Subj : WARNING SOPPY EMOPTIONAL FEELING STUFF ENCLOSED
To   : All
From : Rachel L. Akers
Date : Tue Apr 17 2001 11:58 pm

MM All,

Yeh I know it's reallllll Soppy stuff but... <Aside> better get out the tissues 
people!! I don't usually FWed this kind of mush & I've deliberately deleated 
the "Friendship week" mush, I'd have changed the X-ian God to something more 
generic but I'm still sniffling <g>. True or not it's a good example how little 
acts can make a big difference.

  Rai

****************************************************************
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 and 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 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 story of 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 smiling that 
same grateful smile. 

Not until that moment did I realise 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. God puts us all in each 
other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others. 

--- Msged/2 4.00
 * Origin: Elfwhere - The POINTy eared POINT (3:640/531.2379)

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