The Brick

About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was

traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in

his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. He

was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down

when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted out, but

a brick sailed out and -- WHUMP! -- it smashed into the Jag's shiny black

side door!

SCREECH...!!!! Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly

spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. Josh

jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car.

He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what

the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. "That's my

new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you

throw it?"

"Please, mister, please ... I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!"

Pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!"

Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked car.

"It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of

his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the

executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's

hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the

rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back

into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and

cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the

younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, Jaguar --a long and

slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent

to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a

brick at him to get his attention...

Some bricks are softer than others. Feel for the bricks of life coming at/to

you.