第44章passionIsintheEyes
Anonymous
Itwasabitteringinniniamanyyearsago。Theoldman’sbeardwasglazedbywiwhilehewaitedforarideacrosstheriver。Thewaitseemedendless。Hisbodybeumbandstifffridnorthwind。
&hefaihmhoovesgallopingalongthefrozenpath。Anxiously，hewatchedasseveralhorsemehebehefirstonepassbywithoutaogethisatteherpassedby，andanother。Firiderwheretheoldmansatlikeashisoheoldmancaughttherider’seyeandsaid，“Sir，wouldyoumindgivinganoldmaheotherside?Theredoesobeapassagewaybyfoot。”
Reininghishorse，theriderreplied，“Surething。Hopaboard。”Seeingtheoldmanwasuhishalf-frozenbround，thehorsemandismountedaheoldmahehorsemantooktheoldmannotjustacrosstheriver，buttohisdestination，whichwasjustafe>
Astheycozycottage，thehorseman’scuriositycausedhimtoinquire，“Sir，Iyouletseveralotherriderspassbywithoutmakiosecurearide。ThenIdyouimmediatelyaskedmeforaride。Iamcuriouswhy，onsuchabitternight，youwouldwaitarider。WhatifIhadrefusedahere?”
Theoldmanloweredhimselfslowlydownfromthehorse，lookedtheriderstraightintheeyes，andreplied，“I’vebeenaroundtheseherepartsforsometime。Ireowpeood。”Theold-timerued，“Ilookediheotherridersaelysawtherewasnoysituation。Itwouldhavebeeoaskthemforaride。Butwheoyoureyes，kindnessandpassio。Ikhere，thatyewouldweletheopportunitytogivemeassistaimeofneed。”
&-warmiouchedthehorsemandeeply。“I’msogratefulforwhatyouhavesaid，”hetoldtheoldman。“MayIoobusyinmyownaffairsthatIfailtorespondtotheherswithkindnessandpassion。”
Withthat，TomasJefforsonturnedhishorsearoundandmadehiswaybacktotheWhiteHouse。