The Old Man



The Old Man




The old man sat on apartment steps, watching the newsboys go about their daily business, just like he did every day.

Every morning, his daughter brought him out here and sat him down in the same spot on the weather-beaten wooden steps that lead up to their brick apartment. “Here you go, Father,” she would say, “a nice sunny place to watch what’s goin’ on.” He didn’t say anything; he never did. He hadn’t said a word for years. He didn’t know why. No one did. He just didn’t have anything to say, so he kept his mouth shut. Besides, his mind had a tendency to wander lately, and he sometimes found it hard to remember what day it was, or month, or, sometimes, what year it was.

So he just sat on his step, the surface rough through the thin fabric of his trousers, and watched the newsies. The late spring sunlight felt good on his worn face and age-spotted hands, and it radiated comfortingly through his shirt. It reminded him of happier times when he could run about like the boys were right now. He remembered what it felt like to stretch his legs, to shout and laugh and have fun. Those days were gone, though, and he was nothing but a tired old man.

“Extry, extry!” a newsie hollered out. “Arsonists set fire to house! Entire family killed!”

He doesn’t care, the old man realized as several customers approached the boy. He doesn’t care about those people at all. He doesn’t care about that poor family, or their grieving relatives and friends. All he wants to do is make some money.

This saddened the old man, as he now clearly saw the truth. He did not see any regret on the face of the newsie; the boy was grinning from ear to ear with his success. He pocketed the hefty amount of change he had made, and began yelling out the headline again, along with others, equally violent. It saddened the old man, and frightened him.

Can’t you see? He thought desperately at the newsie, at the people around him. Can’t you see what’s happening? Daily the violence grows. The murders, the wars, the fires, fights, and brawls, and no one cares! All everyone wants now is money. Greed is everywhere, and people are putting their wealth above other human beings. Doesn’t anyone care? Oh, why can’t they see?

Quietly, the old man began to weep.


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