A email sent to us from a anonymous source
Several months ago, I was rushing around trying to do some shopping. I was
stressed out and not thinking very fondly of the weather right then.
It was dark, cold, and wet in the parking lot. As I was loading my car up, I
noticed that I was missing a receipt that I might need later. So mumbling under
my breath, I retraced my steps to the mall entrance.
As I was searching the wet pavement for the lost receipt, I heard a quiet
sobbing. The crying was coming from a poorly dressed boy of about 12 years old.
He was short and thin. He had no coat. He was just wearing a ragged flannel
shirt to protect him from the cold night's chill.
Oddly enough, he was holding a hundred dollar bill in his hand. Thinking that he
had gotten lost from his parents, I asked him what was wrong. He said that he
came from a large family.
He had three brothers and four sisters. His father had died when he was
9-years-old. His mother was poorly educated and worked two jobs. She made very
little to support her large family.
Nevertheless, she had managed to skimp and save two hundred dollars to buy her
children some Easter presents (since she didn't manage to get them anything on
Christmas).
The young boy had been dropped off, by his mother, on the way to her second job.
He was to use the money to buy presents for all his siblings and save just
enough to take the bus home.
He had not even entered the mall, when an older boy grabbed one of the hundred
dollar bills and disappeared into the night.
"Why didn't you scream for help?" I asked.
The boy said, "I did."
"And nobody came to help you?" I queried.
The boy stared at the sidewalk and sadly shook his head.
"How loud did you scream?" I inquired.
The soft-spoken boy looked up and meekly whispered, "Help me!"
I realized that absolutely no one could have heard that poor boy cry for help.
So I grabbed his other hundred and ran to my car.
Sincerely,
Gordon Campbell
Premier, Province of BC