He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed
down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child
darted
out, but a brick sailed out and WHUMP! It smashed into the Jag's
shiny
black side door! SCREECH...!!!! Brake slammed! Gears ground into
reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where
the
brick had been thrown. Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid
and
pushed him up against a parked car and yelling at the kid, "What was
that
all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!"
Building
up a head of steam, he went on. "That's my new Jag, that brick you
threw
is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"
"Please, mister, please...I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!"
pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would
stop!" Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around
the
parked car. It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled
off the curb
and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."
Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help me
get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy
for me."
Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow
the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted
the young
man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped
the
scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK.
He
then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward
their
home. It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, 12 cylinder
Jaguar XKE - a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door
of
his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so
fast
that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention.
Some bricks are softer than others.