Thank You

When I walked into school, all I could think about is how I would fit in there.  My name is Eddie Smith and I had just transferred to East High. I had already entered my first class when I saw him; tan, burly, and “mean” etched in his face.

           

Even from my first, quick glance I could tell he was going to give me trouble.  Upon arriving, I was introduced by the teacher and sent to sit in the back of the room, right next to “Freight Train.”  I discovered that this was what they called this burly beast of a man.  I quietly descended towards my seat and was rewarded with the opening act of Freight Train’s bag of tricks.

            I felt the chair slide from under me as gravity took control and I toppled to the ground.  Everyone burst into laughter except a small, bold, blond haired girl who was sitting in the front row.  She marched to the back, helped me regain my footing, and afflicted “Mr. Joe Snee” with the loudest and most confident lecture I had ever heard.  This girl was my hero.  She picked up my books and apologized for Joe’s rude behavior.  I thanked her and sat in awe for the rest of the class period.

            Once first hour was finished, I found out my rescuer’s name.  She was called Grace Felton.  I knew right away why she was named Grace.  She grabbed my arm and pulled me to the next class.  As I scanned my class schedule, I noticed that Grace and Freight Train were both in all of the same classes that I was in.  This frightened me because freight train had continued to pick on me ever since the moment he layed eyes on me.  I suppose in those days I would have been classified as a nerd, and that’s why I was teased.

That whole day began the most bitter sweet time in my life.  I fell in love with Grace Felton.  We did all we could to be together.  She had always cared about me, even when she knew nothing about me.  I knew I loved her, so I finally asked her out in the tenth grade.  She said, “Yes, of course Eddie.”  That was when it all began for me.

              Freight Train, along with every other guy in the school, was jealous of me.  They constantly made fun of me and pulled pranks.  This hurt me a lot because it made me feel worthless.  They never understood why an amazing girl like her would ever choose me over them.  They were all athletic men that held positions like captain of the baseball team.  These guys all bullied me, so I prayed for them, namely Freight Train.

My title was captain of the Knowledge bowl and Debate teams.  I worked hard in school even though I didn’t have to.  Freight Train scared me to death because he was the captain of the football team and I could barely bench 90 pounds in Physical Education class.  He out did me at everything except one thing--that was being a stewardly young Christian who cared for others. 

I went to church with Grace every Sunday and I even converted my parents to Christianity.  My father owned a huge law firm in Detroit and we lived in a close-by suburban city.  I was able to get experiences at the law firm at an early age and knew that I wanted to take over the family business one day.  Grace and I began talking about the future more and more as the time passed.  We both were accepted at Harvard University before the beginning of our senior year in High School.  By the end of our senior year, Freight Train had begun to bully me more.  He knew that he would never have as good of a chance at life as me, so he resorted to bullying.  When we graduated, Freight Train found out that he had not earned his high school diploma and would have to return.  He was very upset and attempted suicide just three short hours after the ceremony.  Everyone was shocked.  This tough guy that seemed to have it all together had failed his senior year and attempted to end his life.  My heart went out to him. 

Twenty years later, I was sitting in my office at Smith and Smith Incorporated Law Firm.  I saw a burly man walk by the door.  He looked like he had had a very tough life that involved drugs and alcohol.  That was when I looked at his nametag.  “Joe” is what was written on it.  He looked so familiar to me that I had to find out who he was.  I asked the secretary to get me the current staff list.  As I was scanning the list, my eyes dropped to “Joe Snee.”  My jaw dropped as I realized that I was currently employing the man that had bullied me for four horrible years. 

I had married Grace and we have four beautiful children together.  I decided that we should talk about Joe and find out if there was anyway to help him.  We decided that I should approach him and ask if he needed help.  As I walked up to him the next day and began to say “Hello Joe, is ther…,” He stopped me and with tears in his eyes said, “Thank you Eddie, thank you so much.”