Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
The New Car
Adpated from a story at http://www.boyscouttrail.com
December 12, 2006
Larry Polyak, Scoutmaster

I came across the following story, and thought that it fit in with the holiday spirit and would like to read it to you.

Upon graduation from college a few years back, a young man received a gift from his older brother. It was a shiny brand new Corvette - the car of his dreams!
One morning as he approached the car he saw a young boy about 11 or 12 peering through the windows into the car.
"Is this your car?" the boy asked when he noticed the man.
"Yes it is!" the man responded.
"Wow! This is a nice car!" remarked the boy, "How much did it cost?"
"I don't know." answered the man.
"It's your car, but you don't know how much it cost?" exclaimed the young boy.
"No," stated the man, "you see, my brother bought it for me."
"I wish...I wish...I wish" stuttered the boy. The man was thinking he would say, I wish I had a car like this. "...I wish I was like your brother!" finished the boy!

Amazed at the boy's response, he offered to drive him around the block. As they were driving, the lad asked if he would drive him home. Thinking he wanted to show off that he was riding in a new car to his friends, the man agreed. They drove a few blocks to where the boy lived and as he turned onto the street the man noticed that it wasn't the best kept neighborhood. The houses were dirty and in need of repair. He pulled up in front of the boy's house. "Please wait," the boy yelled as he ran into the house! "Oh, he's probably going to get his family to show off the new car", the man thought to himself with a smile.

Then the front door opened and out came the young lad. In his arms, he carried a small crippled boy, probably about 5 years old! The lad brought him out to the car, and stated as he hugged his younger brother, "See, just like I told you! It's a brand new car! And someday, I'm going to buy you one just like it!"

We all like to receive gifts, but the old saying "It is better to give than to receive" can certainly be true. Let's all try to remember that this Holiday season.

Thanks for listening.