warning! warmy and fuzzy, off topic

[Guest guest]

I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to hold you up, " he said as he

struggled to get off the escalator.

I'll admit to it. There have been times when walking or driving behind an older

person, I've gotten impatient and upset. I've huffed and zoomed around them

because I was in a hurry to get nowhere. Perhaps I'm more aware of it now

because I see myself there one day soon. Today I saw myself in this old man's

shoes and it caused me to slow down, stop, and ask for his forgiveness.

He was about five or six people ahead of me. I was in a hurry and saw him as an

obstacle. I've seen people get off the end of an escalator and stop dead in

their tracks, gather their things and suddenly there's a pile up of angry people

behind them. You can't stop an escalator full of people behind you. Like the

Energizer bunny, they keep on goin'.

This man was well aware of the challenge. He tried desperately to step aside.

Fumbling with his small packages, struggling to gain his footing, you could see

how troubling this was for him. " I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to

hold you up, " he said as he struggled to get off the escalator.

I suddenly saw this in a whole new light. It was like I was watching my future.

I felt sorry for him. I felt sick to my stomach because this man was apologizing

to everyone, when we should have been helping him and calming his fears.

One by one, people zipped around him. I heard a few angry comments whispered as

one lady passed by him.

I saw me.

By the time I got to him he was just about steady on his feet.

" Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was more, " he said.

" No, sir. No more with me, " I said. This really hit me hard. I realized right

then how sad it was that the world was in such a hurry. That, of course,

included me. But...no more with me. Count me out.

This wonderful man paid his dues. For whatever time he had spent on this earth,

he most likely walked many rough roads and too many important miles. Now he

should be apologizing for moving slower?

My heart ached as I looked into his eyes. I wished that I could see what he had

seen all those years. His face weathered from life itself, was creased and

wrinkled. The small soft pockets under his eyes and the gentle lines that curved

up and around them told me he had many happy moments, too. Those were traces

left behind from laughter and a smiling, happy man.

" My friend, can I help you with those things? " I asked.

Hesitant at first, he finally said, " Well, yes, thank you! "

I placed my hand under his left arm and walked with him a safe distance away

from the rush of people.

" So what are you shopping for, sir? "

" Oh, just a little something for my neighbor. She's a young motherraising kids

on her own. She's always so nice to me. I thought a box of candy for Mother's

Day... " he said, stopping suddenly as he searched the inside pocket of his

sport coat.

" Do you need something? " I asked.

" Oh, no. Here. I think I have it right here. I always carry them with me, " he

said. Then pulling out a hand full of papers he shuffled through them and handed

me a business card that read:

" A. Pomicter. Friend to all...enemy to no one! I said a prayer today and

you were the answer. Thank you! "

" That's for you, " he said. " Thanks for stopping to help an old man. "

" My friend, you helped ME! I discovered that I was unhappy with the world and I

was part of the problem. Now I'll be part of the solution. No more with me! "

" Then this was meant to be, " he said smiling. " You know God sends me

gifts every day and always at least one special person. You were my gift for

today! Let's go get some chocolates, my friend. "

today's THOUGHT============================

The pessimist may be right in the long run, but the optimist has a

better time during the trip.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for sharing this! It brought tears to my eyes. It is true that some

people are so rushed and stressed that they lose sight of basic human

kindness and think only of themselves.

Let's not be like that!

Carol E from NY

From: rheumatic [mailto:rheumatic ] On Behalf

Of leonie cent

Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 7:56 PM

rheumatic

Subject: rheumatic warning! warmy and fuzzy, off topic

I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to hold you up, " he said as he

struggled to get off the escalator.

I'll admit to it. There have been times when walking or driving behind an

older person, I've gotten impatient and upset. I've huffed and zoomed around

them because I was in a hurry to get nowhere. Perhaps I'm more aware of it

now because I see myself there one day soon. Today I saw myself in this old

man's shoes and it caused me to slow down, stop, and ask for his

forgiveness.

He was about five or six people ahead of me. I was in a hurry and saw him as

an obstacle. I've seen people get off the end of an escalator and stop dead

in their tracks, gather their things and suddenly there's a pile up of angry

people behind them. You can't stop an escalator full of people behind you.

Like the Energizer bunny, they keep on goin'.

This man was well aware of the challenge. He tried desperately to step

aside. Fumbling with his small packages, struggling to gain his footing, you

could see how troubling this was for him. " I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I

don't mean to hold you up, " he said as he struggled to get off the

escalator.

I suddenly saw this in a whole new light. It was like I was watching my

future. I felt sorry for him. I felt sick to my stomach because this man was

apologizing to everyone, when we should have been helping him and calming

his fears.

One by one, people zipped around him. I heard a few angry comments whispered

as one lady passed by him.

I saw me.

By the time I got to him he was just about steady on his feet.

" Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was more, " he said.

" No, sir. No more with me, " I said. This really hit me hard. I realized

right then how sad it was that the world was in such a hurry. That, of

course, included me. But...no more with me. Count me out.

This wonderful man paid his dues. For whatever time he had spent on this

earth, he most likely walked many rough roads and too many important miles.

Now he should be apologizing for moving slower?

My heart ached as I looked into his eyes. I wished that I could see what he

had seen all those years. His face weathered from life itself, was creased

and wrinkled. The small soft pockets under his eyes and the gentle lines

that curved up and around them told me he had many happy moments, too. Those

were traces left behind from laughter and a smiling, happy man.

" My friend, can I help you with those things? " I asked.

Hesitant at first, he finally said, " Well, yes, thank you! "

I placed my hand under his left arm and walked with him a safe distance away

from the rush of people.

" So what are you shopping for, sir? "

" Oh, just a little something for my neighbor. She's a young motherraising

kids on her own. She's always so nice to me. I thought a box of candy for

Mother's Day... " he said, stopping suddenly as he searched the inside pocket

of his sport coat.

" Do you need something? " I asked.

" Oh, no. Here. I think I have it right here. I always carry them with me, "

he said. Then pulling out a hand full of papers he shuffled through them and

handed me a business card that read:

" A. Pomicter. Friend to all...enemy to no one! I said a prayer today

and you were the answer. Thank you! "

" That's for you, " he said. " Thanks for stopping to help an old man. "

" My friend, you helped ME! I discovered that I was unhappy with the world

and I was part of the problem. Now I'll be part of the solution. No more

with me! "

" Then this was meant to be, " he said smiling. " You know God sends me

gifts every day and always at least one special person. You were my gift for

today! Let's go get some chocolates, my friend. "

today's THOUGHT============================

The pessimist may be right in the long run, but the optimist has a

better time during the trip.