Just Passing By

My old friend, Jerry Lao, shared me this story and it just brought me so much comfort. During these uncertain times, we may all feel so burdened and afraid.

Let the Bryan in us reach out to others and remember that even if we have so little, helping others doesn’t cost us much.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

One day a man saw a old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you.

He said, ‘I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.’

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car  looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.

Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, ‘And think of me.’

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her.

The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one   that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: ‘You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.’

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard.
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, ‘Everything’s going to be all right.. I love you, Bryan Anderson.’

Gas prices are going down, sure, but with these uncertain times, one can’t really go splurging, yet.  I don’t know about you but I find that I still have to be frugal and save wherever and whenever I can. Here are some frugal tips that I personally stick to and maybe you can adapt too. I call them my own tipid-isms.

1. Hang clothes to dry when weather permits. On the weekends when I do my laundry, I hang everything outside and when the clothes are just a bit damp, I throw them in the dryer, and let them hang there for not more than 10 minutes just to get them soft and fluffy and to remove lint.
2. Throw laundry balls in the dryer too to untangle and keep the hot air circulating efficiently in between  clothes.
3. Stay away from Starbucks. And don’t buy soda from vending machines. Brew your own coffee and put in a thermos. Buy soda in bulk. Check for supermarkets having sales.
4. Buy groceries in discount stores. They may not be in keeping with my “fabulosity” image but heck, I’ll do anyting to save some bucks. Grocery Outlet carries most of the items we need. Just make sure you check for expiration dates.
5. Cook your own meals. TV dinners and fastfood takeouts are convenient, but pricey.
6. Bring lunch from home and store in Glad containers whenever you can. You only use sandwich bags for a few hours. They stay in the landfill for centuries.
7. Filter your own water. Brita pitchers with replaceable filters are amazing. They really do the job! We even bring our own pitcher when on vacation. Just fill the pitcher with regular tap water in your hotel room and voila! You have fresh filtered water for free!
8. Get everyone in your family a cellphone and share the cheapest family plan. Cancel your landline service. You can still reach everybody that way and you don’t have to deal with pesky telemarketers.
9. Don’t leave the water running when brushing your teeth.
10. Do your own manicures, unless you’re in the Philippines and you can get a home service mani-pedi for cheap.

Not much improvement in the weather this weekend. Still gray and cold and generally depressing.

But hey, my spirits are up! My house is now decked in holiday splendor. The tree is up and dressed, the wreath by the door is hung, the hedge in front of the house is blanketed in teeny tiny white lights that sparkle in the night. And of course, my very own Pinoy parol (lantern) takes center stage this year! Christmas comes early at the Lingads of Adel Way in Sparks, Nevada.

My parol is a gift from my sister, Dang. Dad and Mama brought it here, with much fuss and fretting. My lovely lantern is made of capiz, dyed in the colors of Christmas. It’s very fragile so my Dad was really distressed about the package until they got here and I plugged it and it twinkled merrily.

I have not turned on the lights, not yet, lest my neighbors think I’ve gone looney. Although the malls have revved the Christmas tempo, maybe I’ll wait until Thanksgiving before I go all out. I’ll post pictures then.

The weather can mess with your mood.

The skies have been gray and dark for two days now. You can just imagine how that’s making my mood go out of whack. I know I’ve said time and again that Fall is my favorite season of all. I should’ve qualified that. I love the early weeks of Fall when the trees turn to their most vibrant colors imaginable. But the last days of the season always send me spiraling down to inexplicable gloom.

I woke up early last Saturday and decided to take Bamboo for a walk. It was quiet and all I could hear were the crunching leaves beneath our feet. Only a few trees still had leaves on them. The bare branches against the gray sky created an almost surreal picture.

Yesterday when we turned back our clocks to standard time, night time came quickly. It was already dark by 5 o’clock. I was almost tempted to bring out my Christmas lights to counter the somber atmosphere. Today, I know that when I drive home, I will need to turn my headlights on.

So, so sad.