TODD VESELY <twvesely@mymail.net>: Chain of Love

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-VERY LOOOOONG

 "Chain Of Love"
    
 He was driving 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 Levis 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 a 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 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
ma'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 she 
was from St. 
Louis
and was only passing through.  She couldn't thank him enough 
for coming to 
her
aid.  Joe just smiled and  closed her 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.  She 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 wrote.  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 she 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 alright, I 
love
you Joe."  
  
  
<<WOW>>

Coach



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