Pop!
Originally uploaded by drewmaniac
Allow me to introduce you to a man I simply knew as Brother Frank. He was an older man with white hair, who wore '70's era suits, and sported a handle bar mustache. I recall always being excited when I saw he was nearby.
My younger brother and I would always make it a point to follow him and shake his hand. This was because he would always (almost magically) pass a piece of bubble gum into our hand when we shook. You know that hard, stale, and square gum that you could probably buy for one cent back then. He'd ask us how we were doing and we'd tell him we were fine. We were almost always ready to rip the package off that old bubble gum and stick it in our mouths before we could leave his sight.
Brother Frank was a preacher who attended a church my family visited on occasion, some two hours from where we lived. So I did not see him very often. I never had any intellectual conversations with him. I do not know what all of his beliefs were on many issues. We never discussed religion, sports, or the politics of the day. I don't recall any advice he might have given me at the time. I couldn't even tell you what his voice sounded like. That's because he passed away in 1984 (give or take a year or two) when I was only about six or seven years of age.
I still remember his funeral vividly. Though I did not understand everything that was going on, I still remember feeling sadness. I even remember who preached his eulogy. All because on the few occasions that Brother Frank and I crossed paths, he took the time to hand a young boy a piece of bubble gum as he shook his hand.
It was a simple gesture. Simple, but memorable. Or as some would say, remarkable.
What are you doing on a daily basis that is memorable, or remarkable? Are you taking the time to do a little something for someone else? Are you putting out some effort to give to someone else?
You never know when a six year old might be taking note.
3 comments:
I can think of several people I have encountered in my life who have had this kind of impact on me. It has always been my hope to have this type of impact on others. Unfortunately, there is a flip side to the coin. There are people you encounter who leave you with only a negative impression. I had an experience like that with an older lady once and it made me very aware of the type of impression I leave with people. I enjoyed your post, as always.
i DO love that pic... good post, too.
I am a nice person but an outsider so people ignore me and me them. For some reason I scare people by projecting authority, which I have never had, or people ask me for help or directions.
I think people think I'm a cop or i with some gang operation. I guess that's memorable. People who have gotten to know me have told me how I scared them at first, even when, especially when, I smiled. They cannot believe how nice I am but they still treat me as an authority figure to be a little wary of.
At the age of 68 I even drove off five teenage muggers after one smacked me from behind. When I yelled stop, they did. Then they followed me for six blocks but ran backwards when I turned around. Of course I kept my hand in my breast pocket to fake having a gun.
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