Thanks, Kid
22 December 2004 7:37 pm
The boy doesn't know it, but I owe him one.
2 or 3 weeks ago, I think the same night we attended a Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's place, K and I saw Saw at the cinema earlier in the afternoon. (Sick, sick movie.) After that we did a bit of grocery shopping. While I was waiting outside the supermarket for K to be done at the cashier, a Boys' Brigade cadet came up to me and asked, with a lump in his throat and a stammering voice, if I would like to donate food items for the Christmas Charity Box. The food collected will be delivered to the homes of needy families. I asked him, and nicely too, about the locations of the collection points. The poor boy sweated buckets searching the contents of the flyer he was giving out for the answer. I gently (yes I can be gentle if I want to) took the flyer from him and read it myself. I could read it perfectly, and had I known he didn't have the information I wanted at the back of his hand I would have spared him the terror of an unintentional interrogation. I thanked him for telling me about the Boys' Brigade charity drive all the same and he scurried away in relief.
Sometimes even when I'm not trying to scare, I do, it seems. The kid needs more exposure in public speaking. It'll be good for his self-confidence.
Anyhow the boy made an impact on me. I appreciated the fact that he mustered what little courage he had to approach a stranger in a crowded shopping mall, knowing his effort could well be received with dismissive gestures of disinterest and curt "no"s. I made a mental note to myself to remember to make a contribution.
This afternoon I delivered my humble offering of groceries at the Charity Box in town, 4 hours before the deadline. Better late than never. I feel great about it. Not because I made a big contribution (it was nothing), but because I followed through on a good intention, and because I didn't let the herculean effort of a nervous kid come to nothing.
Thanks, kid. God bless you.
Older entries
Ramadan - 08 October 2006
Where I Have Been - 03 October 2006
Baby Talk - 10 August 2006
6 Weeks of Separation - 16 July 2006
Unacceptable Rudeness - 21 June 2006