There
is a story circulating on the Internet. I don’t
know if it’s true, but I hope so. The young man wrote:
One
day, when I was a freshman in high school, saw a kid from my class
was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he
was carrying all of his books. 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 - 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. My heart went out to him.
So, I jogged over
to him. As he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear
in his eye.As
I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those
guys are jerks. They really should get a life." He 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 ever
seen him before.
Kyle said he had gone 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 his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
I asked him if he
wanted to play football on Sunday with me and my friends. 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 decided on college. Kyle finally picked 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 while I was going
for a business degree on a football scholarship. In fact, 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.
Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys
who found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked
good in glasses. He had more dates than I did and all the girls loved
him! 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!" Kyle looked at me with one of those looks of his (the
really grateful one) 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 rough
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. 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 hard at me
and gave me a little smile.
"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable." I
heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told
us all about his weakest moment. 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.
Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture
you can change a person's life.
See
Past Letters from George