Good Morning Everyone,
Boy, todays story really holds true in the smoke and mirrors of the stock market. We dig and pry doing DD but do we really see what we are looking at???
Todays Story:
Seeing, Really Seeing
His nose was all smooshed looking, like maybe his mom
had dropped him when he was a baby. His ears were two --
maybe even two and a half -- sizes too big for his head.
And his eyes! His eyes bulged like they were ready to pop
right out of their sockets. His clothes were nice, Tim had
to admit. But he was still the homeliest kid he had ever
seen.
So why was he leaning on Jennifer Lawrence's locker
like they were best friends or something? She was a
cheerleader and one of the coolest girls in school. And why
was she smiling at him instead of twisting her nose all
funny like she did when she looked at Tim? Strange, he
thought. Really strange.
By lunchtime, Tim had forgotten about the new kid. He
sat down at his usual table...in the corner, all alone. Tim
was a loner. He wasn't as ugly as the new kid, just a little
on the heavy side and kind of nerdy. Nobody talked to Tim
much, but he was used to it. He had adjusted.
About halfway through his peanut butter and ketchup
sandwich (he put ketchup on everything) Tim looked up and
saw that kid again. He was holding his lunch tray and
standing over Jennifer, grinning like he'd just aced a math
test. And she was grinning, too. Then she moved over and
made room on the bench next to her. Strange. Really
strange.
But even stranger was what the new kid did. Tim would
have plunked into that seat so fast, his lunch bag would
have been left behind just hanging in the air. But not this
new kid. He shook his head, looked around, and walked
straight to Tim's table.
"Mind if I join you?" he said.
Just like that. Mind if I join you? Like the entire
eighth grade is fighting to sit at my table or something,
Tim thought.
"Sure," Tim said. "I mean no. I don't mind."
So the kid sat down. And he came back, day after day,
until they were friends. Real friends.
Tim had never had a real friend before, but Jeff --
that was his name, Jeff -- invited Tim to his house, on
trips with his family, and even hiking. Right! Tim -
hiking!
Funny thing was...one day Tim realized he wasn't so
heavy anymore. All that hiking, I guess, thought Tim. And
kids were talking to him, nodding to him in the hallways,
and even asking him questions about assignments and things.
And Tim was talking to them. He wasn't a loner anymore.
When Jeff sat by Tim one day at lunch, Tim had to ask
him, "Why did you sit with me that first day? Didn't Jen
ask you to sit with her?"
"Sure, she asked. But she didn't need me."
"Need you?"
"You did."
"I did?"
Tim hoped that nobody was listening. This is really a
dumb conversation, he thought.
"You were sitting all alone," explained Jeff. "You
looked lonely and scared."
"Scared?"
"Uh huh, scared. I knew that look. I used to have one
too, just like it."
"You?" Tim couldn't believe it.
"Maybe you didn't notice, but I'm not exactly the best
looking guy in school. At my old school, I always sat
alone, with my eyes on my lunch. I was afraid that if I
looked up I would see everyone laughing at me."
"You?" Tim knew he sounded stupid, but he couldn't
picture Jeff sitting all by himself. He's so friendly.
"Me. It took a friend to help me see that I wasn't
alone because of my nose or my ears. I was alone because I
never smiled or took an interest in people. Other people.
I was so concerned about myself, that I never paid attention
to anyone else. That's why I sat with you. To let you know
that someone cared. Jennifer already knew."
"Oh, she knows, all right," Tim said, as he watched two
guys fighting to sit near her. Tim and Jeff both laughed.
It felt good to laugh, and I've been doing a lot of it
lately, realized Tim.
Then Tim looked at Jeff. Really looked. He isn't so
bad looking, Tim thought. Oh, not handsome or anything like
that. But he isn't homely. Jeff is my friend. That's when
Tim realized that he was seeing Jeff for the first time.
Months earlier all that Tim had seen were a funny-looking
nose and "Dumbo ears." Now he was seeing Jeff, really
seeing Jeff.
By Marie P. McDougal
Have a great day all !!!!
wb |
