The man slowly looked up. This was a woman clearly
accustomed to the finer things of life. Her coat was new.
She looked like that 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 he 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 alright."
"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. If you ever
need anything, my door is always open 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 goes the
glory.
Thank Jesus. He led me to you."
Outside the cafeteria, the officer and the woman paused at
the entrance before going their separate ways. "Thank you
for all your help, officer," she said.
"On the contrary, Ms. Eddy," he answered "Thank you. I saw
a miracle today, something that I will never forget And I
thank you for the coffee."
If you have missed knowing me, you have missed nothing.
If you have missed some of my emails, you have missed a
laugh.
But, if you have missed knowing my LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS
CHRIST, you have missed everything in the world.
Have a Wonderful Day and May God Bless You Always ~~ "A
day without the presence of God is a wasteful day."~
People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you
said, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
Ron
Very NIce Story
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