THE KIND BARBER
My friend rang me the other day apologising for not contacting us before, but they had had a very busy year; visits from their family who reside in Australia and different things happening to worry them and also a health scare. It was so nice to hear her voice and it cheered me up as I was feeling a bit low. We are going to meet up again in the new year.
She told me this story.
Her son in law is a barber and he has a barber shop on the city centre and is well known to everyone there. Over the last two years, he befriended a homeless guy, often buying him a sandwich and offering to cut his hair. It seemed to be a happy arrangement and her son in law was pleased to be able to help the guy, who had been living on the streets for some time.
A couple of months ago the guy came in and they talked and her son in law said "I'll trim the back of your hair, if you like" the guy agreed and when he turned his back to get something when he turned around, the guy had gone.
Later on, he realised that his takings were also gone! About £600 had disappeared from it's place in a container on the top shelf. Her son in law was devastated, not really for the loss of the money, although it did hurt, but more because the guy had done such a despicable thing in the face of their friendship. It seems that this was how the guy worked. He would befriend a shop owner and find out where they kept their money and then steal it when the opportunity presented itself.
He didn't want to call the Police, but sent word to where he thought the guy might be, that if the guy gave the money back, the son in law would not call the Police. Nothing came of this. Later he did contact the Police, but as he has no CCTV on his premises, they weren't interested. There was no evidence.
The whole episode really upset her son in law and made him feel really bad for a while.
It goes to show you cannot help some people and you have to leave them to sink back into the mud where they come from. But, isn't it sad?
I hope this doesn't prevent her son in law being kind to someone else, because not all people are like this.
December 2018
YOU ARE READING
... and nothing but the truth
Short StoryThis is a book of true stories, anecdotes and little snippets. I hope you enjoy them. There may even be a little poem or two, you never know!
