KINDNESS"

[Teresa]

One day a woman was walking down the street when she spied a beggar
sitting on the corner. The man was elderly, unshaven, and ragged. As he
sat there, pedestrians walked by him giving him dirty looks They clearly
wanted nothing to do with him because of who he was -- a dirty, homeless
man.
But when she saw him, the woman was moved to compassion.

It was very cold that day and the man had his tattered coat -- more like
an old suit coat rather than a warm coat -- wrapped around him. She
stopped and looked down.
"Sir?" she asked. "Are you all right?"

The man slowly looked up. This was a woman clearly accustomed to the
finer things of life. Her coat was new. She looked like that she had
never missed a meal in her life. His first thought was that she wanted
to make fun of him, like so many others had done before. "Leave me
alone," he growled.

To his amazement, the woman continued standing. She was smiling -- her
even white teeth displayed in dazzling rows. "Are you hungry?" she
asked.

"No," he answered sarcastically. "I've just come from dining with the
president. Now go away."

The woman's smile became even broader. Suddenly the man felt a gentle
hand under his arm.
"What are you doing, lady?" the man asked angrily.
"I said to leave me alone."

Just then a policeman came up. "Is there any problem, ma'am?" he asked.

"No problem here, officer," the woman answered. "I'm just trying to get
this man to his feet. Will you help me?"

The officer scratched his head. "That's old Jack. He's been a fixture
around here for a couple of years. What do you want with him?"

"See that cafeteria over there?" she asked. "I'm going to get him
something to eat and get him out of the cold for awhile."

"Are you crazy, lady?" the homeless man resisted. "I don't want to go in
there!" Then he felt strong hands grab his other arm and lift him up.
"Let me go, officer. I didn't do anything."

"This is a good deal for you, Jack," the officer answered. "Don't blow
it."

Finally, and with some difficulty, the woman and the police officer got
Jack into the cafeteria and sat him at a table in a remote corner. It
was the middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had
already left and the lunch bunch had not yet arrived. The manager strode
across the cafeteria and stood by the table. "What's going on here,
officer?" he asked. "What is all this. Is this man in trouble?"

"This lady brought this man in here to be fed," the policeman answered.

"Not in here!" the manager replied angrily. "Having a person like that
here is bad for business."

Old Jack smiled a toothless grin. "See, lady. I told you so. Now if
you'll let me go. I didn't want to come here in the first place."

The woman turned to the cafeteria manager and smiled. "Sir, are you
familiar with Eddy and Associates, the banking firm down the street?"

"Of course I am," the manager answered impatiently. "They hold their
weekly meetings in one of my banquet rooms."

"And do you make a goodly amount of money providing food at these weekly
meetings?"

"What business is that of yours?"

"I, sir, am Penelope Eddy, president and CEO of the company."

"Oh."

The woman smiled again. "I thought that might make a difference." She
glanced at the cop who was busy stifling a giggle. "Would you like to
join us in a cup of coffee and a meal, officer?"

"No thanks, ma'am," the officer replied. "I'm on duty."

"Then, perhaps, a cup of coffee to go?"

"Yes, ma'am. That would be very nice."

The cafeteria manager turned on his heel. "I'll get your coffee for you
right away, officer."

The officer watched him walk away. "You certainly put him in his place,"
he said.

"That was not my intent. Believe it or not, I have a reason for all this."

She sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She
stared at him intently. "Jack, do you remember me?"

Old Jack searched her face with his old, rheumy eyes "I think so -- I
mean you do look familiar."

"I'm a little older perhaps," she said. "Maybe I've even filled out more
than in my younger days when you worked here, and I came through that
very door, cold and hungry."

"Ma'am?" the officer said questioningly. He couldn't believe that such
a  magnificently turned out woman could ever have been hungry.

"I was just out of college," the woman began. "I had come to the city
looking for a job, but I couldn't find anything. Finally I was down to
my last few cents and had been kicked out of my apartment. I walked the
streets for days. It was February and I was cold and nearly starving. I
saw this place and walked in on the off chance that I could get
something to eat."

Jack lit up with a smile. "Now I remember," he said. "I was behind the
serving counter. You came up and asked me if you could work for
something to eat. I said that it was against company policy."

"I know," the woman continued. "Then you made me the biggest roast beef
sandwich that I had ever seen, gave me a cup of coffee, and told me to
go over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was afraid that you would get
into trouble. Then, when I looked over, I saw you put the price of my
food  in the cash register. I knew then that everything would be all
right."

"So you started your own business?" Old Jack said.

"I got a job that very afternoon. I worked my way up. Eventually I
started  my own business that, with the help of God, prospered." She
opened her purse and pulled out a business card. "When you are finished
here, I want you to pay a visit to a Mr. Lyons. He's the personnel
director of my company.
I'll go talk to him now and I'm certain he'll find something for you to do
around the office." She smiled. "I think he might even find the funds to
give you a little advance so that you can buy some clothes and get a
place to live until you get on your feet And if you ever need anything,
my door is always opened to you."

There were tears in the old man's eyes. "How can I ever thank you," he
said.

"Don't thank me," the woman answered.
"To God goes the glory. Thank Him.
He led me to you."