A young and successful executive was traveling down a
neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was
watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed
down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no
children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side
door!
He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot
where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out
of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a
parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just
what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you
threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"
The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister. Please, I'm
sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the
brick because no one else would stop..."
With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth
pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother," he
said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I
can't lift him up."
Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you
please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's
too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly
swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped
boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief
and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him
everything was going to be okay..
"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the
stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push
his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar.
The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered
to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind
him of this message, "Don't go through life so fast that someone
has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!"
