Old Jack
One day a
woman was walking down the
street when she spied a
beggar sitting in the
corner. The man was elderly,
unshaven, and ragged. As he
sat there, pedestrians
walked by him giving him
dirty looks. They clearly
wanted nothing to do with
him because of who he was --
a dirty, homeless man. But
when she saw him, the woman
was moved to compassion.
It was very cold that day
and the man had his tattered
coat -- more like an old
suit coat rather than a warm
coat -- wrapped around him.
She stopped and looked down.
"Sir?" she asked. "Are you
all right?"
The man slowly looked up.
This was a woman clearly
accustomed to the finer
things of life. Her coat was
new. She looked like she had
never missed a meal in her
life. His first thought was
that she wanted to make fun
of him, like so many others
had done before. "Leave me
alone," he growled.
To his amazement, the woman
continued standing. She was
smiling --her even white
teeth displayed in dazzling
rows. "Are you hungry?" she
asked.
"No," he answered
sarcastically. "I've just
come from dining with the
president. Now go away."
The woman's smile became
even broader. Suddenly the
man felt a gentle hand under
his arm. "What are you
doing, lady?" the man asked
angrily. "I said to leave me
alone."
Just then a policeman came
up. "Is there any problem,
ma'am?" he asked.
"No problem here, officer,"
the woman answered. "I'm
just trying to get this man
to his feet. Will you help
me?"
The officer scratched his
head. "That's old Jack. He's
been a fixture around here
for a couple of years. What
do you want with him?" "See
that cafeteria over there?"
she asked. "I'm going to get
him something to eat and get
him out of the cold for
awhile."
"Are you crazy, lady?" the
homeless man resisted. "I
don't want to go in there!"
Then he felt strong hands
grab his other arm and lift
him up. "Let me go, officer.
I didn't do anything." "This
is a good deal for you,
Jack," the officer answered.
"Don't blow it."
Finally, and with some
difficulty, the woman and
the police officer got Jack
into the cafeteria and sat
him at a table in a remote
corner. It was the middle of
the morning, so most of the
breakfast crowd had already
left and the lunch bunch had
not yet arrived. The manager
strode across the cafeteria
and stood by the table.
"What's going on here,
officer?" he asked. "What is
all this. Is this man in
trouble?"
"This lady brought this man
in here to be fed," the
policeman answered.
"Not in here!" the manager
replied angrily. "Having a
person like that here is bad
for business."
Old Jack smiled a toothless
grin. "See, lady. I told you
so. Now if you'll let me go.
I didn't want to come here
in the first place." The
woman turned to the
cafeteria manager and
smiled. "Sir, are you
familiar with Eddy and
Associates, the banking firm
down the street?"
"Of course I am," the
manager answered
impatiently. "They hold
their weekly meetings in one
of my banquet rooms."
"And do you make a goodly
amount of money providing
food at these weekly
meetings?"
"What business is that of
yours?"
"I, sir, am Penelope Eddy,
president and CEO of the
company."
"Oh."
The woman smiled again. "I
thought that might make a
difference." She glanced at
the cop who was busy
stifling a giggle. "Would
you like to join us in a cup
of coffee and a meal,
officer?"
"No thanks, ma'am," the
officer replied. "I'm on
duty."
"Then, perhaps, a cup of
coffee to go?"
"Yes, ma'am. That would be
very nice."
The cafeteria manager turned
on his heel. "I'll get your
coffee for you right away,
officer."
The officer watched him walk
away. "You certainly put him
in his place," he said.
"That was not my intent.
Believe it or not, I have a
reason for all this."
She sat down at the table
across from her amazed
dinner guest. She stared at
him intently. "Jack, do you
remember me?"
Old Jack searched her face
with his old, rheumy eyes "I
think so -- I mean you do
look familiar."
"I'm a little older
perhaps," she said. "Maybe
I've even filled out more
than in my younger days when
you worked here, and I came
through that very door, cold
and hungry."
"Ma'am?" the officer said
questioningly. He couldn't
believe that such a
magnificently turned out
woman could ever have been
hungry.
"I was just out of college,"
the woman began. "I had come
to the city looking for a
job, but I couldn't find
anything. Finally I was down
to my last few cents and had
been kicked out of my
apartment. I
walked the streets
for days. It was February
and I was cold and nearly
starving. I saw this place
and walked in on the off
chance that I could get
something to eat."
Jack lit up with a smile.
"Now I remember," he said.
"I was behind the serving
counter. You came up and
asked me if you could work
for something to eat. I said
that it was against company
policy."
"I know," the woman
continued. "Then you made me
the biggest roast beef
sandwich that I had ever
seen, gave me a cup of
coffee, and told me to go
over to a corner table and
enjoy it. I was afraid that
you would get into trouble.
Then, when I looked over, I
saw you put the price of my
food in the cash register. I
knew then that everything
would be all right."
"So you started your own
business?" Old Jack said.
"I got a job that very
afternoon. I worked my way
up. Eventually I started my
own business that, with the
help of God, prospered."
She opened her purse and
pulled out a business card.
"When you are finished here,
I want you to pay a visit to
a Mr. Lyons. He's the
personnel director of my
company. I'll go talk to him
now and I'm
certain he'll find
something for you to do
around the office." She
smiled. "I think he might
even find the funds to give
you a little advance so that
you can buy some clothes and
get a place to live
until you get on your
feet. And if you ever need
anything, my door is always
opened to you."
There were tears in the old
man's eyes.
"How can I ever thank you,"
he said.
"Don't thank me," the woman
answered.
"To God be the glory. Thank
Jesus. He led me to you." |