SUBMAN1
12-21-07, 01:53 PM
:D
-S
Late last week I was rushing around trying to get some last minute
shopping done. I was stressed out and not thinking very fondly of the
Christmas season right then.
It was dark, cold and wet in the parking lot as I was loading my car up
with gifts that I felt obligated to buy.
I noticed I was missing a receipt that I might need later. Mumbling
under my breath, I retraced my steps to the mall entrance.
As I was searching the wet pavement for the lost receipt, I heard a
quiet sobbing. The crying was coming from a poorly dressed boy of about
12 years old. He was short and thin. He had no coat. He was only
wearing a ragged flannel shirt to protect him from the cold night's
chill. But oddly enough, he was holding a hundred dollar ($100) bill in
his hand.
Thinking that the boy had gotten lost from his parents, I asked him what
was wrong. He told me his sad story. He said that he came from a large
family. He had three brothers and two sisters. His father had died when
he was nine years old. His mother was poorly educated and worked two
full time jobs. She made very little to support her large family.
Nevertheless, she had managed to save two hundred dollars to buy her
children Christmas presents.
The young boy had been dropped off on the way to her second job. He was
to use the money to buy presents for all his siblings and save just
enough to take the bus home. He had not even entered the mall, when an
older boy grabbed one of the hundred dollar bills and disappeared into
the night. "Why didn't you scream for help?" I asked. The boy said,"I
did." "And nobody came to help you?" I wondered. The boy stared at the
sidewalk and sadly shook his head. "How loud did you scream?" I
inquired. The soft-spoken boy looked up and meekly whispered, "Help
me!" I suddenly realized that absolutely no one could have heard that
poor boy cry for help.
So I grabbed his other hundred dollar bill and ran to my car.
-S
Late last week I was rushing around trying to get some last minute
shopping done. I was stressed out and not thinking very fondly of the
Christmas season right then.
It was dark, cold and wet in the parking lot as I was loading my car up
with gifts that I felt obligated to buy.
I noticed I was missing a receipt that I might need later. Mumbling
under my breath, I retraced my steps to the mall entrance.
As I was searching the wet pavement for the lost receipt, I heard a
quiet sobbing. The crying was coming from a poorly dressed boy of about
12 years old. He was short and thin. He had no coat. He was only
wearing a ragged flannel shirt to protect him from the cold night's
chill. But oddly enough, he was holding a hundred dollar ($100) bill in
his hand.
Thinking that the boy had gotten lost from his parents, I asked him what
was wrong. He told me his sad story. He said that he came from a large
family. He had three brothers and two sisters. His father had died when
he was nine years old. His mother was poorly educated and worked two
full time jobs. She made very little to support her large family.
Nevertheless, she had managed to save two hundred dollars to buy her
children Christmas presents.
The young boy had been dropped off on the way to her second job. He was
to use the money to buy presents for all his siblings and save just
enough to take the bus home. He had not even entered the mall, when an
older boy grabbed one of the hundred dollar bills and disappeared into
the night. "Why didn't you scream for help?" I asked. The boy said,"I
did." "And nobody came to help you?" I wondered. The boy stared at the
sidewalk and sadly shook his head. "How loud did you scream?" I
inquired. The soft-spoken boy looked up and meekly whispered, "Help
me!" I suddenly realized that absolutely no one could have heard that
poor boy cry for help.
So I grabbed his other hundred dollar bill and ran to my car.