expect to pass through life but once

It was a bright Saturday morning in the late fall. I
had stopped at a cafe' to enjoy a cup of coffee and
scan the morning newspaper. Suddenly, I felt a hand on
the back of my jacket and heard someone say, "Hey
Steve! How ya doin'?"

Looking up, I saw a boy wearing a mechanic's uniform
worn by employees of the gasoline station next to the
cafe'. He looked familiar, but, at first, I was unable
to recall where we had met.

He also held a cup of coffee, so I asked him to join
me. Very soon, his story--and probably my coffee--began
to thaw out my memory.

Five years earlier, he had been traveling home late one
February night with a group of friends. A ferocious
blizzard had arrived that afternoon, and by midnight,
the snow drifts were getting deep. He recalled hitting
a drift just down the road from my house.

He had walked to my house for help. I had taken my
pickup and tow rope and pulled him out of the snow
drift and up to the highway where maintenance trucks
had cleaned away the snow.

This has been a common occurrence here during the
winter. I cannot count the times someone has also
pulled my car from a snow drift.

However, it was an unforgettable experience for him. He
was only eighteen at the time, and he described how
frightened he had been. That was not a storm one would
want to be stuck in all night. Within a couple hours,
my pickup would not have made it to the highway.

As it turned out, his memory and account of that snowy
night was a very unexpected--and much appreciated--
kindness toward me. I thanked him sincerely for
stopping to chat during his break.

His memory of our unexpected meeting in a snow storm
brightened my entire day. Since then, we've had several
chats over a Saturday morning cup of coffee. Such
simple actions can indeed have an underestimated power.

There are many people who desperately need kind words,
smiles, and listening ears--ears that will hear without
judging and respond without possessing.

One simple kindness at the right moment can change the
direction of a life and shine a light of hope when all
light seems to have gone out. Sometimes it has the
power to save a life.

Here is a great quote that I keep in my e-journal. It
was written by William Penn...

"I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore,
there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I
can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not
defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again."

--Steve Brunkhorst