An afternoon in the park
There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He
knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his
suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and he
started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting
in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and
opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he
noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a Twinkie. She
gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy
wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Once again she smiled at
him. The boy was delighted!
They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.
As it began to grow dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to
leave. He turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug. She
gave him her biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his
mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face.
She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?”
He replied, "I had lunch with God. You know what? She's got the most
beautiful smile I've ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home.
Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother,
what did you do today that made you so happy?”
She replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God. You know, he's much
younger than I expected.”
- Julie A. Manhan
