Random Story To Tell

Gregory Allen was a tall, thin boy about fourteen years old. Like most boys in their teens, he was either very happy or extremely unhappy; he either talked too much or he didn’t talk at all. One day he would do everything right and on another day he would do nothing right. Gregory had trouble with his family, too. No matter what he did, his parents were never pleased with him. They argued with him about the way he dressed, the way he talked, the way he forgot to do things. They argued about everything. They reminded him to put on his coat, take off his coat, hang up his coat. His mother and father didn’t understand that he was a young man now and not a child. They said that when he was able to do things without being reminded several times, they would believe he wasn’t a child any longer. They told him that when he stopped thinking about himself and began thinking about helping other people, then they would know that he was a young man.

Greg didn’t know that many young people think their parents don’t understand them. He believed he was the only boy who wasn’t able to please his family.

Greg was usually glad to be out of the house where no one could bother him. One Saturday morning, he told his parents he was going for a walk before breakfast, and they gave him money to get milk at the store. A few minutes after he left the house he couldn’t remember what he was supposed to buy. If he went home without it, his family would have something else to argue with him about.

As he went down the street thinking about what he should do, he saw an old man standing on the corner. The man looked very sick, and without thinking about it Greg went right over to him.
“Are you all right, sir?” he asked.
The old man answered slowly. “I think so– but I need a glass of water. I don’t want to bother you, but would you mind helping me…”
“Oh, you’re not bothering me,” Greg answered quickly. “I’d be glad to help you. Let’s go into the restaurant across the street where you can sit down.”
Greg helped the old man into the restaurant. They sat down at a table not far from the door. When the waiter asked them what they wanted, the old man said, “Just a glass of water, please. I don’t feel well.”
“Wouldn’t you like something to eat?” the waiter asked.
The old man didn’t answer and Greg asked him, “Have you had breakfast yet, sir? Perhaps if you eat something, you’ll feel a little better.”
“Well, truthfully I haven’t had breakfast,” the old man said. “I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday morning, but I don’t have any money for…”
Greg interrupted him saying, “Please don’t talk now. You can tell me all about it later.”
Then the boy turned to the waiter and said, “My friend would like some orange juice, hot cereal, buttered toast, and coffee.”
The old man started to say something and Greg asked him, “Would you rather havce something else? That’s what we usually have for breakfast…”
“Oh, no. It’s fine,” the man answered, “but I’m giving you too much trouble. I’ll just drink the water and leave. I’m sure I’ll be all right. You’ve helped me enough already.”
“Please, sir,” Greg said. “I’d like to do it.”
“And what would you like to eat?” the waiter asked Greg.
“Nothing for me,” Greg said. “I’ve already eaten my breakfast.” Greg wanted to eat, too, but knew he didn’t have enough money for both of them. He actually didn’t have enough for the old man’s breakfast. He was really going to be in trouble when the waiter asked for money, and this time it wouldn’t be with his parents. “Oh, well,” he said to himself, “I’ll think about that later.”

The waiter brought the breakfast and the old man ate quickly. “I feel fine now,” he said as he drank his coffee. “I’ll never forget how you helped me today. You’re a very unusual young man. Most people your age are too busy to think about helping an old man.”
Greg felt very good. The old man thought of him as a young man, not a child. He wished his parents felt this way.
“I must tell you how I happened to be in trouble,” the man said. “I’m on my way to visit my daughter in California. Yesterday I lost my money and I’m waiting for my daughter to mail me some more. I slept in the railroad station last night and didn’t have anything to eat. I don’t know what I would have done without your help.”
At this moment, the waiter came to the table and Greg didn’t know what he was going to say. He didn’t want the old man to know he didn’t have enough money.
The waiter spoke to the old man. “Was everything all right?”
“Oh, everything was just fine,” the old man told him.
“You know, sir,” the waiter said to the old man, “our restaurant is ten years old today. Since you are our tenth customer of the day, we are pleased to give you your breakfast as a gift.”
“Why, thank you very much,” the old man said. “This is an extremely good day for me.”
“I feel very good, too, thanks to you young man,” he said to Greg, “and I’m sure my money will be waiting for me at the post office.”
“This is a good day for me, too,” Greg said to himself as he and the old man left the restaurant. “I don’t know what I would have told that waiter if he had asked for money for the breakfast.”
Greg told the old man he would go with him to the post office, but the old man said, “No. Your family will be looking for you and I don’t want you to get into trouble with them. You’ve done enough for me already.”
Greg, who had forgotten all about himself and his family for over an hour, said good-bye and went home as fast as he could. Now he remembered that he had to get milk at the store, but there was no time for that. He was very late for breakfast. “I hope they didn’t wait for me,” he thought. “I don’t know what they’ll say when I tell them where I was, but it doesn’t matter. I’m glad I was able to help the old man.”
Greg’s parents were waiting at the door when he got home.
“Where were you?” his mother asked. “We looked for you all over the neighborhood.”
Greg told his mother and father about the old man and said he was sorry to be late and sorry he didn’t go to the store.
“That’s all right, Greg,” his father said. “We’re glad you were able to help someone else.”
As he went in the house, Greg was very happy. He had finally pleased his parents. He hoped he would be able to do it more often.
“What’s for breakfast, Mom?” he said. “I can’t wait to eat.”

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