Things Aren't As They Appear

Things Aren't As They Appear

         I was talking to a friend of mine who I haven't had a chance to see in a while. He was a classmate of mine. Only seen now and again. He was home taking care of his parents. They both have pasted on since he has been back. Now telling me he wanted to return to Cambodia. A place he lived before. Thinking he could make a bigger difference now. Being curious I ask him why he said that. This is the story he told.

          Living in Cambodia at the time, he had a hotel there. Believe me he is not rich by any means. But he and his girlfriend I believe co owned it. I had work with him in a paper mill a long time ago. Here you didn't make a lot, but he save a little bit of money to do this. Why I even mention this is for the story. Poor here, rich there. Well at least enough to get the hotel and run it. But still not the story. I felt like you needed a little bit of backdrop for it.

         Being the laid back person he is made friends with the locals, he hired them and treated them well. On one day he meet up with a friend at a local bar about half way between them both. Beer pitchers were cheap at the bar, as he told it. It was a place tourists went to. He told me there was a young boy maybe 11 or 12 there. He was trying to shine the shoes for people for 50 cents. All the well dress tourists were shunning him, and turning him away. He seeing that, called him over to shine his shoes. He was wearing flip flops at the time. The kid shined them up, and he paid him for his service. Later on seeing him still there not having much luck with the patrons there. He ask him if he was hungry? The boy said yes. So he brought him a full meal that cost him $2.00. The kid left with a smile on his face.

         A couple of days or so later he meet up with his friend again at that same place. The boy came up to him and asked if it was okay if his mother spoke to him. He said yes, not knowing what was going to happen. Thinking the worst, maybe he did something wrong. This woman who was all crippled up, came up to him. With the help of his friend that was there translating. She thank and praise him, hugged him with a tear in her eye, for helping her son. She told him how she worried every day whether he would eat. Saying some days he could make enough to bring home a meal, but often not. She told him how her son had two younger bothers at home and that meal he bought feed them all that day. She hugged him again, and thank him for his generosity.

         You see she was riding a scooter there and got hit by a car on the way to work. She couldn't work no more because of that, no one would hire a cripple. Without a father this boy was the lone earner for the family. He was not hustling to make quick money. He was doing it to feed his family. All that pressure on a young boy, who should be out playing, had to take the role as a bread winner. Shinning shoes because it was the skill he had and did good job if he was allowed to.

Thomas Seeker