he woz drivin home one evenin,, on a 2-lane country road ... work,, in dis small

mid-western community,, was almost as slow as his beat-up pontiac ... buh he neva

quit lookin ... eva since the levis factory closed,, he'd bn unemployed,, n wif winta ragin

on,, da chil had finally hit home ... 

it woz a lonely road ... not very meni ppl had a reason to bee on it,, unless dey were

leavin ... most ob his fwenz had already left ... dey had families to feed and dreams to fulfil

... buh he stayed on ... after all, dis was where he buried hiz mother and father ... he

was born here n nue da country ...

he cood go down this road blind,, n tel yoo wot woz on either side, n wif his headlightz

not workin,, dat came in handy ... it woz startin to get dark n lite snow flurriez were comin

down ... he'd betta get a move on ... 

yoo noe, he almost didn't c da old lady,, stranded on the side of the road. but evn in da

dim lite of day,, he cood c she needed help ... so he pulled up in front of her car n got out.

his pontiac woz stil sputterin when he approached hur ... 

evn wif da smile on his face,, she was worried ... no-one had stopped to help for the last

hr or so ... woz he goin to hurt hur ??? he didnt look safe,, he looked poor n hungry ... he

cood c dat she woz frightened,, standin out dere in da cold ... he nue how she felt. it woz dat

chil dat onli fear can put in yoo ... he sed " im here to help yoo ... y dun yoo wait in da car

where itz warm ... by da way,, my name is joe " ... 

well,, all she had was a flat tire,, buh 4 an old lady,, dat woz bad enuff ... joe crawled unda 

da car lookin 4 a place to put da jack,, skinnin his knuckles a tym or 2 ... soon he woz able 2 change da tire ... buh he had to get dirty n his hands hurt ... az he woz tightenin up da lug

nutz,, she rolled down hur window n began 2 talk 2 him ... she told him dat she woz from

st. louis n woz onli juz passin through ... she couldnt thank him enuff 4 comin 2 hur aid ...

joe juz smiled az he closed hur trunk ... 

she asked him how much she owed him. ne amount wood hav bn alrite wif hur ... she

had already imagined all da awful thingz dat cood hav happened if he didnt stop ... joe

neva thought twice abt da money ... dis woz not a job 2 him ... dis woz helpin some1 in need,

n god noez dere were plenty hu had given him a hand in da past ... he had lived his hole lyf

dat way,, n it neva occurred 2 him 2 act ne otha way ... he told hur dat if she really wantd 2 pay

him bak,, da nxt tym she saw some1 hu needed help,, she cood give dat person da assistance

dat dey needed,, n joe added " n fink ob me " ... 

he waitd until she started hur car n drove off ... it had bn a cold n depressin day,, but he felt

goot az he headed for home,, disappearin in2 da twilite ... a few milez down da road da lady

saw a small cafe .... she went in 2 grab sumfing 2 eat,, n take da chil off b4 she made da

last leg ob hur trip home ... it woz a dingy lookin restaurant ... outside were 2 old gas pumpz ... 

da hole scene woz unfamiliar 2 hur ... da cash regista woz lyk da telefone ob an out of work

actor,, it didnt ring much ... 

hur waitress came ova n brought a clean towel 2 wipe hur wet hair ... she had a swt smile,, 1

dat evn bein on hur feet 4 da hole day couldnt erase ... da lady noticed dat da waitress woz

nearly 8 mnthz pregnant,, buh she neva let da strain n achez change hur attitude ... da old

lady wondered how some1 hu had so lil cood bee so givin to a stranger ... den she remembered joe ... 

afta da lady finished hur meal,, n da waitress went 2 get hur change from a 1OO dollar bill,, da

lady slipped rite out da door ... she was gone by da tym da waitress came bak ... she wondered where da lady could bee,, den she noticed somefing written on a napkin ... dere were tearz in hur eyez,, wen she red wot da lady wrote ... it sed " yoo dun owe me a fing,, ive bn dere 2 ... some1 once helped me out,, da way im helpin yoo ... if yoo realli wnt 2 pay me bak,, herez wot yoo do ... dun let da chain ob luv end wif yoo " ... 

well,, dere were tablez 2 clear,, sugar bowlz 2 fil,, n ppl 2 serve,, buh da waitress made it throo anotha day ... dat nite wen she got home from work n climbed in2 bed,, she woz finkin abt da money n wot da lady had written ... how cood she hav known how much she n hur husband

needed it ?! wif da baby due nxt mnth,, it woz goin 2 bee hard ... she nue how worried hur

husband woz,, n as he lay sleepin nxt 2 hur,, she gave him a soft kiss n whispered soft n low,,

"everyfingz gnna bee alrite,, i luv yoo joe " ...