A STORY OF WARMTH AND KINDNESS

In December, 1933, at the height of the Depression, it was common practice for homeless men to ride the rails across the U.S. in search of food, jobs, and opportunity. 

One bitterly cold night a young man was riding in a freight car. He was surprised to see a very old man in the car next to him among the dozens of men riding the train that night. The old man was shivering uncontrollably. His lips were blue as his breath met the freezing night air. 

The young man reached out to his elderly neighbor and began to rub his arms with the hope of giving the old man some relief. The whole night through, the young man continued to rub the man’s limbs and body. He rubbed his feet and hands, he rubbed his bare head. 

The young man was so focused on the old man’s comfort that the night passed and he suddenly realized it was daybreak. He looked up from his ministrations and took in the scene around him. 

The freezing temperatures had gotten to all the men in the freight car that night. There were only two survivors in the car. The old man and the young one. 

Kindness saved them both.