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 George
>> 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." George 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," George 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." George opened the hood. It was bad. The
>> block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead. "You ain't going in
>> this thing," George said as he turned away. "But Mister, please help ."
>> The door of the office closed behind George 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." George 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 ." George 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," George thought.
>> George 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 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." George 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," George 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." George
>> sat down beside him, "I would never leave an injured man in the Army and
>> I ain't gonna leave you." George 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." George 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 George 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 George, "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," George 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." George 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 .." George 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." George 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 answe r. 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.
>>
>>
>>
>> George 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." George and the young man both looked puzzled at
>> each other. "That guy work here?," the wounded cop continued. "Yep,"
>> George 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, George, and thanks for everything." "Well,
>> looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some
>> of your problems."
>>
>>
>>
>> George 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 George. "I got my memories. That's all I
>> need."
>>
>>
>>
>> George 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," George 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," George said. "See ya the day after."
>>
>>
>>
>> George 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 George's shoulder.
>>
>> "But you do celebrate the holiday, George."
>>
>>
>>
>> "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."
>>
>> George was taken aback by all this stranger had said.
>>
>> "And how do you know all this?" asked the old man.
>>
>>
>>
>> "Trust me, George. 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, George, I
>> have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration
>> planned."
>>
>>
>>
>> George 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, George .... it's My birthday. Merry Christmas." George fell to
>> his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord."
>>
>>
>>
>> ~ author unknown ~
>> 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 George
>> 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." George 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," George 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." George opened the hood. It was bad. The
>> block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead. "You ain't going in
>> this thing," George said as he turned away. "But Mister, please help ."
>> The door of the office closed behind George 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." George 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 ." George 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," George thought.
>> George 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 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." George 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," George 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." George
>> sat down beside him, "I would never leave an injured man in the Army and
>> I ain't gonna leave you." George 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." George 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 George 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 George, "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," George 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." George 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 .." George 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." George 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 answe r. 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.
>>
>>
>>
>> George 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." George and the young man both looked puzzled at
>> each other. "That guy work here?," the wounded cop continued. "Yep,"
>> George 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, George, and thanks for everything." "Well,
>> looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some
>> of your problems."
>>
>>
>>
>> George 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 George. "I got my memories. That's all I
>> need."
>>
>>
>>
>> George 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," George 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," George said. "See ya the day after."
>>
>>
>>
>> George 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 George's shoulder.
>>
>> "But you do celebrate the holiday, George."
>>
>>
>>
>> "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."
>>
>> George was taken aback by all this stranger had said.
>>
>> "And how do you know all this?" asked the old man.
>>
>>
>>
>> "Trust me, George. 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, George, I
>> have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration
>> planned."
>>
>>
>>
>> George 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, George .... it's My birthday. Merry Christmas." George fell to
>> his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord."
>>
>>
>>
>> ~ author unknown ~