Bell Story

When our mother was living at the Guest House, one day a gentleman moved into the room next door. Upon his arrival the volunteers gave him a bell and explained that if they were not in the room to ring the bell and someone would come and see him. The bell was not like a bell attached to a hospital bed, or your doorbell, but a small bell not unlike the one my grandmother would ring at the dinner table.



Later that day, we began to hear him ring the bell. Someone would go and see him and ask him what he needed. In almost every case, he said he didn’t need anything. Whenever he was alone for any length of time, the bell would ring and immediately, someone would go and see him. This went on and on. No one was ever cross or annoyed, but everyone became curious as to why he rang the bell, but didn’t need anything.



Finally, someone asked him, why do you ring the bell but don’t need anything? He looked at the volunteer and said in all his life no one ever came to him just because he asked.