Tip O’Neill, the late speaker of the House of Representatives, once told a story about Henry Ford. Years ago, when Mr. Ford was in Ireland, three priests asked him to make a contribution to a hospital. He visited with them and told them he would give $15,000. The next day, it came up in the newspaper that Henry Ford was giving $50,000 to the project. The priests came back to Mr. Ford and apologized. They said, “We apologize. The article said you gave $50,000, but we are going to retract it tomorrow and say it is $15,000. We are sorry.”
Mr. Ford said, “No, no, I’ll give the other $35,000, making it $50,000. But I’ll do this provided you put an inscription over one of the doors of the hospital.” They said they would (and Tip O’Neill said it is actually there).
Henry Ford said, “The inscription must be this: ‘I was a stranger and you took me in.’”
That’s absolutely delightful but it leaves me wondering – were the Irish priests unaware of the play on words – or did they simply decide that the dig was worth the additional $35,000.
Our family lived in the Detroit area and my parents knew Henry Ford slightly – wonder if they knew he had a sense of humor