One Good Deed Deserves A Kick In The Pants (standard:humor, 919 words)
Author: Godspenman	Added: Oct 01 2017	Views/Reads: 1795/1289	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Have you ever had the feeling that any good deed you try is counteracted by a good swift kick in the pants?

Have you ever had the feeling that any good deed you try is counteracted
by a good swift kick in the pants? 

I recently grabbed a quick lunch at a local restaurant. I don't like
eating at fast food restaurants, but, occasionally, I don't have much 
choice. Then, once in the restaurant the menu doesn't give me much 
choice, either. 

I ordered my lunch and settled at a corner table. About halfway through
my lunch an older couple took the table next to me. Being a “people 
watcher,” which is a fancy way of saying, “I'm nosy,” I watched this 
couple out of the corner of my eye. 

I noticed right away the woman got her things situated immediately. Not
so with the man. 

He struggled to unwrap the plastic fork. He fumbled trying to break the
plastic wrapping and free his fork so he could begin eating. Nothing he 
did seemed to advance his cause. 

Without missing a beat, his wife reached over, took the wrapped fork
from her husband, popped it open in one easy motion and handed it back 
to him. Without saying a word, he took it and began eating. 

This incident reminded me of something that happened the week before. 

A friend phoned, asking me if I could help a friend of his who was
moving from Florida to Virginia and had nobody to help him. Immediately 
I agreed to help all I could. After hanging up my phone, I wondered 
what I had gotten myself into. 

I told him to have this person call me. I figured if he doesn't call, I
wouldn't have to help. No sooner had this thought rambled through the 
little gray cells, then the telephone rang. It was this person 
requesting my assistance. 

I invited him to church on Sunday and we would see how we could help
him. I hoped the “we” did not mean “me.” After hanging up the 
telephone, I told my wife the incident and she reassuringly said, “He 
may not even come to church.” I took comfort in her suggestion. 

On Sunday morning, an hour before services, this person showed up at
church. He introduced himself and we got acquainted. 

“All I have,” he assured me, “are 25 boxes of books that I need to take
to the post office so I can mail them to where I am going.” 

Well, I mused, this may not be as bad as I thought. 

On awakening Monday morning, second thoughts about the whole project
bombarded my empty head. I was trying to think of some way to 
graciously bow out of the whole mess. 

I have a problem pronouncing the word “no.” You have no idea the trouble
this has brought me. I'm thinking of consulting a speech therapist to 
help me. 

My watch told me I was running a little late. I wish my watch would tell
me how to get out of such predicaments. But when I inquired, it didn't 
give a tick. Then an idea burst in my noggin. If he said anything about 
me being late I will get mad, turn around and go home. Or, if he wasn't 
ready to move the boxes when I got there, I would, in a huff, turn 
around and stomp off and go home. 

It's been such a long time since I got mad or angry that I wasn't
confident of my plan. But, I reasoned to myself, it's worth a try. 

I found myself running about 45 minutes late. I was grinning to myself,
thinking this would be enough to make him say something about my 
tardiness. 

When I arrived, he was waiting for me with everything in readiness. He
greeted me in a very cheery voice and made no mention whatsoever about 
my lateness. 



Click here to read the rest of this story (38 more lines)