Taken from my guild message board:
Find the darkelf inside your self and you will laugh
Late last week, I was rushing around trying to get
some last minute shopping done. I was stressed
out and not thinking very fondly of the Christmas
season right then. It was dark, cold, and wet in the
parking lot as I was loading my car up with gifts
that I felt obligated to buy.
I noticed that I was missing a receipt that I might
need later. So mumbling under my breath, I
retraced my steps to the mall entrance.
As I was searching the wet pavement for the lost
receipt, I heard a quiet sobbing. The crying
was coming from a poorly dressed boy of about 12 years
old. He was short and thin. He had no coat. He was
just wearing a ragged flannel shirt to protect him from
the cold night's chill. Oddly enough, he was holding
a hundred dollar bill in his hand.
Thinking that he had gotten lost from his parents,
I asked him what was wrong. He told me his sad
story. He said that he came from a large family. He
had three brothers and two sisters.
His father had died when he was nine years old. His
mother was poorly educated and worked two full time
jobs. She made very little to support her large family.
Nevertheless, she had managed to save two hundred
dollars to buy her children Christmas presents.
The young boy had been dropped off on the way to her
second job. He was to use the money to buy presents
for all his siblings and save just enough to take the bus
home.
He had not even entered the mall, when an older boy
grabbed one of the hundred dollar bills and disappeared
into the night.
"Why didn't you scream for help?" I asked. The boy said,
"I did." "And nobody came to help you?" I wondered.
The boy stared at the sidewalk and sadly shook his
head. "How loud did you scream?" I inquired. The soft-spoken
boy looked up and meekly whispered, "Help me!" I realized that
absolutely no one could have heard that poor boy cry for help.
So, I grabbed his other hundred and ran to my car.
Holiday Spirit!
at 
Linear Mode
