A Story From The Sidewalk

One day a man was walking down the sidewalk, headed to his new job.

As he walked, he passed by a house. An old man was sitting on the porch, sipping on a glass of water and watching the cars go by.

The man waved to the old man.

"Hello, sir! Good morning! How are you?"

The old man looked at him and continued sipping his water, without a reply.

For a week, the man passed the old man's house, saying the same thing and waving his same cheerful wave.

"Hello, sir! Good morning! How are you?"

And for a week, while sitting on his porch, sipping water and watching the cars go by, the old man offered no reply.

On the second week the man passed by the old man's house. Seeing him on his porch again, the man offered another greeting.

With no wave he would smile and say: "Good morning! How are you?"

And for the second week in a row, the old man offered no reply.

On the third week, the man walked by the old man's house and without offering a smile or a wave, he would simply say : "Hello."

And for the third consecutive week, while sitting on the porch, sipping water and watching the cars go by, the old man would offer no reply.

On the fourth week, the man passed the old man's house without even looking in the direction of the porch. He offered no greeting. No wave. No smile. No words.

As he passed the old man's house, someone called out to him.

"Hey! Wait a minute! Come here!" the old man cried.

Annoyed, the man walked up to the old man's porch. He was sipping on his water and watching the cars go by.

The old man focused his eyes on his visitor

"You didn't speak to me today," the old man said.

"You never speak to me! Every time I speak you never say anything!" the man replied.

The old man took another sip of his water, stared out onto the street and said: "Yes, I didn't offer a reply. But that doesn't mean that it didn't mean anything to me. Your saying 'hello' was always a highlight, a bright spot. Nobody ever talks to me. You always made my day."

Sometimes in life when you believe no one is watching, they really are. Your series of small actions can become someone's bigger blessing. Keep doing the little things. Keep being someone's bigger blessing. Because you never know who is watching. You never know who is listening. You never know who is smiling. You never know who is appreciating you. You never know who's day you just made.

---EOB.