The Gas Station
The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn't
been
anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. He had no decorations,
no
tree, no lights. It was just another day to him. He didn't hate
Christmas,> just couldn't find a reason to celebrate. There were no children in his
life. His wife had gone.
He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the
last
hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a
homeless
man stepped through.
Instead of throwing the man out, George, Old George as he was known by his
customers, told the man to come and sit by the space heater and warm up.
"Thank you, but I don't mean to intrude," said the stranger. "I see
you're
busy. I'll just go"
"Not without something hot in your belly," George turned and opened a wide
mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. "It ain't much, but it's hot
and tasty. Stew. Made it myself. When you're done there's coffee and
it's
fresh."
Just at that moment he heard the "ding" of the driveway bell. "Excuse me
be
right back," George said.
There, in the driveway, was an old 53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the
front. The driver was panicked. "Mister can you help me!" said the
driver,
with a deep Spanish accent. "My wife is with child and my car is broken."
George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the
cold; the car was dead. "You ain't going in this thing," George said, as
he
turned away.
"But, mister. Please help ." The door of the office closed behind George
as he went in. George went to the office wall and got the keys to his old
truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building and opened
the
garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was
waiting.
"Here, take my truck," he said. "She ain't the best thing you ever looked
at, but she runs real good." George helped put the woman in the truck and
watched as it sped off into the night. George turned and walked back
inside
the office.
"Glad I gave 'em the truck. Their tires were shot, too. That 'ol truck
has
brand new ." George thought he was talking to the stranger. But, the
man
had gone. The thermos was on the desk, empty with a used coffee cup
beside
it.
"Well, at least he got something in his belly," George thought. George
went
back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but
it
started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He
thought
he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no
customers. He discovered the block hadn't cracked, it was just the bottom
hose on the radiator.
"Well, shoot, I can fix this," he said to himself. So, he put a new one
on.
"Those tires ain't gonna get 'em through the winter either." He took the
snow treads off of his wife's old Lincoln. They were like new and he
wasn't
going to drive the car.
As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and, beside
a
police car, an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left
shoulder, the officer moaned, "Help me." George helped the officer inside
as
he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He
knew
the wound needed attention.
"Pressure to stop the bleeding," he thought. The uniform company had been
there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct
tape to bind the wound.
"Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin'," he said, trying to make the
policeman feel at ease. "Something for pain," George thought. All he had
was the pills he used for his back. "These ought to work." He put some
water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills.
"You hang in there. I'm going to get you an ambulance." The phone was
dead.
"Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your
car."
He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard
destroying the two way radio. He went back in to find the policeman
sitting
up. "Thanks," said the officer. "You could have left me there. The guy
that shot me is still in the area."
George sat down beside him. "I would never leave an injured man in the
Army
and I ain't gonna leave you." George pulled back the bandage to check for
bleeding. "Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through 'ya.
Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think, with time,
you're
gonna be right as rain." George got up and poured a cup of coffee. "How
do
you take it?" he asked.
"None for me," said the officer.
"Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain't got no
donuts."
The officer laughed and winced at the same time. The front door of the
office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun. "Give me all your
cash!
Do it, now!" the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George could
tell that he had never done anything like this before.
"That's the guy that shot me!" exclaimed the officer.
"Son, why are you doing this?" asked George. "You need to put the cannon
away. Somebody else might get hurt."
The young man was confused. "Shut up old man, or I'll shoot you, too.
Now,
give me the cash!"
The cop was reaching for his gun. "Put that thing away," George said to
the
cop. "We got one too many in here now." He turned his attention to the
young man. "Son, it's Christmas Eve. If you need the money, well then,
here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now, put that pee shooter away."
George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man,
reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time.
The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to
cry. "I'm not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something
for my wife and son," he went on. "I've lost my job. My rent is due. My
car got repossessed last week "
George handed the gun to the cop. "Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze
now
and then. The road gets hard sometimes. But, we make it through the best
we can."
He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair, across from
the cop. "Sometimes, we do stupid things." George handed the young man a
cup of coffee. "Being stupid is one of the things that makes us human.
Comin' in here with a gun ain't the answer. Now, sit there and get warm
and
we'll sort this thing out."
The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. "Sorry I
shot
you. It just went off. I'm sorry officer."
"Shut up and drink your coffee," the cop said.
George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an
ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn.
"Chuck! You ok?" one of the cops asked the wounded officer.
"Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?"
"GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?"
the
other cop asked as he approached the young man. Chuck answered him, "I
don't
know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran."
George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other. "That guy
work
here?," the wounded cop continued.
"Yep," George said. "Just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job."
The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man
leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, "Why?" Chuck just said, "Merry
Christmas boy . and you, too, George, and thanks for everything."
"Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve
some of your problems." George went into the back room and came out with
a
box. He pulled out a ring box. "Here you go. Something for the little
woman. I don't think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy
some day."
The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw.
"I
can't take this," said the young man. "It means something to you."
"And now it means something to you," replied George. "I got my memories.
That's all I need." George reached into the box again. An airplane, a
car,
and a truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left
for
him to sell. "Here's something for that little man of yours."
The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old
man
had handed him earlier. "And what are you supposed to buy Christmas
dinner
with? You keep that, too," George said. "Now, git home to your family."
The young man turned, with tears streaming down his face. "I'll be here
in
the morning for work, if that job offer is still good."
"Nope. I'm closed Christmas day," George said. "See ya the day after."
George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. "Where'd you
come from? I thought you left?"
"I have been here. I have always been here," said the stranger. "You say
you don't celebrate Christmas. Why?"
"Well, after my wife passed away I just couldn't see what all the bother
was. Puttin' up a tree, and all, seemed a waste of a good pine tree.
Bakin'
cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn't the same by myself and
besides I was getting a little chubby."
The stranger put his hand on George's shoulder, "But, you do celebrate the
holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold
and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a
great
doctor. The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being
killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will make you a
rich man and not take any for himself. That is the spirit of the season
and
you keep it as good as any man."
George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. "And how do you know
all this?" asked the old man.
"Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And,
when your days are done, you will be with Martha again." The stranger
moved
toward the door.
"If you will excuse me, George, I have to go, now. I have to go home,
where
there is a big celebration planned."
George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the
stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to
fill
the room. "You see, George ... it's my birthday. Merry Christmas."
George fell to his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord."
~author unknown~
Jesus is the Reason for the Season
Christmas Index
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