The Good Deed
He was drivng home one evening,
on a two-lane
country
road.
Work in this small mid-western community was almost
as slow as his beat-up Pontiac.
But he never quit looking. Ever since the Levi's
factory closed, he'd been unemployed,
and with winter raging on, the chill had finally hit
home.
It was a lonely road. Not very many people had
reason
to be on it, unless they were leaving.
Most of his friends had already left.
They had families to feed and dreams to fulfill.
But he stayed on.
After all, this was where he buried his mother and
father.
He was born here and knew the country.
He could go down this road blind
and tell you what was on either side,
and with his headlights not working, that came in
handy.
It was starting to get dark and light snow
flurries
were coming down.
He'd better get a move on.
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 her 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 that chill that only fear can put in you.
He said, "I'm here to help you m'am. Why don't you
wait
in the car where it's warm.
By the way, my name is Joe."
Well, all she had was a flat tire,
but for an old lady, that was bad enough.
Joe 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 hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts,
she rolled down her window and began to talk to him.
She told him that she was from St. Louis
and was only passing through.
She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her
aid.
Joe just smiled as he closed the trunk.
She asked him how much she owed him.
Any amount would have been alright with her.
She had already imagined all the awful things
that could have happened had he not stopped.
Joe 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 Joe 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 was like the telephone
of an out-of-work actor, it didn't ring much.
Her 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 for the whole 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 Joe.
After the lady finished her meal
and the waitress went to get her change from
a hundred dollar bill, the lady slipped right 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 a napkin.
There were tears in her eyes when she read what the
lady had written.
It said, "You don't owe me a thing, I've been there
too.
Someone once helped me out, the way I'm helping you.
If you really want to pay me back, here's what you
do.
Don't let the chain of love end with 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 got home from work
and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the
money
and what the lady had written. How could that woman
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 going to be
alright,
I love you, Joe."
E-mail Eve