[DFT] Fw: [ChivalryToday] Chivalry Wrapped In Curses

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----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott A. Farrell" <scott at ChivalryToday.com>
To: <ChivalryToday at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, December 29, 2002 6:12 PM
Subject: [ChivalryToday] Chivalry Wrapped In Curses


Chivalry Wrapped in Curses
By Scott Farrell
©2002 Shining Armor Enterprises

www.ChivalryToday.com

Scott Farrell comments:
In just a short while the 2002 holiday season will be history, and as I
was searching for a subject my last column of the year, a returning
traveler shared the following story with me. It is both an excellent
tale of Chivalry Today during the typical yuletide madness, and an
inspiration for us all to renew our commitment to the knightly virtues
in the coming year.

*****

This Christmas I flew home to spend time with my family. The week before
Christmas was a busy one, but apart from shopping and cookie baking my
family had committed to a very special project. My sister-in-law is the
manager of a local second-hand shop, and we had promised to help with a
gift-giving program which the store put on for needy children.

To participate in the program, qualified parents had submitted wish
lists of gifts their children hoped to receive on Christmas day. Then
donors selected a child at random and "played Santa" by purchasing one
or more gifts on the wish list, and delivering the items anonymously to
the second-hand store. Parents were expected to return to the store on
December 23 to pick up their gifts in time for Christmas, and lots of
volunteer workers were needed to distribute wish-list gifts on that day.
Ready to help those in need, my family and I looked forward to lots of
bright holiday smiles and Christmas cheer, but those expectations
couldn't have been further from the truth.

On the morning of the 23rd the store was filled with eager volunteers.
About half an hour before opening we were all taking our places when one
of the assistant managers cautioned us about the coming day. He said
several fist-fights had broken out the year before, and he said the
sheriff's department had been alerted to the situation and were ready to
be called out in case of a riot.

I thought he was exaggerating until they unlocked the doors. In less
than five minutes, the store was crammed with parents who had little
holiday cheer and even less courtesy or patience. Several complained
that their children's wish lists - with expensive things like bicycles,
computers and radio-controlled cars - had not been fulfilled. Many
demanded to be given toys which they could see in the waiting area
reserved for other children. One belligerent mother cursed out a clerk
who couldn't find her son's wish list; after some investigation the
clerk discovered that the woman had taken possession of her child's
gifts hours earlier and was attempting to collect a second batch of
toys. Towards evening, a woman asked for daughter's toys, and when the
clerk told her that they had been already picked up by her husband the
woman began to cry, explaining that her husband had taken the gifts (a
CD player and a pair of skates) and sold them for drug money.

Finally, just after 10 p.m., all the toys were gone and we locked the
doors at last. The store was a mess, and the whole staff, many of whom
had been working more than 12 hours, was exhausted and lacking in any
sort of holiday spirit.

Then, as I was sitting there wondering why I had wasted my day trying to
spread joy and merriment to a conniving, ungrateful world, there was a
soft knocking. Roused from my unpleasant thoughts, I looked up to see a
woman standing outside the glass door.

My sister-in-law went to the door and said loudly, "I'm sorry. We're
closed. We have no more toys."

The woman said something in reply, but I couldn't hear. To my surprise,
my sister-in-law unlocked the door and let the woman in. She was dressed
in a light coat, and she stood rubbing her hands together for just a
moment. Then she looked around and said, "I was here earlier to pick up
the toys you all provided for my two children. I saw what you were going
through, and I thought you might need to know that my family will have
Christmas because of you. Two boys will remember that their parents love
them on Christmas morning because of what you did today. Thank you, you
should be very proud. You are all very special." Then she left and my
sister-in-law closed the door behind her.

I realized I had been selfish to expect cheer and gratitude in response
to my work that day. I can't imagine one of the Knights of the Round
Table pouting because there was no shower of rose petals at the end of
the quest. Generosity should be freely given. An act of chivalry may
have an effect on someone far away, or someone you never even noticed,
and that is the best gift of all. I learned a great lesson in chivalry
this holiday season, and it came wrapped in curses and thanklessness.

- Maria Gonzalez, California

=======
The staff at www.ChivalryToday.com wishes all of our readers a happy,
healthy and chivalrous New Year. More real-life stories of chivalry and
the knightly virtues can be found on our website at "Portraits in
Chivalry" (in the left-hand navigation bar).
=======
Readers are permitted and encouraged to share this article (with all
titles and attributions attached) with friends, family and co-workers
through other discussion groups and on-line forums. All material
copyright 2002 Shining Armor Enterprises. Visit our website at
www.ChivalryToday.com .


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