Food for thought - Help someone!

One day, when I was a
freshman in high school,

I saw a kid from
my class was walking home from school..

His name was
Kyle.

It looked like he
was carrying all of his books.

I thought to
myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a
Friday?

He must really be
a nerd.'

I had quite a
weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow
afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking,
I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.

They ran at him,
knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the
dirt.

His glasses went
flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from
him..

He looked up and I
saw this terrible sadness in his eyes

My heart went out
to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his
glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him
his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are
jerks.'? ?

They really should
get lives.

' He looked at me
and said, 'Hey thanks!'

There was a big
smile on his face.

It was one of
those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him
pick up his books, and asked him where he lived..

As it turned out,
he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him
before.

He said he had
gone to private school before now.

I would have never
hung out with a private school kid before.

We talked all the
way home, and I carried some of his books.

He turned out to
be a pretty cool kid..

I asked him if he
wanted to play a little football ?
with my
friends

He said
yes.

We hung out all
weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and
my? ? friends thought the
same of him.

Monday morning
came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books
again.

I stopped him and
said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile
of books everyday!

' He just laughed
and handed me half the books.

Over the next four
years, Kyle and I became best friends..

When we were
seniors we began to think about college..

Kyle decided
on Georgetown and I was going to
Duke.

I knew that we
would always be friends, that the miles would never

be a
problem.

He was going to be
a doctor and I was going for business on a football
scholarship..

Kyle was
valedictorian of our class.

I teased him all
the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare
a speech for graduation.

I was so glad it
wasn't me having to get up there and speak

Graduation day, I
saw Kyle.

He looked
great.

He was one of
those guys that really found himself during high school.

He filled out and
actually looked good in glasses.

He had more dates
than I had and all the girls loved him.

Boy, sometimes I
was jealous!

Today was one of
those days.

I could see that
he was nervous about his speech.

So, I smacked him
on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!'

He looked at me
with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and
smiled.

' Thanks,' he
said.

As he started his
speech, he cleared his throat, and began

'Graduation is a
time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough
years.

Your parents, your
teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your
friends...

I am here to tell
all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give
them.

I am going to tell
you a story.'

I just looked at
my friend with disbelief as he told
the ?
first day we
met.

He had planned to
kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how
he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and
was carrying his stuff home.

He looked hard at
me and gave me a little smile.

'Thankfully, I was
saved.

My friend saved me
from doing the unspeakable..'

I heard the gasp
go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his
weakest moment.

I saw his Mom and
dad looking at me and s miling that same grateful smile.

Not until that
moment did I realize it's depth.

Never
underestimate the power of your actions..

With one small
gesture you can change a person's life.

For better or for
worse.

'Friends are
angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how
to fly.'

There is no
beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is a
mystery.

Today is a
gift.

National

Friendship Week