The following picks are for your deep thinking part
of the mind. Read, think and kindle your gray matter.
Tess was a precocious
eight years old when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her
little brother, Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick
and they were completely out of money. They were moving to an
apartment complex next month because Daddy didn't have the money
for the doctor bills and our house. Only a very costly surgery
could save him now and it was looking like there was no-one to
loan them the money.She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother
with whispered desperation, "Only a miracle can save him
now."
Tess went to her bedroom and pulled
a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured
all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three
times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here
for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and
twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her
way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief
sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist
to give her some attention but he was too intently talking to
another man to be bothered by an eight year old at this moment.
Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared
her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No
good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on
the glass counter. That did it!
"And what do you want?" the
pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. "I'm talking
to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages,"
he said without waiting for a reply to his question.
"Well, I want to talk to you about
my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone.
"He's really, really sick ... and I want to buy a miracle."
"I beg your pardon?" said
the pharmacist.
"His name is Andrew and he has
something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a
miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"
"We don't sell miracles here,
little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you." the pharmacist
said, softening a little.
"Listen, I have the money to pay
for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me
how much it costs."
The pharmacist's brother was a well
dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What
kind of a miracle does your brother need?"
"I don't know," Tess replied
with her eyes welling up. "I just know he's really sick and
Mommy says he needs a operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it,
so I want to use my money. "How much do you have?" asked
the man from Chicago.
"One dollar and eleven cents,"
Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all the money I have,
but I can get some more if I need to."
"Well, what a coincidence,"
smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents -- the exact price
of a miracle for little brothers." He took her money in one
hand and with the other hand he grasped her and said "Take
me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your
parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need."
That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton
Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation
was completed without charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was
home again and doing well. Mom and Dad were happily talking about
the chain of events that had led them to this place. "That
surgery," her mom whispered. "was a real miracle. I
wonder how much it would have cost?"
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much
a miracle cost... one dollar and eleven cents....plus the faith
of a little child.