Rockingham Remembered
Short Stories II
How Poor People
Live
One day, the father of a
very wealthy family took his
son on a trip to the country
with the express purpose of
showing him how poor
people live.

They spent a couple of days
and nights on the farm of
what would be considered a
very poor family.

On their return from their
trip, the father asked his
son, "How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor
people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what did you
learn from the trip?" asked
the father.

The son answered:

"I saw that we have one dog
and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches
to the middle of our garden
and they have a creek that
has no end.

We have imported lanterns in
our garden and they have
the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the
front yard and they have the
whole horizon.

We have a small piece of
land to live on and they
have fields that go beyond
our sight.

We have servants who serve
us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they
grow theirs.

We have walls around our
property to protect us, they
have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was
speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks
Dad for showing me how
poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful
thing? Makes you wonder
what would happen if we all
gave thanks for everything
we have, instead of worrying
about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing
you have, especially your
friends!