A little boy gives his last twenty cents to the homeless beggar his father used to help and is richly rewarded for his kindness when the man becomes a millionaire.
Jimmy and his Dad had their little rituals. Every Saturday afternoon, they would go to the park to play baseball and stop at their favorite ice cream parlor after to get a double scoop of chocolate and vanilla.
When they left the ice cream parlor, they always walked past a homeless man who always sat at the same street corner. Jimmy’s dad would always empty his wallet and give the man every cent he had on him and the man always smiled.
“One day, I’ll pay you back, John Landry, every cent!” he would say.
Jimmy’s dad always gave the man all his change. | Source: Unsplash
“Sure, Wayne,” Jimmy’s dad would say. “I’m counting on it!”
One day, Jimmy tugged on his dad’s hand. “Dad, how does that man know your name?”
“Jimmy,” John said. “A long time ago, when I was in college, I knew Wayne. He was always on the brink of a big discovery. Anyway, things didn’t go well for him, it happens sometimes.
A compassionate heart is always rewarded.
“So when I see him, I give him what I can, and he tells me he’s using it for lab supplies. I know it’s not true, but I pretend I do… And when he tells me he’ll share the profits of his discovery, I tell him I believe it too.”
Every Saturday afternoon, Jimmy went to the park with his dad. | Source: Unsplash
Jimmy didn’t understand everything his dad was saying, but he heard the compassion in his voice, so he stopped him and gave him a huge hug. Jimmy didn’t know it, but it was to be his last hug.
That night, while Jimmy’s dad was out for his evening run, his big heart gave out. John Landry was gone and since Jimmy’s mom had passed away when he was born, Jimmy was left alone in the world.
The only person he had left was his grandmother, Wendy. Even though Jimmy’s dad had a successful small software company when he passed away, it went under, and everything he had, including their house, went with it.
Gran Wendy had only her pension, so she found them a trailer to live in, and life got very tough for Jimmy....
