A Room With A View

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man

was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help

drain the fluid from his lungs.



His bed was next to the room's only window. Th e other man had to

spend all his time fl at on his back. Th e men talked for hours on

end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs,

their involvement in the military service and where they had been on

vacation. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could

sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the

things he could see outside the window. Th e man in the other bed

began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be

broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world

outside.



Th e window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans

played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young

lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the

rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the

city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window

described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of

the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One

warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his

mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with

descriptive words.



Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring

water for their baths, only to find the lifeless body of the man by

the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and

called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it

seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to

the window. Th e nurse was happy to make the switch, and aft er making

sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.



Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first

look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of

seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the

window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. Th e man asked the nurse

what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such

wonderful things outside this window.



The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the

wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."



-- Author Unknown