Christmas Spirit
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 that I was missing a receipt that I might need later. So mumbling
under my breath, I retraced my steps to the shopping center 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 just wearing a ragged flannel
shirt to protect him from the cold night's chill. Oddly enough, he was
holding a hundred $100 bill in his hand. Thinking that he 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 four
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 skimp and save
two $100 bill to buy her children Christmas presents. The young boy had
been dropped off, by his mother, 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 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 realized then that absolutely no one could have heard that
poor boy cry for help.
So I grabbed his other hundred and ran to my car.
Rick Eidson
http://www.1sourceentertainment.com/ <http://www.1sourceentertainment.com/>
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