Friend (Englisch)

Auf die Gefahr hin, gleich einen Ansch*ss zu kassieren, weil die Geschichte
läääängst bekannt ist, stelle ich sie hier rein. Kam grad als "Kettenbrief" und
ist so schön rührend-kitschig, dass ich dachte, vielleicht haben da noch mehr
Leute Freude dran.

LG
Edith

+++

FRIEND

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my Class was
walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all
of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on
a Friday? He must really be a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a
football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and
went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.

They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping Him so he
landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass
about ten feet from him.He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.

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. As I handed him his
glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.

They really should get lives. " He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

There was a big smile on his face.It was one of those smiles that showed real
gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it
turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had neverseen him before. He
said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a
private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his
books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a
little football with my friends. He said yes.

We 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. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle
with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna
really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! " He just
laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years, Kyle and I became
best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided
on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends,
that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was
going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a
nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me
having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He
was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out
and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the
girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on The back
and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those
looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said. As he started his
speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those
who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers,
your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends... I am here to tell all
of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am
going to tell you a story." I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told
the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the
weekend. 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. He looked hard at me and gave me
a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My fri end saved me from doing the
unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy Told us all
about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that
same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth. Never
underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a
person's life.

For better or for worse.