Some people go the extra mile on everything they do. It is part of their makeup. It is second nature to them. They simply do not give it a second thought. These people are very special, and they are few and far between.

We occasionally see them in business, but they are rare gems. I was in the Chicago O’Hare Airport connecting to a flight to Hawaii back in the eighties when the guy ahead of me in line went ballistic because his flight could not leave right then and there.

Those of us who have connected through Chicago in the winter know of the brutal weather and flight delays. The poor lady boarding the flights could not help there was a snow storm outside.

Finally, after putting up fifteen minutes of insults from the frustrated passenger, she bent over the counter and politely said: “Sir, there are two people who give a damn about your flight, and one of them is fast losing interest.” But she went the extra mile and got the irate customer on the next flight to Maui.

Rare gems, that go the extra mile, actually get a great deal of satisfaction for being that kind of a person.

There was once a rare gem that gave birth to 11 children after losing three. As her husband was later quoted as saying, “When we found out what was causing it, we put a stop to it.”

This exceptional gem trusted her children to make good decisions. She never worried when they came in late- only if they returned to home early. She never questioned her children’s decisions. She always taught them to stand by those decisions and take responsibility for the good ones… and the bad ones.

This rare jewel would often sacrifice her personal needs for the needs of others, without a second thought and without regret. She gem never cooked for just the 11 children that resided under her roof but usually for the extra six or seven of their friends that meandered into the home at all hours of the day or night.

This precious gem always thought of other’s needs first. She never complained. Despite feeding, clothing and boarding 11 of her own kids, she would often be responsible for the care of others who, through no fault of their own, needed a place to sleep and a meal to eat and clothes to wear. No, she was not a foster parent- just a good neighbor who believed that the community is responsible for the village.

The prayer to St. Francis, which I lovingly call the customer service prayer says, “It is in giving that we receive…” That was a pretty good seven word mission statement that this uncommon gem could have had inscribed on her grave. What appears there instead: “Sing no sad songs for me.”

This extraordinary precious stone was Lexington, SC’s version of Mother Teresa. One of her children would emulate her as she would pursue a life in the convent. Others chose the legal profession or sales or television or business or writing or speaking or education or the military or banking or real estate or engineering or the restaurant business… you name it, most of those children have tried it.

She taught them to pursue dreams and make adjustments… ready, fire aim! Occasionally, some of their choices did not work out. Instead of a life in the convent, one child would pursue a life of giving as a professor and therapist instead. Only the venue changed, not the mission.

This rock of hope and inspiration died at the young age of 60… literally worn out by a life of giving to others. She died on my birthday some 25 years ago, leaving a litany of treasured examples of how to live a life.

The hundreds of people who showed up to say goodbye to someone they all affectionately referred to as “mama Alice” was but a modest testimony to her shining example of how to live a life. She was Alice Aun, my mother and she died on my 35th birthday, August 15, 1984.

I have known two rare gems in my life. One was Mama Alice. The other is the mother of my children, my wife Christine.

I guess it is true. We men do tend to marry someone like our mothers. I was blessed to have a woman like my mother as an example of what to seek in a mate and doubly blessed to actually find one who was just like her. Be thankful for the rare gems in your life that go the extra mile.