By Larry Simoneaux / Herald Forum
It’s often said that not enough’s written about the good things — the small things — that happen to us all. I think I’m as guilty of this as most.
So here’s a little good from quite a number of years ago.
At the time, our youngest son, just like a million or so other kids, had a paper route. He hated getting up early and he grumbled a lot when it was cold or wet outside, but he’d found that the money he made could buy things like skate boards, mountain bikes, CDs, and all the other things that most kids wanted..
The bottom line — when he got past the grumbling — was that this job taught him the relation between effort and reward. I couldn’t tell you how many papers delivered equaled one skate board but, I guarantee you, he could.
One morning, I was working in my shop when he came in and said, “Dad, could you come outside?”
He said this in that tone of voice and with the quivering lip that all kids reserve for when they’re really upset about something.
I got up and asked him what was wrong.
He told me he’d been out collecting for his papers and, while going to the door of a house, had left his bike lying on its side in the driveway. At the same moment, the owner of the house had been in the garage, unaware that my son was at the front door.
He’d gotten into his car, raised the garage door (automatically), looked to see if anyone was behind him, and backed out.
The rest was, as they say, history.
The gentleman stopped as soon as he felt the bump but the bike was damaged. The front wheel, handlebars and frame were bent.
The real damage, however, was to my son’s feelings. He knew how long he’d saved to buy that particular bike and his bank account wasn’t going to be able to absorb the cost of repairs.
Bikes are pretty serious business to 12-year-olds and, at this point, any number of scenarios could have played out. Most of them would’ve caused my son to feel even worse than he already did. Thankfully, the scenario that transpired wasn’t one of those.
This gentleman didn’t want my son to go home alone and have to explain what had happened. So, he brought the bike and my son home.
Not knowing me from Adam’s house cat, he was taking a chance that I might be some clod who’d shout, scream, or generally behave badly.
When I got outside, he introduced himself, immediately told me that no one had been hurt, and then calmly explained what had happened. He did this in such a manner as to take all of the blame for the damage upon himself; offering to pay the entire repair bill for the bike.
After hearing the story — with my son watching and listening to the whole exchange — I told him that, under the circumstances, I couldn’t let him do that.
We talked for a few more minutes and decided to split the bill. That seemed fair to both of us. We shook hands and he went home.
The bike was repaired a few days later.
What I didn’t have the presence of mind to thank him for, though, was the lesson his conduct and behavior gave my son.
His was an example of fairness, understanding and kindness.
He showed my son how decent people behave in situations where emotions are involved and feelings can be easily hurt.
With all of the poor examples of adult behavior our kids are bombarded with nowadays, it was very pleasing to see these qualities demonstrated by a stranger.
As I said, at the time, I was too caught up with the situation to do this properly, but I’m going to make up for that.
The gentleman’s name escapes me but, to this day, I still owe him two words.
In the fullest meaning those words can have between one adult and another: Thank you.
I’m still in your debt.
Larry Simoneaux is a former Daily Herald columnist, who know lives in New Orleans, La.
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