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Thanksgiving
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all,
With
the season of giving coming upon us, I thought I would resend this
Allen
_________________________
visits
touching
story......
---------
You
know, he almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the
road.
But even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he
pulled
up in front of her Mercedes and got out.
His
Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the
smile
on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last
hour
or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe. He looked poor
and
hungry.
He
could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He
knew
how she felt. It was a chill which only fear can put in you.
He
said, "I'm here to help you Ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where
it
is warm? By the way, my name is Bryan"
Well,
all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad
enough.
Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack,
skinning
his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire,
but
he had to get dirty and his hands were hurt. As he was tightening up
the
lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him.
The
lady told him that she was from St. Louis and was just passing through.
She
couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid. Bryan just smiled as
he
closed her trunk. She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would
have
been all right with her. She had already imagined all the awful things
that
could have happened if he had not stopped.
Bryan
never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. This
was
helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given
him
a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never
occurred
to him to act any other way.
He
told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she
saw
someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that
they
needed , and Bryan added"...and think of me."
He
waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and
depressing
day, but he felt good as he headed for home disappearing into
the
twilight.
A
few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab
a
bite
to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her
trip
home.
It
was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The
whole
scene was unfamiliar to her. The cash register looked like the
telephone
of an out of work actor--it didn't ring much. The waitress came
over
and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile,
one
that even being on her feet all day couldn't erase. The lady noticed
that
the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the
strain
and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who
had
so little could be so giving to a stranger.
Then
she remembered Bryan. After the lady finished her meal, and the
waitress
went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, the lady slipped
out
the door.
She
was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered
where
the lady could be, then she noticed something written on the napkin
under
which were four $100 bills. There were tears in her eyes when she
read
what the lady had written. It said, "You don't owe me anything, I have
been
there too. Somebody once helped me out the way I'm helping you."
Well,
there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve,
but
the waitress made it through another day. That night when she was
thinking
about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady
have
known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next
month,
it was going to be hard.
She
knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her,
she
gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's gonna be
all
right. I love you, Bryan."
Allen
and Tonya Lieberman
http://www.bright.net/~lieberma/
lieberma@bright.net
Enjoy
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