Old Shakes

Old Shakes


         An old man walked slowly past a school ground every day. Each step was hard and painful, but he enjoyed the walk. Every day, he would stop and watch a certain group of boys playing. Everyday, those boys made fun of the old man. They called him Old Shakes because he shook as he walked.

         One of the boys was especially mean to the old man. His name was George. Sometimes, George would grab an old stick and walk around using it as a cane like the old man. One day, George saw the old man watching and told the old man “stop watching us. Why don't you go home and die?” The old man did not answer, but walked away slowly and painfully.

         For three days, the old man did not come by the school ground. The boys did not even notice. They were too busy playing their games. Then, one afternoon, George came home. His mother pulled him aside. She told him that a great man had just died. She said that they were going to the funeral.

         George did not want to go. He wanted to play with his friends, but his mother wouldn't let him stay. He had to go.

         At the memorial service, it came time to view the body. George did not want to see a dead body, but his mother grabbed his hand and pulled him up to the open casket. To George's surprise, it was Old Shakes.

         His mother looked at him, and asked if he knew who the man was. George said that this man had walked by the school ground every day, but he did not tell his mother that he (George) had made fun of the old man.

         Then his mother told George a story. “When you were a born, you needed a surgery to save your life. Your father had left me when he found out I was pregnant, and I did not have a job. Needless to say, I could not afford the surgery. This old man was a doctor at the hospital, and was about to retire. He offered to do the surgery at his own expense. He saved your life, but he did not stop there. He also sent me a check every month to pay for your expenses. He kept sending the checks until now. That is how we are able to survive. We would not make it on my pay alone. I don't know what we will do without him.”

         George's mother was crying, and George began to cry too. He was sorry for all the bad things he had said to the good doctor. He prayed to God for forgiveness. He asked his mother why she had not told him before. She said that the doctor asked her not to tell, and she didn't, but she couldn't wait anymore when she heard that he had died. They both cried together.

         About a month passed on, and mother was starting to struggle with bills. She wasn't even sure where the next week's food would come from. George opened the mailbox, and sorted through the bills and junk mail. Then, he spotted an envelope from a Dr. Howard Billings. He wondered if it could be something from the doctor who had just died. He ran to his mother, and gave her the envelope. She smiled.

         From that day until George turned 18 and went to college, every month a check came in the mail. Dr. Billings continued to save George's life even after death. Eight years later, George became a doctor.