its' way to the top of my reading pile today.  I can't get this story out of my mind. 

"Several years ago I was having dinner in a restaurant in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I was seated comfortably at a table next to the front window of the restaurant, ready to begin enjoying my meal, when I realized I was being watched. With their noses pressed flat against the glass, three raggedy, dirty Haitian boys stared at the food on my plate. Their hair was rust-colored because of a lack of protein and they had the distended stomachs that give evidence of extreme malnutrition. Their eyes, riveted on my food, were disturbing. To say the least.

The waiter, recognizing how upset I was, moved quickly to pull down the window shade. "Don't let them bother you! Enjoy your meal!" he said."

In a sense, isn't that what we all do? Don't those of us who live comfortable lives "pull down the shade"? Don't we hide ourselves from those millions of desperate people who press their noses against the glass barrier that separates them from sustenance we have on this side? Don't we, for the most part, ignore the 6 million children who die each year of either starvation or diseases related to malnutrition?