One day, a man saw an old lady stranded on the side of the road. Even in the dim light of day, he could see that she needed help. He pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pinto was still sputtering when he approached her.
Despite seeing the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help her for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry.
He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.
He said, «I’m here to help you ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.»
All she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles once or twice. Soon he was able to change the tyre, but he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been alright for her. She had already imagined all of the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.
Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty of people who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life this way, and it never occurred to him to act any differently.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, then the next time that she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed. «And think of me,» Bryan added.
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road, the lady saw a small diner. She went in to grab a bite to eat and warm up before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy-looking restaurant; outside, there were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to dry her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the entire day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a $100 bill. The waitress quickly went to get the change, but the old lady had slipped right out the door… She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady was, and then noticed something written on the napkin.
There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: «You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.»
Under the napkin there were four more $100 bills.
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard…
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a warm kiss and whispered gently, «everything’s going to be alright. I love you, Bryan Anderson.»
There is an old saying: «What goes around comes around.» Share this story with your friends and continue the chain.
