The Gas Station ...
The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn't
been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. He had no
decorations, no tree, no lights. It was just another day to him. He
didn't hate Christmas, just couldn't find a reason to celebrate. There were
no children in his life. His wife had gone.
He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for
the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and
a homeless man stepped through.
Instead of throwing the man out, George, Old George as he was known by
his customers, told the man to come and sit by the space heater and warm
up.
"Thank you, but I don't mean to intrude," said the stranger. "I see
you're busy. I'll just go"
"Not without something hot in your belly," George turned and opened a
wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. "It ain't much, but it's
hot and tasty. Stew. Made it myself. When you're done there's coffee and
it's fresh."
Just at that moment he heard the "ding" of the driveway bell. "Excuse
me be right back," George said.
There, in the driveway, was an old 53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of
the front. The driver was panicked. "Mister can you help me!" said the
driver, with a deep Spanish accent. "My wife is with child and my car is
broken."
George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from
the cold; the car was dead. "You ain't going in this thing," George said,
as he turned away.
"But, mister. Please help ." The door of the office closed behind
George as he went in. George went to the office wall and got the keys to
his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building and
opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the
couple was waiting.
"Here, take my truck," he said. "She ain't the best thing you ever
looked at, but she runs real good." George helped put the woman in the
truck and watched as it sped off into the night. George turned and walked
back inside the office.
"Glad I gave 'em the truck. Their tires were shot, too. That 'ol
truck has brand new ..." George thought he was talking to the stranger.
But, the man had gone. The thermos was on the desk, empty with a used
coffee cup beside it.
"Well, at least he got something in his belly," George thought.
George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked
slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had
been.
He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve
meant no customers. He discovered the block hadn't cracked, it was just the
bottom hose on the radiator.
"Well, shoot, I can fix this," he said to himself. So, he put a new
one
on.
"Those tires ain't gonna get 'em through the winter either." He took
the snow treads off of his wife's old Lincoln. They were like new and he
wasn't going to drive the car.
As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and,
beside a police car, an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from
the left shoulder, the officer moaned, "Help me." George helped the officer
inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a
medic. He knew the wound needed attention.
"Pressure to stop the bleeding," he thought. The uniform company had
been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and
duct tape to bind the wound.
"Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin'," he said, trying to make
the policeman feel at ease. "Something for pain," George thought. All he
had was the pills he used for his back. "These ought to work." He put
some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills.
"You hang in there. I'm going to get you an ambulance." The phone
was dead. "Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out
in your car."
He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard
destroying the two way radio. He went back in to find the policeman
sitting up. "Thanks," said the officer. "You could have left me
there.
The guy that shot me is still in the area."
George sat down beside him. "I would never leave an injured man in
the Army and I ain't gonna leave you." George pulled back the bandage to
check for bleeding. "Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right
through 'ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think, with
time, you're gonna be right as rain." George got up and poured a cup of
coffee.
"How do you take it?" he asked.
"None for me," said the officer.
"Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain't got no
donuts."
The officer laughed and winced at the same time. The front door of
the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun. "Give me all your
cash!
Do it, now!" the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George
could tell that he had never done anything like this before.
"That's the guy that shot me!" exclaimed the officer.
"Son, why are you doing this?" asked George. "You need to put the
cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt."
The young man was confused. "Shut up old man, or I'll shoot you, too.
Now, give me the cash!"
The cop was reaching for his gun. "Put that thing away," George said
to the cop. "We got one too many in here now." He turned his attention to
the young man. "Son, it's Christmas Eve. If you need the money, well
then, here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now, put that pee shooter
away."
George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young
man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time.
The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began
to cry. "I'm not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy
something for my wife and son," he went on. "I've lost my job. My rent is
due. My car got repossessed last week "
George handed the gun to the cop. "Son, we all get in a bit of
squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes. But, we make it through
the best we can."
He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair, across
from the cop. "Sometimes, we do stupid things." George handed the
young man a cup of coffee. "Being stupid is one of the things that makes us
human.
Comin' in here with a gun ain't the answer. Now, sit there and get warm
and we'll sort this thing out."
The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. "Sorry
I shot you. It just went off. I'm sorry officer."
"Shut up and drink your coffee," the cop said.
George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an
ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns
drawn.
"Chuck! You ok?" one of the cops asked the wounded officer.
"Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?"
"GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did
this?" the other cop asked as he approached the young man. Chuck answered
him, "I don't know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and
ran."
George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other. "That
guy work here?," the wounded cop continued.
"Yep," George said. "Just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job."
The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young
man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, "Why?" Chuck just said,
"Merry Christmas boy ... and you, too, George, and thanks for
everything."
"Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to
solve some of your problems." George went into the back room and came
out with a box. He pulled out a ring box. "Here you go. Something for the
little woman. I don't think Martha would mind. She said it would come in
handy some day."
The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever
saw.
"I can't take this," said the young man. "It means something to you."
"And now it means something to you," replied George. "I got my
memories.
That's all I need." George reached into the box again. An airplane, a
car, and a truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company
had left for him to sell. "Here's something for that little man of
yours."
The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the
old man had handed him earlier. "And what are you supposed to buy
Christmas dinner with? You keep that, too," George said. "Now, git home to
your family."
The young man turned, with tears streaming down his face. "I'll be here in
the morning for work, if that job offer is still good."
"Nope. I'm closed Christmas day," George said. "See ya the day
after."
George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. "Where'd
you come from? I thought you left?"
"I have been here. I have always been here," said the stranger. "You
say you don't celebrate Christmas. Why?"
"Well, after my wife passed away I just couldn't see what all the
bother was. Puttin' up a tree, and all, seemed a waste of a good pine
tree.
Bakin' cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn't the same by
myself and besides I was getting a little chubby."
The stranger put his hand on George's shoulder, "But, you do celebrate
the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was
cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a
great doctor. The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from
being killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will make
you a rich man and not take any for himself. That is the spirit of the
season and you keep it as good as any man."
George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. "And how do
you know all this?" asked the old man.
"Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing.
And,
when your days are done, you will be with Martha again." The stranger
moved toward the door.
"If you will excuse me, George, I have to go, now.
I have to go home, where there is a big celebration planned."
George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the
stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill
the room. "You see, George ... it's my birthday. Merry Christmas."
George fell to his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord."
- author unknown - " Jesus is the Reason for the Season "
Charles Mims
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