Hope this isn't a dupe..
Late Christmas week I was rushing around trying to get some last minute
shopping done. I was stressed out and not thinking very
fondly of the season right then. It was dark, cold and wet in the
parking lot as I was loading my car up with gifts that I felt obligated
to buy. I noticed that I was missing a receipt that I might need later
so, mumbling under my breath, I retraced my steps to the mall
entrance.
As I was searching the wet pavement for the lost receipt, I heard a
quiet sobbing. The crying was coming from a poorly dressed boy
of about 12 years old. He was short and thin. He had no coat. He was
just wearing a ragged flannel shirt to protect him from the cold
night's chill. Oddly enough, he was holding a hundred dollar bill in his
hand. Thinking that he had gotten lost from his parents, I
asked him what was wrong. He told me his sad story.
He said that he came from a large family. He had three brothers and four
sisters. His father had died when he was nine years old. His
mother was poorly educated and worked two full time jobs. She made very
little to support her large family. Nevertheless, she had
managed to skimp and save two hundred dollars to buy her children
Christmas presents. The young boy had been dropped off by his
mother on the way to her second job. He was to use the money to buy
presents for all his siblings and save just enough to take the
bus home.
He had not even entered the mall when another boy grabbed one of the hundred
dollar bills and disappeared into the night. "Why didn't you
scream for help?" I asked. The boy said, "I did." "And nobody came to
help you?" I queried. The boy stared at the sidewalk and sadly
shook his head. "How loud did you scream?" I inquired. The soft-spoken
boy looked up and meekly whispered, "Help me!" I realized
that absolutely no one could have heard that poor boy cry for help. So I
grabbed his other hundred dollar bill and ran to my car.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
Signed,
Kenneth Lay CEO, Enron Corporation
Late Christmas week I was rushing around trying to get some last minute
shopping done. I was stressed out and not thinking very
fondly of the season right then. It was dark, cold and wet in the
parking lot as I was loading my car up with gifts that I felt obligated
to buy. I noticed that I was missing a receipt that I might need later
so, mumbling under my breath, I retraced my steps to the mall
entrance.
As I was searching the wet pavement for the lost receipt, I heard a
quiet sobbing. The crying was coming from a poorly dressed boy
of about 12 years old. He was short and thin. He had no coat. He was
just wearing a ragged flannel shirt to protect him from the cold
night's chill. Oddly enough, he was holding a hundred dollar bill in his
hand. Thinking that he had gotten lost from his parents, I
asked him what was wrong. He told me his sad story.
He said that he came from a large family. He had three brothers and four
sisters. His father had died when he was nine years old. His
mother was poorly educated and worked two full time jobs. She made very
little to support her large family. Nevertheless, she had
managed to skimp and save two hundred dollars to buy her children
Christmas presents. The young boy had been dropped off by his
mother on the way to her second job. He was to use the money to buy
presents for all his siblings and save just enough to take the
bus home.
He had not even entered the mall when another boy grabbed one of the hundred
dollar bills and disappeared into the night. "Why didn't you
scream for help?" I asked. The boy said, "I did." "And nobody came to
help you?" I queried. The boy stared at the sidewalk and sadly
shook his head. "How loud did you scream?" I inquired. The soft-spoken
boy looked up and meekly whispered, "Help me!" I realized
that absolutely no one could have heard that poor boy cry for help. So I
grabbed his other hundred dollar bill and ran to my car.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
Signed,
Kenneth Lay CEO, Enron Corporation
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