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Friendship Week isn't
until the third week
of August but this story is too good to wait until then.
I've
heard
several versions of this story but this is one of the best.
Regardless of which version you may be familiar with the point is the
same, you never know what an act of kindness may do for someone else
-
even a stranger - for a stranger is merely a friend we haven't
met yet! - Jace
The Long Walk Home
Author
Unknown
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 and 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 and my heart went out to him. So I
jogged over to him 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."
Kyle 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 been going 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 some of his books. He
turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to
play a
little football with my friends and 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, "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, we 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!
Finally Graduation Day arrived! 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 I had 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 kind) 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. I heard the
gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all
about his weakest moment. 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 right at
me and gave me a little smile.
"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the
unspeakable."
I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful
smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
Contributed
by
Donna Carlton
Defining
Moments
Archives
Copyright
© 2006, Jace Carlton. All International Rights Reserved.
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