What Goes Around Comes Around (Story #2)
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
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 which only fear
can put in you.
He said, "I'm here to help you ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where
it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan."
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough.
Bryan 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 the window and began to talk to him. She told him that
she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank
him enough for coming to her aid. Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk.
She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right
with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened
had he not stopped.
Bryan 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 they
needed, and Bryan 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 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 Bryan.
After the lady finished her meal, and the waitress went to get change for
her 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 the napkin under
which was four $100 bills.
There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: "You don't
owe me anything, I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the
way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you
do:
Do not let this 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 the lady 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 gonna
be all right; I love you, Bryan."
There is an old saying "What goes around comes around".
Today, I send you this story, and I'm asking you to pass it on... Let this
light shine. Don't put it under a basket.
"Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will
bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country."
Happy friendship week.
Your Friend,
Nelson