Here is a Touching Story
Posted by: tz8cy5 <tz8cy5@...>
One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class
walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all
of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books
on a Friday? He must really be a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties
and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my
shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him,
knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the
dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet
from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart
went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for
his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said,
"Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives."
He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!". There was a big smile on his face. It
was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his
books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I
asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private
school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid
before. We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. He turned out to
be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday
with me and my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I
got to know Kyle, the more I liked him. And my friends thought the same of
him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I
stopped him and said, "Dang boy, you are gonna really build some serious
muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half
the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we
were seniors, began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles
would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for
business on a football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I
teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for
graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.
Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that
really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good
in glasses. He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him! Boy,
sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was
nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big
guy, you'll be great!"
He looked at me with one of those looks [the really grateful one) and smiled.
"Thanks," he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a
time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your
parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends.
I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift
you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first
day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how
he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was
carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us
all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling
that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth. Never
underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change
a person's life.
For better or for worse. We are all in each other's lives to impact one
another in some way.