A young man
learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.
It had been
some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life
itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit
of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to
think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was
working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the
phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is
Wednesday...” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat
quietly remembering his childhood days.
"Jack,
did you hear me?"
"Oh,
sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm
sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
"Well, he
didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd
reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put
it," Mom told him.
"I loved
that old house he lived in," Jack said.
"You
know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had
a man's influence in your life," she said
"He's the
one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this
business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he
thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.
As busy as he
was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr.
Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and
most of his relatives had passed away.
The night
before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house
next door one more time.
Standing in
the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another
dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he
remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of
furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.
"What's
wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.
"The box
is gone," he said
"What
box?" Mom asked.
"There
was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked
him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the
thing I value most'" Jack said.
It was gone.
Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box.
He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
"Now I'll
never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get
some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
It had been
about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack
discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one
at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,"
the note read.
Early the next
day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had
been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the
return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read.
Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was
the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
"Upon my
death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing
I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart
racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There
inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.
Running his
fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he
found these words engraved:
"Jack,
Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."
"The
thing he valued most was...my time"
Jack held the
watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments
for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.
"I need
some time to spend with my son," he said.
"Oh, by
the way, Janet, thanks for your time!"
"Life is
not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our
breath away,"
-Forwarded email-
No comments:
Post a Comment