JUST A PENNY?

3-31-09...JUST A PENNY?

A few weeks ago I was in a store. This little boy and his Mom were in front of me with a cart. The little boy dropped something and it rolled back towards me. It was a penny. He turned and was coming back to pick up his penny. What his Mom said curled my toes. "Come on Robbie it is just a penny". I wanted to shout at that young Mother, "Oh honey please don't teach your child that a penny has no value". But of course I couldn't do that. What I did was pick up the penny and hurry after the crying little boy and hand him his penny. "Here honey, save this penny until you get some more then you can buy something". I was afraid the Mom would tell me to mind my own business but when the little boy stopped crying I saw relief on her face and she thanked me.
When I was growing up I dropped my penny down in the toilet one morning. I ran and told my Daddy and he got a shovel and dipped it out for me. A penny meant a lot then and I realize that is not the case now but several pennies will buy a small boy something. I hope that Mother learns so her kids can learn that everything has a value. Oh how I would loved to have been able to tell that Mom something to help her. It just breaks my heart to see how some kids today do not have the advantages I had growing up.
I was taught right. And sometimes that don't count for much with others. I was called Goody two shoes often in school but I stuck to what I was taught. That was how it was because my Mama and Daddy said so. What about that little boy and many others like him. A penny dropped may be a dime, or a quarter next time. I shudder to think.
One day Brenda and I had walked to Parks store. I dropped my nickel on the way and absolutely could not find it. We looked and looked but the nickel was gone. I was upset but Brenda said she would share her nickel with me. Losing a nickel was a big thing with me and I was devastated. I asked God to help me find it.
We walked on to the store and just before we went in the door I spied something sticking out of the rocks. I dug it out and it was a dirty nickel. Now I could have just walked on in the store and spent the nickel. But I didn't. I knew what I had been taught about that. I (reluctantly I must say) took the nickel up to the counter and handed it to Hall Parks and told him I had found it outside. He took the nickel and tossed it down on the counter and went about his business. No Thank You or anything. Just took the nickel. I was hurt and confused. I had done the right thing so why did it hurt so much. I ran out of the store crying. Brenda came too. When we got home we told My Mama about it. She cried too but she told me how proud she was of me because I had done the right thing. When Daddy came home he reinforced what Mama had said. He held me and bragged on me till I was fine and went on my way. Many years later I found out how Mama and Daddy really felt about what Hall Parks had done. I had done the right thing and they were very proud of me. BUT! Hall had done the wrong thing and they were both steamed at him. I also found out that they both told him in no uncertain terms what they thought of what he had done to me. I also remember finding a penny at the store later and Hall Parks gave it back to me and Thanked me and told me I was a good little girl. Did he mean what he said? Heck no (I found that out later too) but my Daddy was standing there and I think he knew he'd better not keep that penny. YEP!
I learned a good lesson from all that. Do what you know is right but don't always expect for others to recognize it. Nope, everyone didn't get the kind of raising I did. I'm sorry for them. YEP!