Glance
12-02-2006, 01:55 AM
..Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in a line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age 12. You could tell they didn’t have enough money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in a line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, elephants, and other acts they would see that night. One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives.
The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband’s hand. Looking up at him as if to say, “You are my knight in shining armor.” He was smiling and boasting in pride, looking at her as to reply, “You got that right.”
The ticket lady asked the father how many ticket he wanted. He proudly responded, “Please let me buy eight children’s and two adults’ ticket so I can take my family to the circus.”
The ticket lady quoted the price.
The man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man’s lip began to quiver.
The father leaned a little closer and asked, “How much did you say?”
The ticket lady again quoted the price.
The man did not have enough money.
How he was supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the circus?
Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of this word!) My father reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.”
The man knew what was going on. He was not begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heart breaking, and embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad’s eyes, took my dad’s hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and tear steaming down his cheek, he replied, “Thank you, thank you, sir. This is really means a lot to me and my family.”
My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We did not go to the circus that night, but we didn’t go without.
Our manager gave us this story in order to conduct a discussion between students, and it really impressed me..
YOU CAN HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT, IF YOU WILL JUST HELP ENOUGH OTHER PEOPLE TO GET WHAT THEY WANT.
(write YOUR impressions and ideas ;))
The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband’s hand. Looking up at him as if to say, “You are my knight in shining armor.” He was smiling and boasting in pride, looking at her as to reply, “You got that right.”
The ticket lady asked the father how many ticket he wanted. He proudly responded, “Please let me buy eight children’s and two adults’ ticket so I can take my family to the circus.”
The ticket lady quoted the price.
The man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man’s lip began to quiver.
The father leaned a little closer and asked, “How much did you say?”
The ticket lady again quoted the price.
The man did not have enough money.
How he was supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn’t have enough money to take them to the circus?
Seeing what was going on, my dad put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of this word!) My father reached down, picked up the bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, “Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket.”
The man knew what was going on. He was not begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heart breaking, and embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad’s eyes, took my dad’s hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and tear steaming down his cheek, he replied, “Thank you, thank you, sir. This is really means a lot to me and my family.”
My father and I went back to our car and drove home. We did not go to the circus that night, but we didn’t go without.
Our manager gave us this story in order to conduct a discussion between students, and it really impressed me..
YOU CAN HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT, IF YOU WILL JUST HELP ENOUGH OTHER PEOPLE TO GET WHAT THEY WANT.
(write YOUR impressions and ideas ;))