| In
Europe, during the economic depression of the late 1800's, a group of men seeking
employment gathered under bridges, in parks and by the roadside. Hungry, cold
and depressed, these men came together seeing companionship, information and hope.
One evening around sunset, as the men stood silently huddled around a roaring
bonfire, a sranger ito the roup stepped forward and placed a large iron pot on
the fire. Into this pot he poured a couple of gallons of fresh water. He then
selected a potato-sized stone, which he meticulously cleaned and dropped into
the simmering water. After a while he took a spoon and tasted the contents of
the pot. The following dialogue ensued between the stranger and various member
of the group: "What
are you doing?"
"I'm making stone soup."
"Never heard
of it - how does it taste?"
"I have salt, but salt is no good unless
you have something to put it on. How much do you need?"
"A couple
tablespoons would do nicely."
The salt was added and the contents were
again stirred and sampled by the stranger.
"How does it taste now?"
"Much better, but do you know what really makes stone soup great? Potatoes."
Another member of the group spoke up.
"I have eaten nothing but potatoes
for a week and the rest of this sack will probably just go to waste."
The potatoes were cut up, placed in the pot and stirred.
"It would sure
be nice if we had an onion or two" said the stranger.
"I've got
plenty of onions, but little else" said another.
"Here."
The onions were added in the same fashion, as were carrots, celery and tomatoes.
The crowd grew as the aroma of the stone soup reached the hungry men.
"Now
all we need is a little meat of some kind" declared the stranger.
"Well,"
said one of the group, "I have a couple of chickens here, but they aren't
very good without vegetables, so go ahead and add them to the soup."
That night the entire group ate their fill of stone soup, and for the first
time in weeks no one went to bed hungry.
With their stomach filled, and their
hopes revived, these men were able to get on with their lives, confident that
their contributions had made a real difference in the lives of their fellow men.
The end product of this cooperation thus became greater than the sum of it's parts,
and the story of Stone Soup is told to this day. Submitted
by Vic G. This
story is a good example of growth through cooperation. And it is in
this same atmosphere of cooperation that the "Lone Star T's Stone Soup Project"
has been started to share the knowledge of the history, maintenance, and restoration
of the Model T and to pass that knowledge onto future generations. This
Group of members has now expanded to the VolunTer's |
