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What Goes Around Comes Around |
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One day a man saw an 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 old 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 here 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 Anderson. 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. The
lady asked 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
being paid. 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 |
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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 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, she paid with a hundred dollar
bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for
her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had
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. 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.'
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
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 going to be all right. I love you,
Bryan Anderson.' |
