The Bum

 

         Linda lived in a quiet neighborhood where she played every day with the rest of the children.  On the corner of the street was an abandoned garage that housed what we called the neighborhood bum whose name was Jack. He was a strange fellow who you would see on occasion as he wandered through the streets looking filthy and ragged. As a child Linda felt sad because winters were cold and no one really knew how he managed to live during the cold months.  As children they all used to go into the garage just for the fun of inspecting the old rubble that was left behind from the gas station that once was functioning there. One particular day Linda and her friends discovered a bunch of clothes that were piled underneath some of the wood. They all suspected that they belonged to Jack the bum and Linda felt a sense of remorse as the rest thought it a funny thing to just take them and throw them around the dirt floor. Instead of speaking out Linda followed the crowd, laughing with them knowing in her heart that not one of them thought how this man would feel finding his clothes scattered around.

 

This was a lonely world that he lived in without a bed to rest his weary head on or anyone who really seemed to care that he had nothing. He was the joke of the town and was mocked and made fun of. The only belongings he owned were now strewn all over the filthy, greasy garage floor because of child’s play. Years later Jack died and was actually a very intelligent, wealthy man whose wife and children had been killed in a car accident.Emotionally he never recovered and lived this way because of it. How quickly we look and pass judgments on people because of how they look and this man had never hurt a soul. 

 

This is a true story. Think about it! Have a great day!​