 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
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One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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0 e4 P7 i0 @5 T- A g7 ^I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.- F" o+ z( v* f
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His name was Kyle.4 E( r- x0 u3 c2 f
4 }$ {/ @( Z1 _ c. W2 OIt looked like he was carrying all of his* J- u* }9 \* ]- C
Books.7 c( V7 A' R: o& B$ q
7 w( S4 B8 j1 C+ g% q3 `I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?6 b( L X* z: N! c
6 p% T$ M/ W; L' p9 ], FHe must really be a nerd.". N' E$ @! @- o1 [% `1 C9 J5 O/ l
, p' W2 z& S* Z) u% z4 N5 {; zI had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.; \, w' v! y, Z$ W* k
3 B' V) L$ @2 I* p' }As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him., ~7 N% c; Q: k/ h' j
$ R6 } ?* _& f1 b. }; KThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.2 j# z: ^$ u% }9 m
: H9 l' K" @) u3 z8 B6 bHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.' i/ R `( G+ S' B2 k O
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He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
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My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.. l' P G4 U6 b2 V
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As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.; l+ q( A% q* a" y" H6 _5 [
: g4 o2 C7 {2 g8 l# g% s6 ?They really should get lives.0 f7 z8 n+ ^9 t3 N6 t& w
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" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"1 f2 Q9 L. a! O9 J4 O, O# h
* b, C) o( {9 E1 ?- Y) hThere was a big smile on his face./ V7 |/ |' T( v6 F5 T# n2 d
3 m* u$ p( u2 `( L% oIt was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
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I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.7 C0 B, h: ], a& b! c, d
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As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
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He said he had gone to private school before now.
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6 a" ~$ S# U& m Z( i9 S- l! L, vI would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
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We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.: P& j3 T; P/ h8 ^" Y3 h, _: o
' v' G4 ^ _6 M$ o3 |9 vHe turned out to be a pretty cool kid.& R1 a% N5 K3 Z2 [
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I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
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He said yes.
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; F# U6 ~2 V. \/ W5 NWe hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
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7 p! B( y" W4 w& x: C3 L, }Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
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6 }4 Y$ i( T5 Y' E% H& i$ v7 WI stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! Q6 v1 M% y% A" B4 _' X8 \
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" He just laughed and handed me half the books. r6 ?7 p& J3 s- I1 l
$ z2 A; @2 |" \2 }" J3 i+ ~- Q# y- e* kOver the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
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5 z/ M. `7 a q! k( ]* D2 x+ aWhen we were seniors, we began to think
3 T1 T. e. Q, Y% @/ R7 ^4 L+ sAbout college.5 @4 s& ]+ z A8 g( q B$ o
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Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
1 d: z( w- z$ L) |+ O& \Was going to Duke.' B. D- j! f: F- N* F& }
8 F9 ^3 u3 n( nI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.9 x; f3 I, I/ R( S
2 z. v* I4 h9 y2 m; B) j) E; EHe was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.& y/ f8 z2 Y5 u+ i
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Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd.2 H2 C" i8 J/ n
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He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
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I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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9 l) x5 ^3 L& J# ~- O3 s- xGraduation day, I saw Kyle.
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0 C# p# K. M+ |( `0 h3 ~6 lHe looked great.' }. o4 L8 @" U3 G9 w+ U
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He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
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6 @% J! L) Y* Z% \He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.: v, B2 |" Y% U$ D. V
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He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.9 k* f4 s! X7 G
7 P) X5 {) C% T) i* aBoy, sometimes I was jealous.
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' X9 ~. |0 C' N5 tToday was one of those days.
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I could see that he was nervous about his speech.3 e: Y# r4 z) I3 m+ h
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So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"& Q* l7 y/ ?# c& g! y" s
* i$ k4 P* s; s+ K+ J* E7 wHe looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.1 Y$ {( D$ c1 [+ e$ [# H. T. z
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"Thanks," he said.4 s' n' Q+ C( ]! j
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As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began
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"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.$ j' K& l# ^+ F: K
3 q) ]/ a; U, |4 @Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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I am here to tell all of you that being a
8 Q7 N$ H6 `' AFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
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7 j4 H" ?( {, bI am going to tell you a story."
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3 N' @8 @* D* n2 BI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
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3 D7 b* z7 j& t$ t% kHe had planned to kill himself over the weekend.+ d4 Q' B% v! H0 Q5 p
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He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.1 `& X U* f: `& ?! ?
0 S! N" F0 J# \# {# fHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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% j6 x5 q8 s% k: @- W"Thankfully, I was saved." u; n/ n- d1 i4 d) b3 D2 a2 A
# f) G) ^' d: z$ Z1 L5 ~5 M' g4 AMy friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
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I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.2 T+ F0 L9 T/ o2 |/ Y
6 ?1 A5 p, b) ~8 R. t& r* F; E7 oI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
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) o+ j. [7 t9 Q& mNot until that moment did I realize it's depth.
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.
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With one small gesture you can change a person's life.. M/ [% G, h E" L) M
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For better or for worse.
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God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.% k2 R+ ~0 ]2 N6 U7 V* n
9 _+ j) u% A" k, w8 pLook for God in others.4 c5 S* F7 X5 q2 J% p& P
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You now have two choices, you can:4 L* T# Q. Q' T% b. w# |
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1) Pass this on to your friends or' e# o4 l) R0 ^/ J
) c1 R' k) ^: `2 o2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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7 L# g" F1 h8 J) t! y2 R7 R( T+ bAs you can see, I took choice number 1.
8 W# u# Z4 B( C, ~" s"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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9 L$ r$ G; r5 GThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.! N) X; R( i L$ t& Z
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Tomorrow is mystery.
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Today is a gift.
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, L. d0 |- A9 L# b6 cIt's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
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If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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