Who Do You Know?

Who Do You Know?

All the animals of the forest are mine,and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. . . .All the world is mine and everything in it.

Psalm 50:10, 12

In the 1970s I worked for H. L. Hunt—the oil tycoon and, at the time, the world’s richest man. I served on his personal staff as a writer.

On a trip with Mr. and Mrs. Hunt to Los Angeles, where he was to appear on The Merv Griffin Show, we stayed at the Beverly Hilton hotel. After registering, Mr. Hunt asked the bell captain to have a table set up in the lobby to display some political comment materials, as he did everywhere he went.

The bell captain—a young man who had never heard of Mr. Hunt—explained that there was a convention in the hotel so he could not comply with Mr. Hunt’s request.

Mr. Hunt patiently explained to the young man why it would be advantageous for him to put up the table, but he continued to politely refuse. Finally Mr. Hunt said to me, “We’ll go to our rooms now.”

In Mr. Hunt’s suite he said, “Please get Mr. Hilton on the phone.”

“Yes, sir!” I answered, thinking, This should be interesting. I knew that Mr. Hunt had a six-foot mahogany table in the lobby of the Dallas Hilton hotel where his materials were continually displayed.

“Mr. Hunt for Mr. Hilton, please,” I said to the assistant.

“Of course! One moment, please.”

“Conrad Hilton.”

“Mr. Hilton, I have Mr. Hunt for you.”

“Well, put him on!”

“Hiltie, this is H. L. Hunt. I’m in your hotel in California, and they won’t let me put my table up in the lobby.”

I couldn’t hear Mr. Hilton’s response, but Mr. Hunt then said, “Now, Hiltie, you know I’ve been known to buy hotels.” And he hung up.

In less than five minutes, I heard knock, knock, knock! I went to the door. There stood the red-faced bell captain, who said, “Mr. Hunt, we have your table up in the lobby!”

Dear Father, we know that you own the whole world, and we are so blessed to know you. Amen.