Parables--Tales of a Fellowship Mr. Dirtyshoes At our church--you know the one. You probably go to one just like it, only different. Well, at our church there is this man whose shoes are always dirty and dusty. Only we kids seemed to notice it. Maybe it was because we were closer to them. Mr. Reeds clothes were always neat and clean and his hair slicked down as he would say and his face was always shaved smooth as something on a baby I wont say but others did sometimes. Mr. Reed always looked nice. I think its because he is nice. Its because he cant bend over to shine them, said Joey Smith who we called Joey Somebody because he liked it better than Smith. His name is Mr. Reed because hes thin as one and just as stiff. He cant bend over. Just then a ladys hankie fluttered toward the floor but before it could land, Mr. Reed swooped down and scooped it up in his slender twiggy fingers proving that he could bend over after all. Kinda like a reed in the wind. Well, thats what my Dad said, said Joey Somebody, sheepishly. My dad says Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear, I said, thinking I was so smart because my dad is too. My dad says, Seeing is believing, said Sharon Sharon who looked like a girl but played like a boy. She was the best pitcher our towns Little League ever had. I had to see it to believe it but now I do. Im the catcher and I know a pitcher when I see one. My mom says we shouldnt talk about other people, said Billy Blooper who was called that because he often said things people didnt have an answer to. This was one of those times. If silence is really golden, we would have all been very rich right then and there. Lets ask him, said I, causing another golden moment. He might get mad, said Sharon Sharon. You ask him My dad says, It never hurts to ask, said I, quoting the smartest man I know. My mom says, Curiosity killed the cat, said Billy Blooper. You ask him. No, I said, trying not to think of dead cats. Why? asked everybody. Because. Because why? asked Joey Somebody for everybody. Just because, said I, triumphantly using the universal-catchall-whatever clause. I looked up clause one day, so now I can use it. If you want to know what it is you can look it up, too. Its in the dictionary which is that really big book that always takes forever to find even though its really big because nobody ever puts it back where it belongs after theyre done with it. I always wondered why grownups dont have a universal-catchall-whatever clause. Just because; I guess. I know, said Joey Somebody. We can watch him. Mr. Reed walks by my house every day. Mine, too, said Sharon, who lived clear across town from Joey. Mine, too, I said. I lived somewhere in the middle. Hmmm, said The Thinker, who we called that because he always made that thinking sound. Hmmm. Yeah, that sound. We didnt know if he was really thinking but he sounded like he was. Billy Blooper was nowhere to be seen. He seemed to be able to bloop out at will. Its decided, then, said Joey Somebody for everybody. Well watch him when he goes by our houses and next Saturday well get together to compare notes. Ill follow him the rest of the ways, said the Thinker, saying something other than Hmmm for the first time any of us could remember. Lets go then, said Joey Somebody and everybody did. I ran all the way home to beat Mr. Reed there. I could have followed him but I didnt want to take the Thinkers job. After a longer time than I thought it should take, Mr. Reed walked by my house carrying two heavy grocery bags he didnt have at church. Hi, Mr. Reed, I said. Have you been shopping? Hi yourself, said Mr. Reed. And yes. I picked up some things for Mrs. Jobe who is ill today. Thats nice but it looks heavy, said I, May I carry one? You are a gem, young sir, said Mr. Reed with a thin, wide smile. I asked my mom and we were off to Mrs. Jobes house. You, kind sir are a treasure, said Mrs. Jobe as Mr. Reed handed her his bag of groceries. And you, young master are a diamond in the rough, she said to me. I didnt know what that meant but I did feel bright and sparkly right about then. After about two billion and three (I counted them) thank yous and You shouldnt haves Mr. Reed and I left to go our separate ways. I went straight home, of course. I thought he did, too. Joey Somebody called me later the next day and said he and his dad drove by Mr. Reed working on what he called a Habitat house. Whats a Habitat house, I asked. Dunno, said Joey, Lets go find out. Ill meet you there after lunch. Wheres the habitat at? I asked, remembering a line from an old Wally Cox routine I used to listen to with my grandfather. He told me where it was and I met him there after lunch. I took me ten minutes to walk there. When we got there, Mr. Reed was wearing an apron; not like my moms kitchen apron or my dads bar-by-God-cuing apron, it had nails in it. Mr. Reed was nailing nails up high where only he could reach and Mr. Short, who said he was vertically challenged hammered nails down low where he could reach without bending over. They worked well together. When we got noticed we became picker-uppers and gofers, picking up stuff and going fer what wasnt already there. You boys are treasures, said a happy man as he plopped two wondrous brand new ballcaps on our heads at the end of the workday. He told us we were helping him build a Habitat for Humanity house for his family because they couldnt afford one by themselves. Joey and I went home feeling good with our Habitat hats on our happy heads and smiles on our precious faces. After dark that night, Sharon Sharon called and said she had gone with Mr. Reed to the park by her house where they sang songs at a rally for world peace. He called me a pearl for keeping him company, she said. Where is he, now? I asked. I dont know. Its my bedtime and boy am I tired. Me too, said I, kicking my dusty shoes under the bed. See you Saturday. * * * Im pooped, I said that Saturday. Me too, agreed Sharon. Im tired like everybody, said the Thinker. Hmmmm, said Joey Somebody. You know, he continued. Following Mr. Reed is hard work. He walks everywhere all day long-- Helping others, we all said in unison, which means at the same time. Hmmm, we all said. Look, said the Thinker. Everybodys shoes are dirty. I know, said I. Ive been too tired to ask my mom to wash them and shes already so busy taking care of me and Dad. Everybody nodded and the Thinker quietly walked away murmuring the longest Hmmmmmm I ever heard him say or hum or whatever. The next day at church we all arrived at the same time, except for the Thinker, who was already there, holding a strange wooden box. What s that? We all asked. A shoe shine kit. I thought we could-- Shine our shoes, interrupted Joey Somebody. Not exactly-- started the Thinker, but I cut him off with, Great idea. You do mine and Ill do yours and Joeys. OK, said the Thinker, but-- Ill do my own, blurted Sharon Sharon. Im independent. Mr. Reed said so. He said Im resourceful and introspective, I bragged. He said Im puzzling yet intriguing, bragged Billy Blooper, but Im not sure what that means. Neither did the rest of us but we decided it must be good if Mr. Reed said it. What did he call you? I asked the Thinker. The Thinker did what thinkers do. He thought for a minute and said, He called me the nicest thing anybodys ever called me. What? we all asked. Studious Samuel, he said, wistfully. He called me by my name and told me, still waters run deep. Whats that mean? we all asked. Dunno, but it must be good if Mr. Reed said it, Samuel said as he passed out the rags, brushes and shoe goo to the rest of us. Just as we had finished our shoes, Mr. Reed walked up to us. The Thinker surprised us by grabbing a brush, goo and a rag from the box and asked, Shoe shine, Mr. Reed? Mr. Reed smiled and said, I believe that would be just the ticket, Studious Samuel. I never seem to be able to find the time to do it myself. We all grinned up at him and together, all at the same time and in unison, even said, We know, Mr. Reed. We know. Mr. Reed smiled and said, Hmmm. Im surrounded by jewels, precious jewels and gems. We felt the same way about him. I looked at Studious Samuel, formerly known as the Thinker and thought of still, deep water as he worked away at Mr. Reeds dirty shoes. I think I know what that means now. I know more about riches, too and I clean my own shoes.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Mar 2014 13:41:57 +0000