You're going to Love this, get out the tissues

[Guest guest]

Christmas at 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. It was just another day to him. He

didn't hate Christmas, just couldn't find a reason to celebrate.

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, Old

as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit

by the 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. "

said.

He 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, " 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. "

opened the hood. It was

bad. The block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead.

" You ain't going in this thing, " said as he turned

away.

" But Mister, please help . " The

door of the office closed behind as he went inside. He

went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went

back outside. He walked around the building, 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. "

helped put the woman in the truck

and watched as it sped off into the night. He turned and walked

back inside the office. " Glad I gave 'em the truck, their

tires were shot too. That 'ol truck has brand new ......... "

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, "

thought.

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 anyway.

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, " Please help me. "

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, "

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. "

sat down beside him, " I would

never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain't gonna leave you. "

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 your gonna be right as rain. "

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

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 , " 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, " 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 money,

well then, here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now put

that pee shooter away. " 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.... "

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. " handed the young man a cup of coffee.

" Bein' 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.

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. "

and the young man both looked

puzzled at each other.

" That guy work here?, " the

wounded cop continued. " Yep, " 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, , and thanks for

everything. "

" Well, looks like you got one doozy

of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems. "

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 . " I got my memories. That's all I

need. "

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, " 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, " said. " See ya the day

after. "

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 gettin' a little

chubby. "

The stranger put his hand on 's

shoulder. " But you do celebrate the holiday, .

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. "

was taken aback by all this

stranger had said. " And how do you know all this? "

asked the old man.

" Trust me, . 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, , I have to go now. I have to

go home where there is a big celebration

planned. "

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, .. it's My

birthday. Merry Christmas. "

fell to his knees and replied,

" Happy Birthday, Lord. "

~author

unknown~

--

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What is man without the beasts?

If all the beasts were gone, men would die from great

loneliness of spirit. For whatever

happens to the beasts, soon happens to

man.

-Chief Seattle ( Dewarnish

tribe )

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