The ten o'clock closing time

At five minutes to ten, my friend and I arrived at the nursing home. I forgot that I had knee trouble. There were three staircases inside the building. One was short but the other two were long. I went practically running up the stairs. There were nurses and servants in the hallway and I said, “I have come to see my sister.”

They said, “No, it is past ten o’clock.”

“My watch says five minutes to ten,” I said and I showed them my watch.

They replied, “No, ours says ten o’clock.”

I said, “I am coming all the way from America to see my dying sister.”

They said, “Come tomorrow at eight o’clock.”

I looked around and saw a huge picture of the Mother. With such devotion I looked at her picture, and the Mother saved me. When they saw me with folded hands praying to the Mother, they said, “All right, we have changed our mind. You can be there, but only for two minutes.”

I said, “Two minutes is too much. Just allow me to see her.”