forwarded message from Moje Ramos-Aquino

"Robert J. Brown" (rj@eli.elilabs.com)
Thu, 5 Aug 1999 23:50:50 -0500
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From: Moje Ramos-Aquino <moje@skyinet.net>
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Date: Fri, 06 Aug 1999 12:36:43 +0800

many thanks goes back to my friend, ma. teresa liwanag,
for this inspiring story.

EVERYTHING COMES BACK TO YOU..... good or bad!
> >
> >
The Lonely Road
> >>
A man 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 factory closed, he'd been 
unemployed, and 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 and dreams to 
fulfill. But he stayed on.  After all, this was where he 
buried his mother and father.  He was born here and he 
knew the country. He could go down this road blind, and 
tell you what was on either side, and with his headlights 
not working, which came in handy.
> >>
It was starting to get dark and 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.

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 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 
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.  
> >>
"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."
> >>
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.
> >>
She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would 
have been all right with her. She had already imagined all 
the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.
> >>
Bryan never thought twice about the money. 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 that 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 grab 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 cash register was like the telephone of an out of 
work actor-it didn't ring much.
> >>
Her 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 that 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, and the waitress went to get 
change for her 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 the napkin under which was 4 $100 bills.  There were 
tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote.  It said: 
"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."
> >>
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 gonna be all right; I love you, Bryan."


---
Moje Ramos-Aquino
<Moje@SkyInet.net>
---
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