Merry Christmas

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LostKnight
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Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2017 8:02 pm
Location: Rockhiem nord i Steinhus nær Kedington

Re: Merry Christmas

Post by LostKnight »

As usual, I find some threads just too late to be on time.

Belated Christmas Greetings ...

witch's and generous11's posts both touched me .... so I thought I'd tell a Christmas Story.

The 5 Coins of Christmas

Once upon a time in a country far far away there was a young man who was returning to the city where he worked after spending a wonderful Christmas with his family. Sitting alone in a covered waggon¹ of a waggon train, he was waiting for the driver to flick the reins and get going. In his pocket a wooden medallion², to pay for the horse drawn carriage to get him to his room and bed in his new city about an hour away from where the covered waggon would drop him off.

"Is this seat taken?", a stranger said, indicating the seat next to him.

"No, help yourself!" he replied.

Silence between the two. Then the journey of three hours began and about twenty minutes later the stranger asked the young man if he would like to go for a coffee one waggon back.

"Thank you, no." responded the young man.

"Ohhhhhhh I see it now!", said the stranger, "You're broke after the Christmas holidays with your family and going back to work now aren't you?"

"Ummm yea, but it's OK, I had a great time."

"OK! Here take this and come, you can buy me that coffee." As the stranger handed over 5 coins³. While not a princely sum back then is certainly wasn't something to sneeze at. It equalled about half a day's wage for the young man who was just starting out in life.

After ordering the two coffees, costing almost half of 1 of the 5 coins the young man asked the stranger how he could possible pay him back the 5 coins.

"Well," he started, "I was broke one day and a man gave me 5 coins and told me that I had to pay it back by giving it to someone else in need." continuing he told the young man, "You to will pay that 5 coins back many, many times over in your life."

And he was right, the young man grew, paying back 5 coins here and there, then 10 coins here and there and even 15 coins or more until it included any kind of help he could possibly give. And for every recipient of "the 5 Coins of Christmas" they received the same request, to pay back the coins to someone else in need and tell them to pay it back in the same way.

One such paying back of the The 5 Coins of Christmas came one summers day while the young man was driving his own covered wagon home after visiting his sister, in the back, his wife and son of 6 months. It would be a two "long" days of driving. A few hours after starting out there was a man beside the path trying to get someone to stop. His wife said "Stop and see what he wants."

Stopping, the poor man was begging a ride, he was going maybe another three hours farther than where the young family's trip would end. 'Hop in' he was told.

And they listened to his story. About three days earlier he left another covered waggon to use the 'facilities' at a Home Station and when he was finished he saw the back end of the waggon he had been on far off in the distance. In that waggon was his saddle bag, he had slipped his coin purse into it for comfort, everything he had - GONE! He had not eaten in the three days since then, just begging rides. The man glanced at his wife, sitting behind the stranger. She was making a signal of "food - eat". A stop was made and the stranger told to come and eat. He was more interested in borrowing a bar of soap and a towel as he need to clean up. When he came out all cleaned up there was a hot meal waiting for him. Grateful, he was eating and asked how he could possibly pay us back, just eat he was told that he'd be told in the waggon once the trip started again.

While in the waggon that morning the stranger was told about the 5 Coins of Christmas and asked that he repay those by helping others. Of course he agreed and the man and his wife both though that he would, he was that type of person.

The man pushed the waggon team into the dark of night until he saw a village ahead. A bed in a youth centre was acquired for the traveller and he was given 20 gold coins and told to eat an evening meal and in the morning to have an early breakfast and be ready to travel at sunup.

Next morning the family woke early, had breakfast and off they went looking for the traveller and there he was sitting of the steps waiting. He was sure that he would be picked up and grateful for us coming.

"Good morning, Did you sleep well? Did you have a good supper and breakfast?", he was asked.

"No! I'm sorry but there as a young mother in there and her baby was hungry. She had no money, so I went to the general store and bought baby food and stuff for her to eat." What a guy, one meal in three days, and he spends the money given to him to eat on a mother and baby in need.

"Mighty kind of you," he was told "but there is bad news. The horses need feeding so everyone may as well have breakfast as well." What he hadn't been told is that the horses had indeed been fed, the stop was for him. Extra food supplies were bought to keep in the waggon as it was decided that with one long day and the family’s destination could be reached.

About an hour before the end of the family's destination there was another Home Station, and the traveller rented a pigeon to message his brother and soon enough received a reply. Brother would be there within 4-5 hours. The traveller was given 50 gold coins and told to eat a proper meal and drink a lot of coffee.

With fare thee wells all said, the family continued home leaving the traveller in a safe place and with a full belly.

And that's the 45 year old story of the "5 Coins of Christmas" of a young man that grew to become LostKnight.

Now in truth it wasn't about "Coins of Christmas" but is was about the "5 coins", and it did happen 45 years ago, and quite possibly to the day, as I had to be back at work on the 30th of Dec. They really didn't like giving holidays that covered both Christmas and New Years.

To the young traveller, wherever you are, I hope you've had a good 45 years.
__________________________
¹ - train
² - subway token
³ - $5.00
- hitchikking
- a highway gas station
- long distance phone call
I was always AFK!
I was LK, A Friendly Knight.
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generous11
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Location: Lebanon

Re: Merry Christmas

Post by generous11 »

just draw your smile :)
super arch "1227"
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generous11 "110"
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Clans: [SK], [ryo]
"Never say never!" :)
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Gullander
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Re: Merry Christmas

Post by Gullander »

Great story...a good deed is a powerful force! I'm sure that traveler remembers that both bitter and later sweet holiday trip. It makes me wonder....what coins do we have to offer?
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LostKnight
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Location: Rockhiem nord i Steinhus nær Kedington

Re: Merry Christmas

Post by LostKnight »

Gullander wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 5:17 pm Great story...a good deed is a powerful force! I'm sure that traveler remembers that both bitter and later sweet holiday trip. It makes me wonder....what coins do we have to offer?
I have often though about him over the years. Very nice young man (only have memories of him from those two days). He was only a couple of years younger than I was, son was 6 months so I was 23 at the time. Last I saw him was through the "Home Station" window, the waiter just serving him a coffee and he was looking out and waving goodbye.
Gullander wrote:what coins do we have to offer?
The coins are magic ... they change into whatever is needed at the time.

I remember a "homeless person" in Halifax one wintery day holding his hand out. He was "cold" to say the least.

"You hungry?"

"Yea!"

"Come with me." and I held the door open to the "mall" that had a food court on the lower floor.

"Oh, I can't go in there, they kick me out.!

"Not today, you're with me."

A 'security guard' approached and started to tell the guy to get out, but I interrupted him.

"He's with me, he's getting something hot to eat then we'll both leave."

"Just make sure he does!" Now I know it's his job, but 'street people' are just that "people". Yup, some bad ones, but some are just down on their luck and would just as soon not be on the streets. But society doesn't want them around and I know why. It reminds us of how we have failed.

We stood in the centre of the food court and I asked him what would you like. He was like a kid looking at a Christmas presents under the tree. He was looking everywhere, "Everything, anything, doesn't matter." He had a plate of Chinese food and a Hamburger with FF and a large coke. I had Chinese food ... and then we had a "large" coffee and cigarette, yes one could smoke there back then, and I gave him my 3/4 full pack of smokes too. The 'security guards' were taking turns circling the food court like buzzards. Watching, we were both aware of them.

On the way out I stopped at a "Candy Kiosk" and bought a bag full of hard individually wrapped candies, and slipped in a $20 unseen in among them. "Here," I said, "something for the day." He slipped them in his pocket without a word. By the time we left the mall he was warmed up his face had a bit more colour rather than the cold frozen look.

The parting handshake and thank you was perfect!

Don't get me wrong, and no pedestals either. While I have, at times, gone out of my way to help people and paid back those coins many times over and in many different ways, there is a much darker side to my life that I prefer to remain right where it is. In the dark!
I was always AFK!
I was LK, A Friendly Knight.
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