forty-three years seems like a long time to remember the name of a mere1 acquaintance. i have duly forgotten the name of an old lady who was a customer on my * route when i was a twelve-year-old boy in marinette, wisconsin back in 1954. yet it seems like just yesterday that she taught me a lesson in forgiveness that i can only hope to pass on to someone else someday.
on a mindless saturday afternoon, a friend and i were throwing rocks onto the roof of the old lady’s house from a secluded2 spot in her backyard. the object of our play was to observe how the rocks changed to missiles as they rolled to the roof’s edge and shot out into the yard like comets falling from the sky.
i found myself a perfectly3 smooth rock and sent it for a ride. the stone was too smooth, how*r, so it slipped from my hand as i let it go and headed straight for a small window on the old lady’s back porch. at the sound of fractured glass, we took off from the old lady’s yard faster than any of our missiles flew off her roof.
i was too scared about getting caught that first night to be concerned about the old lady with the broken porch window. how*r, a few days later, when i was sure that i hadn’t been discovered, i started to feel guilty for her mi*ortune. she still greeted me with a smile each day when i gave her the *, but i was no longer able to act comfortable in her presence.
i made up my mind that i would save my * delivery money, and in three weeks i had the s*n dollars that i calculated would cover the cost of her window. i put the money in an envelope with a note explaining that i was sorry for breaking her window and hoped that the s*n dollars would cover the cost for repairing it.
i waited until it was dark, snuck up to the old lady’s house, and put the envelope of retribution through the letter slot in her door. my soul felt redeemed4 and i couldn’t wait for the * of, once again, looking straight into the old lady’s eyes.
the next day, i handed the old lady her * and was able to return the warm smile that i was receiving from her. she thanked me for the * and said, “here, i have something for you.” it was a bag of cookies. i thanked her and proceeded to eat the cookies as i continued my route.
after s*ral cookies, i felt an envelope and pulled it out of the bag. when i opened the envelope, i was stunned5. inside was the s*n dollars and a short note that said, “i’m proud of you.”
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