The Adventures of Rank
Another Day
Rank woke up sweating. He must have had another nightmare. Lately he went to bed afraid of the dark and when he woke up, he was afraid of the day. He knew he had a problem but didn't know where to turn.
It was hard being the new kid. What was worse was being the new kid everywhere he went. Since his parents died and he moved in with his foster parents, his whole life changed. His sister no longer lived with him, his new school was so big compared to his old one and his best friend hadn't even written him. On top of all of that, Rank was a bigger boy. Bigger than most kids his age. There was always someone wanting to test to see if bigger meant stronger. The new school seemed to have their share of those kids.
As Rank pulled and pushed himself out of bed, he was delighted to realize it was Saturday. It might not be fun staying in a strange home but it was certainly better than going to school! After finishing what he called "kitchen detail", he was free to do whatever. The problem was he really didn't know what to do or who to do it with. So, being the adventuresome type, he just started walking.
The weather was actually nice for a change. It was March and in Wisconsin, you just never knew what you were going to be facing. It could be a beautiful sunny day with a slight chill, or it could be a blizzard. Fortunately, this day was in between. The sun was shining but it wasn't exactly warm.
On his journey, but not far from his new home, he ran across an elderly man picking garbage up from his yard. Rank didn't know the neighborhood, much less the neighbors. He certainly didn't know this man had a reputation for being the neighborhood grump. One year ago the man's wife passed away and since then the old man rarely came out of his house and when he did, he used that time for yelling at kids who passed by. Sometimes they were walking their dogs and he warned them to not let the dogs do their duty in his yard. Other times he felt the kids were too loud and making too much of a ruckus. Sometimes, according to the kids, he just yelled for the pure fun of it.
Rank stood and watched the old man bend and stretch as he made his way around the yard. He could clearly see the man was struggling. After watching for some time, Rank started helping. He gathered garbage, twigs and other odds and ends. Once his arms and pockets were full he walked over to the man and dumped his garbage into the bag. Rank continued helping until the entire yard was clean. Never once did the elderly man say a single word to Rank. At one point, Rank thought he heard the man grumbling something under his breath but Rank just kept going.
As the job was completed, Rank brought his last armload over to the garbage bag, dumped it in and started to walk off. As he did, he turned to the old man and thanked him for letting him help. Out of nowhere, Rank reached over and gave the old man a hug. Immediately tears began to flow. The hug just felt so good to both of them that they couldn't control their emotions any longer. They simply cried together.
Both of them felt the world had turned their backs on them. It hadn't but neither could see the sun through the clouds any longer.
Eventually Rank returned to his new home and he was no longer afraid. He knew he had not only made a friend but had become one. They both felt blessed to have another day.