Music is "Mandolin Rain", originally sung by Bruce Hornsby
".....and think of me."
 
He was driving home one evening, on a two-lane country road.  Work, in this small mid-western community, was almost  as    slow    as   his  beat-up Pontiac.  But he never quit looking.  Ever since the Lewis factory closed, he'd been  unemployed, & with winter raging on, the   chill  had  finally  hit  home.
 
It was a lonely road.  Not very many people had a  reason  to be on it, unless they were leaving.  Most of his friends had already left.  They had families to feed  &  dreams  to fulfill.  But he  stayed on.  After all, this was where he buried his  mother  &  father.  He was  born  here & knew the country.
 
He could go down  this road  blind, &  tell  you what  was on either side, & with his headlights not working, that came in handy.  It was starting to   get  dark  &  light   snow    flurries  were  coming down.  He'd better get a move on.
 
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 & 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 & hungry.  He could see that she   was frightened, standing   out  there in the cold.  He knew  how she felt.  It was that chill, that only  fear can  put in you.  He said, "I'm here to help  you  m'am.  Why don't you  wait in the car where it's warm.  By the way, my name is Joe."
 
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that  was  bad enough.  Joe crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skining his knuckles   a  time or two.  Soon he was able to change  the  tire.  But  he had to get dirty & his hands  hurt.  As  he  was tightening  up the lug nuts, she rolled  down her window & began to talk to him.  She told him that she was from   St. Louis   &   was   only just  passing through.  She couldn't thank  him enough  for coming  to her aid.  Joe just smiled as he closed her trunk.
 
She asked him how much she owed him.  Any amount  would have been alright with her.  She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.  Joe never thought  twice about the money.  This was not a job to him.  This was helping someone in need, & God knows there were plenty who had given  him a hand in the past.  He had lived his whole life that way, & 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, &  Joe   added "....and think of me."
 
He waited until she started her car & drove off.  It had been a cold & 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, & 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     unfamilar    to her.  The cash register was like the telephone of an out of work actor, it didn't ring much.
 
Her waitress came over & 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 & aches change her attitude.  The  lady   wondered  how someone who had  so  little could  be so giving to a stranger.  Then she remembered Joe.
 
After  the lady finsihed her meal, &  the waitress  went  to get  her change from a 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 a napkin.  There were tears in her eyes, when she read what the lady  wrote.  It said, "You don't owe me a thing, I've  been there too.  Someone once helped me out, the way I'm helping you.  If you really want to pay  me back, here's what you do.  Don't let the chain of love end with you."
 
Well, there  were  tables  to clear,  sugar bowls  to  fill, & people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day.  That night when she got home from work  &  climbed into bed, she was  thinking  about  the  money  &  what the lady had written.  How could she have known how much she & her  husband needed  it?  With  the baby due  next  month, it was going to be hard.  She knew  how  worried her husband   was, & as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss &  whispered   soft  &  low, "Everything's gonna be alright, I love you Joe."
 
Pass it on....
Return to
Story Index