One day a man saw an 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 and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he
approached her. Even with the smile on his face, she looked 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 and hungry. He could see that
she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It
was that chill which only fear can put in you. He said, 'I'm here to help you,
ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm?
By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.' Well, all she had was a flat tire but,
for an old lady, that was bad enough.
Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his
knuckles a time or two.. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get
dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down
the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis
and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to
her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him.
Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the
awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never
thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping
someone in need and, God knows, there were plenty, who had given him a hand in
the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and 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 they needed
and, Bryan added, 'And think of me.' He waited until she started her car and
drove off. It had been a cold and 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 get a bite
to eat and 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 unfamiliar to her.
The waitress came over and 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 the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she
never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how
someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered
Bryan. After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar
bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill but
the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the
waitress came back.
The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something was
written on the napkin. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady
wrote: 'You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once
helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here
is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.'
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills. Well, there were tables to clear,
sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through
another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she
was thinking about the money and what the lady had written.
How could the lady have known how much she and her
husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard....
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she
gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, 'Everything's going to be all
right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.'
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