by: Author Unknown, Source Unknown
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 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 had 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 that
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 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 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.
She wondered where the lady could be, then she noticed something
written on the napkin under which was 4 $100 bills. There were
tearsin her eyes when she read what the lady wrote.
It said "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."
this story teach us that, if we do good to other people, we will get in return if we need help.
