the kindhearted and quiet and hardworking kid
who comes and goes
without much of a pattern
asking if i’ll hire him
to shovel my snow and mow my lawn
now has a name – ‘max’
and his legend is growing and spreading
he came once when i wasn’t home
and my neighbor paid him to do my lawn
in return for the help i’d given her in the past
and the next time he was over mowing
max suddenly stopped his mower
because he found a baby squirrel
who had fallen from the nest in the tree
and was sitting motionless and scared
we tried to pick the squirrel up
but he feebly ran away
into my neighbor’s yard
who then came out to help
and we all took him to my other neighbor’s house
who loves the squirrels
and said that he didn’t look good
put him in his backyard and see if he would play
then brought him back
and laid him down below my tree
the squirrel soon passed away
and we buried him in the garden
and now, after meeting him
my other neighbor has given max a job as well
and as more and more
of his generous and hard-working sprit is revealed
his business and his reputation as a decent human being
both continue to grow.
—
“as much as we need a prosperous economy,
we also need a prosperity of kindness and decency.”
-caroline kennedy
