He was seventy five years old or so, dressed in well worn clothes.
His face was pale and gaunt, with sweat trickling down his wrinkled brow. He was
struggling to walk down the side of a busy thoroughfare, while pushing an old,
rusted moped alongside of him.
A tattered sack was tied with rope to the back of the bike seat. He had
obviously just come from the grocery store and was bringing his food home.
My wife and I had just come from the used car dealership, trying to get them to
take our two old vehicles as a trade-in on a "newer" used car. After an hour or
more of haggling with the dealer, we were leaving empty handed.
Our old vehicles had no trade-in value and we didn't have enough money to get
another car without the trade-in.
We were driving home in silence when we saw the strange looking old man. We
suddenly realized that we really didn't have it so bad after all. At least we
had each other and our cars didn't really seem so bad compared to the old man's
dilapidated bike.
We thought it strange that an elderly man (dressed for cooler weather, although
it was summer) was out in the hot sun, pushing this old motorized scooter beside
him. We were concerned that the man might have a heart attack and equally
annoyed that so many people had passed him by without offering to help.
We quickly pulled to the side of the road and I got out. I ran up to the old
gentleman, who seemed more afraid than grateful at my offer to help. After
looking back and seeing my wife in the truck, he realized we were safe.
With a little effort, I was able to retrieve the bike and help him into my old
pickup truck. It turns out the man lived over three miles away, most of it
uphill.
Although he was confused and tired, he was able to give us directions to where
he lived. After awhile, a smile formed on his lips, and he finally began to get
comfortable sitting between us.
Eventually we found the house, located on a dead end street at the end of the
block. The house was in a terrible state of disrepair, with overgrown trees and
bushes practically covering the house. I took out his moped and brought it up to
the front of the old garage that was adjacent to the house.
We helped the old gentleman out of the truck and he turned and looked at both of
us. He awkwardly mumbled something to the effect that he appreciated our help
and he attempted to push several crumpled bills into my hand.
"You owe us nothing" we said, "Just take care of yourself and be safe."
We returned home to a message on the answering machine from the used car dealer.
He had second thoughts and decided to take both of our old vehicles in on trade
and to give us two "relatively new" vehicles with a substantial discount for
purchasing both at once. He took care of all the financing and several days
later presented us the keys and titles to the two vehicles that were practically
new compared to what we were driving.
We truly believe that our act of kindness set in motion the supernatural energy
that caused the car dealer to have a change of heart.
We continue, as we always have, to do good deeds whenever we can. We truly
believe that acts of kindness are rewarded with good blessings. My wife and I
are firm believers that unselfish acts create other acts of kindness.
If all of us did just one good deed a day, can you imagine how much better this
world would be?
Frank P. Cotter
fcotter@andromeda.rutgers.edu
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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