Hello, Steve, another good one. I hope I can be more like david.
Thanks for sharing.
Original message:
Thanks For The Ride
It was mid-winter at the height of the Great Depression, and George and
David were making their way across the country, looking for work! Any
work, anything that would provide them with a few dollars to send home
to their struggling, starving families.
They did a lot of walking! A lot. It wasn't a very efficient way to get
from one place to another, but they didn't have a lot of options. They
walked and lived off the land (you'd be surprised the things you're
willing to eat when you're hungry enough) and the kindness of
strangers. Occasionally they hitched a ride with a kindly trucker
driver. And once, they met a sympathetic train conductor, who agreed
to, you know, look the other way when they slipped into an open cattle car.
"It won't be much for comfort," the conductor told them, "But it will
get you where you want to go faster than walking will."
Saying that the cattle car wasn't much for comfort was a little like
saying the stock market crash of 1929 didn't do much for the economy.
For one thing, it was a cattle car, which meant cattle, you know,
residue, and plenty of it. You couldn't step anywhere in the car
without stepping on, or in, something disgusting. Plus there was a ton
of hay, which blew around the car like little wind-driven spears as the
train picked up steam. And then, there was the fact that it was an open
car, with icy wind, blasting them from every side. Smoke and burning
cinders from the engine also blew directly into the car, making them
cough and gag. Some cinders even started a fire in the hay, which might
have been disastrous for the train had George and David not been back
there to stamp it out.
Uncomfortable? Make that "hellish." But the conductor was also right
about the speed of the train, which carried them several hundred miles
across difficult terrain.
In a matter of hours, they arrived in a large city where they were sure
they could find jobs, a journey that would have required weeks to
complete on foot.
When the train finally came to a stop, the conductor hurried back to
check on his charges. "I can't believe you made us stay back there!"
George said as he mopped his cinder-pocked face with his handkerchief.
"There had to be a better place for us on the train."
The conductor started to explain how it would have been impossible to
have them ride anyplace else without paying, but George held up a hand
to stop him. "I don't want to hear it," he said. "Thanks for nothing."
As George stormed off, David looked at the anguish on the conductor's
face. He tapped him on the shoulder, shook his hand and smiled. "Never
mind him," David said. "You've given us a great gift. We have a lot
more time now to earn money for our families. Thanks for the ride."
Life takes us on lots of different journeys during our time on this
planet. Some are slick, smooth, fast, and comfortable. Others are bumpy
and rough, with blowing hay and burning cinders, blasting us in the
face, and cow residue underfoot. Sometimes the journey is rough because
of our own poor choices. Sometimes our journey is adversely impacted by
the poor choices of others. And sometimes the journey is hard because,
well, sometimes journeys are hard. Earthquakes happen. Hurricanes
happen. Cancer happens. Life happens.
As I watch people travel life's journeys, both easy and hard, it occurs
to me that it isn't so important what happens to us, since we'll all
get our share of both kinds of journeys. What's important, and what
truly seems to make a difference in our lives, is how we respond to
what happens to us. Are we like George, shaking a fist at the heavens
and complaining about how hard and painful life can be? Or are we like
David, brushing off the cinders, shaking out the hay and thanking God
for the privilege of a ride?
It's an attitude, but it's more than just an attitude. It's an approach
to living that embraces life - fully and completely, residue and all.
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