thanks Virgey,
I will keep this, and pass it on to friends.
Malcolm.
----- Original Message -----
From: "VIRGIE UNDERWOOD" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2006 2:53 PM
Subject: Fw: the dime
>I know you guys don't like forwards but I thought you might make an
>exception for this one. It really touched my heart and made me understand
>just what Christmas is all about!
> Merry Christmas from
> Virgie and Hoshi
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "rcuster" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: "Patti Custer" <[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2006 8:44 AM
> Subject: the dime
>
>
> There's A Reason For The Season
> The Dime
> Bobby was getting cold sitting out
> in his back yard in the snow. Bobby didn't wear boots; he didn't like them
> and anyway
> he didn't own any. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them and
> they did
> a poor job of keeping out the cold.
> Bobby had been in his backyard for about an hour already. And, try as he
> might, he
> could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. He shook
> his head
> as he thought, "This is useless, even if I do come up with an idea, I
> don't have
> any money to spend."
> Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, the family of five
> had struggled.
> It wasn't because his mother didn't care, or try,there just never seemed
> to be enough.
> She worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage that she was earning
> could
> only be stretched so far. What the family lacked in money and material
> things, they
> more than made up for in love and family unity.
> Bobby had two older and one younger sister, who ran the household in their
> mother's
> absence. Three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their
> mother.
> Somehow it just wasn't fair. Here it was Christmas Eve already, and he had
> nothing.
> Wiping a tear from his eye, Bobby kicked the snow and started to walk
> down to the
> street where the shops and stores were. It wasn't easy being six without a
> father,
> especially when he needed a man to talk to. Bobby walked from shop to
> shop, looking
> into each decorated window. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of
> reach.
> It was starting to get dark and Bobby reluctantly turned to walk home
> when suddenly
> his eyes caught the glimmer of the setting sun's rays reflecting off of
> something
> along the curb. He reached down and discovered a shiny dime. Never before
> has anyone
> felt so wealthy as Bobby felt at that moment. As he held his new found
> treasure,
> a warmth spread throughout his entire body and he walked into the first
> store he
> saw.
> His excitement quickly turned cold when the salesperson told him that he
> couldn't
> buy anything with only a dime. He noticed a flower shop and went inside to
> wait in
> line. When the shop owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the
> dime and
> asked if he could buy one flower for his mother's Christmas gift. The shop
> owner
> looked at Bobby and his ten cent offering. Then he put his hand on
> Bobby's shoulder
> and said to him, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you."
> As Bobby
> waited he looked at the beautiful flowers and even though he was a boy,
> he could
> see why mothers and girls liked flowers.
> The sound of the door closing as the last customer left, jolted Bobby back
> to reality.
> All alone in the shop, Bobby began to feel alone and afraid. Suddenly the
> shop owner
> came out and moved to the counter. There, before Bobby's eyes, lay twelve
> long stem,
> red roses, with leaves of green and tiny white flowers all tied together
> with a big
> silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner picked them up and placed
> them neatly
> into a long white box. "That will be ten cents young man." the shop owner
> said reaching
> out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man
> his dime.
> Could this be true? No one else would give him a thing for his dime!
> Sensing the
> boy's reluctance, the shop owner added, "I just happened to have some
> roses on sale
> for ten cents a dozen. Would you like them?" This time Bobby did not
> hesitate, and
> when the man placed the long box into his hands, he knew it was true.
> Walking out
> the door that the owner was holding open for Bobby, he heard the shop
> keeper say,
> "Merry Christmas, son."
> As he returned inside, the shop keeper's wife walked out. "Who were you
> talking to
> back there and where are the roses you were fixing?" Staring out the
> window, and
> blinking the tears from his own eyes, he replied, "A strange thing
> happened to me
> this morning. While I was setting up things to open the shop, I thought I
> heard a
> voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift.
> I wasn't
> sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside
> anyway.
> Then just a few minutes ago, a little boy came into the shop and wanted to
> buy a
> flower for his mother with one small dime. "When I looked at him, I saw
> myself,
> many years ago. I too, was a poor boy with nothing to buy my mother a
> Christmas gift.
> A bearded man, whom I never knew, stopped me on the street and told me
> that he wanted
> to give me ten dollars. "When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who
> that voice
> was, and put together a dozen of my very best roses." The shop owner and
> his wife
> hugged each other tightly, and as they stepped out into the bitter cold
> air, they
> somehow didn't feel the cold at all.
> May this story instill the spirit of CHRISTmas in you enough to pass this
> act along
> Have a Joyous and Peace-filled season.
>
>
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