The Gifts

Life is often filled with joy and happiness, but equally it can be filled with tragedy. When tragedy does strike, even the most accomplished, talented, and independent individuals among us may have difficulty coping. They often need all the support they can get. Just as often, the sustenance is just not there either by circumstance or by the neglect of others.

Occasionally, a helping hand appears almost by magic from very unlikely sources and places. This short story relates how a chance meeting of an old man with a very ill wife finds that assistance in a most unlikely place, an ice cream store from a most unlikely donor, a high school student working toward attending college.

Two years of compassion and generosity follow and suggest how we all can provide non-traditional gifts to benefit the neediest among us. It is an inspirational story in a world that is often devoid of kindness and inspiration. It suggests an often overlooked way of gifting others that costs nothing and reaps great benefits for the donors as well as the recipients of the gifts. Maybe it can add a new dimension to your life, those you care about, or those who are complete strangers. Use the story to stimulate your imagination of how you accomplish good in the world where good is hard to find.

Your attention for just a very short time may change your life and someone else’s.