A Good Act

A few years back, I was in a car with my family and a family that's really close to ours, and we stopped at a light (Because it was red.) Out of the blue (Or possibly the sidewalk) this man approaches. He was dressed in rags, it was the middle of summer, and yet he wore a jacket, probably because for him, it was cold. He extended his hand towards us in a begging matter and, without remorse, the driver closed the window, pointing out that those people got there because they made the wrong choices. That made an impact on me, but not the way you would expect.

A few days ago, on Monday, to be exact, my mum read us, my sister and I, a story in our weekly family home evening. It talked about hunger, and here's my own written version of it:

'A man walked around the car and opened the door to his loved wife. They wore what seemed and where expensive clothing and carried, as well, expensive jewelry. They had just arrived at the restaurant, and were about to enter when they spotted a man. Well dressed, but in old clothes, he was sitting on a chair at the corner, staring off into the distance. He seemed hungry, but his story was much more than that: He had just been fired from work. The husband, spotting the man, took his wife's hand and, pulling her towards the restaurant, wanted to leave the man behind as soon as possible, but his wife wasn't so cold at heart. Stepping forward, she gave the man some money and, with his gratitude, she finally followed her husband.

The man, with a bit of money in hand, decided to go eat, since he was starving. He entered a small cafeteria down the street and was about to buy a huge meal when he stopped, thinking that he should save a bit for subsequent days. So, he got himself a pretty good meal, good enough to safe some money, but also good enough to ease his hunger. After eating, he walked out, happy, and that's when he spotted a man. Old, trembling and obviously hungry, this old man walked past the unemployed one without a glimpse, and only spotted him when he turned. The unemployed man had touched ever so softly the old man's arm, and talking to him, took him into the cafeteria and bought the old man a meal.

Once the old man finished, the unemployed one noticed that good old man had saved a piece of bread. Inquiring on why he didn't eat it, the old man answered that he knew a homeless boy, and he was taking the food to him. The unemployed man decided to accompany the old man and, together, went to the park nearby, where the kid was at. The old man called for the kid and, sitting on a bench, watched as the kid ate the bread with vigor. To the adults' surprise, he saved half of it. They asked why, of course, and he answered: For the dog I found!

The three of them walked along, and arrived at the place the boy had put the missing dog into. They fed the dog and, as the unemployed man kneed down to pet the dog, he noticed the necklace. It read a number and a direction, and so, taking the dog off the boy's hands, the unemployed man set off to deliver the dog to the proper owners. Arriving there, he knocked on the door and, a few seconds later, a man opened. this man spotted the dog quickly and, surprised to see the unemployed man, asked the following:

"You brought him because of the reward, didn't you?" The dog's owner asked, thinking the unemployed man had stolen away the dog so that he could get money out of it.

"No, sir. I simply wanted to deliver the dog to his proper home." The unemployed man said, turning, and began to walk away.

"Wait!" The dog's owner said. "Do you need a job?" He asked, surprised and stunned at the unemployed man's honor.'

I think the story explains itself, so I'll leave you all with just one line: A good act will surely lead to another.

My regards,

Ell J. Converse