The old man slowly looked up. He saw 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 the 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 woma n 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 all right."
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, I
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 And if you
ever need anything, my door is always open for 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... And thank you for
the coffee."
She frowned. "I forgot to ask you whether you used
cream or sugar.
That's black."
The officer looked at the steaming cup of coffee
in his hand.
"Yes, I do take cream and sugar......perhaps
more sugar than is good for me." He patted his ample
stomach.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"I don't need it now," he replied smiling.
"I've got the
feeling that this coffee you bought me is going
to taste as sweet as
sugar."
******************************************************
If you have missed knowing me......you have missed nothing.
If you have missed some of my emails......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 Blessed Day!
Marion