Richard Nesbitt was furious. His gardener had just quit, and he’d woken up this morning to find that the previous night’s storm had left a huge branch from one of the trees that surrounded his house across his driveway.
It was too heavy to drag away, he discovers, so he’d have to get the chainsaw from the shed and cut it down so he could remove it. Richard walked to the shed. He opened the door and had an even more unpleasant surprise…
A man was sleeping in the shed, a complete stranger! He was dirty, Richard noted with disgust, and probably had lice… He backed away quietly, got out, and closed the door quietly.
Richard was no coward, but he imagined the man might be violent, dangerous, and he wasn’t going to risk waking him up on his own. He took out his phone and called 911.
“This is Richard Nesbitt, I’m at 18 Wrenbury Road, and there’s an intruder on my property,” said Richard, and added, “Come quickly, he might be armed!”
The police arrived, and Richard led them to the shed. They opened the door and walked in. Within minutes they were back, with the intruder in handcuffs. He didn’t look so frightening now, Richard noticed.
He looked confused and frightened, and he blinked his eyes in the bright sunlight, after the cool gloom of the shed. He was dirty and desperate looking, and Richard could see that he had once been a powerfully built man.
Now he was thin and starved, with a long unkempt beard covering what might once have been a handsome face. “I didn’t do anything!” he gasped.
The policeman holding his arm replied: “You will be charged with breaking and entering. and criminal trespass, and if you took anything, you’d be looking at felony charges.”
“I didn’t take anything,” the man said, “There was a storm, and I needed a place to sleep out of the wind and the rain…”
Richard was outraged. “Well, you picked the wrong place!”
The second policeman had the man’s duffel bag in his hand. He said to the prisoner, “If we find any of this man’s property in here, you’re done!”
Richard was outraged. “Well, you picked the wrong place!”
The second policeman had the man’s duffel bag in his hand. He said to the prisoner, “If we find any of this man’s property in here, you’re done!”
He opened the bag and rummaged inside. He drew out a small silver frame with the photo of a pretty woman. “Sir,” he asked Richard, is this yours?”
The man struggled to get free from the first policeman. “Don’t touch that! That’s MINE!”
“No,” said Richard, “I never saw that before!”
The policeman shook his head: “He probably hit one of your neighbors before coming here…”
“It’s mine!” cried the man again, “It’s my WIFE!”
“Your wife? I don’t think so,” sneered Richard, “If that’s your wife, why are you here, like that?”
The man lowered his head. “She’s dead…” he said softly, and Richard saw the glitter of tears on his eyes.
The policeman was now holding up a bundle of old letters. He read the address and turned to the man: “You were in the service?”
The man nodded. “Yes, I was.”
The policeman read the name on the envelope. “Captain Henry Davies? Is that you?”
The man nodded again., and the policeman exclaimed, “What happened to you, man?”
He was now holding a handful of medals in his hand. “you were a hero!”
Henry Davies raised his head. “While I was fighting for my country, my wife was fighting cancer. She didn’t tell me. She died alone. I failed her. I’m no hero.”
Richard stepped forward and laid a hand on the policeman’s arm. “I don’t want to press charges, officer.”
The policeman turned to him, “You are within your rights…”This man needs help, not prosecution.” he turned to Henry. “Look, do you want to change your life? Because if you do, I can help you!”
Henry looked Richard in the eye. “Yes, I do, but once you find yourself on the streets, it’s hard to get out. Not many people are willing to give a homeless man a job.”
“Listen, Mr. Davies, my gardener quit, and I need to hire someone. It’s a full-time job and hard work, but I pay well.” Richard said, “And there’s a small apartment over the garage you can use.”
Henry’s eyes filled with tears, and on impulse, Richard stepped forward and put his arms around him. He stepped back and said to the policemen: “Well, officers, why don’t you uncuff my gardener so he can get to work?”
What can we learn from this story?
1. Don’t judge people before you know who they are.
Richard thought Henry was a dangerous vagrant until he learned about his life history.
2. A helping hand can change a life. By giving Henry a job, Richard helped him reclaim the life he’d lost.
