-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Grim
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Wayne Pruner
Subject: FW: A Touching Story For Christmas
THIS SAYS IT ALL!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
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Subject: Fwd: A Touching Story For Christmas
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>Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 16:19:06 EST
>Subject: Fwd: A Touching Story For Christmas
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>Subject: A Touching Story For Christmas
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>A Touching Story For Christmas
>
>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 house hold in their mother's absence. All 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 saw 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 gently 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, Bobby heard the shop keeper say, "Merry Christmas, son."
>
>As the shopkeeper 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 I 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 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.
>
>
>