What
goes Around comes Around
One
day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even
in dim light of day,
he
could see she needed helped. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes
and got out. His Pomtiac 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 fear only 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. Brian crawled under the car looking for a place to put 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 with 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 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 bit 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 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, 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 somethimg
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 right. I love you, Bryan Anderson."
