THE LEGEND OF BOB THE GOOD

He was often called Bob the Good, most often by himself.  He gave one percent more than a tithe, after taxes.  He sat on the front row at worship service and said amen in a manly, robust way.  In Sunday School class he sadly shook his head at heresy, factual error or perverse interpretation.  When the teacher called upon Bob to pray and Bob saw two other Bobs rising he rushed into prayer ahead of them.  Also ahead of his thoughts.  “I pledge allegiance to the...Holy Bible and to the God for which it stands.  And we pray that the teacher will not lead us astray with talk of sacrifice but will remind us of your promise to prosper us.”   

Every night Bob reminded God how good he had been and how he expected God’s promised prosperity the next day.  Every morning he reminded God that His promise was as certain as a chain letter. 

Bob the Good rose early on a cold Saturday.  He dressed warmly in his long leather coat and hurried to the church to be the first one there.  He stamped his feet in his cozy boots and blew on his gloved fingers waiting for the others to arrive.  “What took you so long?” he asked them.  

Once inside, he shed his long leather coat with real fur lining and volunteered to chop onions.  The onions were for the hot dogs that the church volunteers would feed to the homeless who met under the bridge, the coldest and draftiest place in town.  He always volunteered to chop onions and smiled through his tears.

When the hot dogs, ice tea and ice cream that had passed its expiration date were ready, everyone loaded tables into a truck and themselves into cars and reassembled under the bridge.  Bob the Good was first to arrive and had set up two tables by himself although two men usually set them up to avoid scratching them on the concrete floor.   

The hungry homeless lined up, stamping their feet, blowing on their fingers and huddling against the wind.  Bob volunteered to pray, blessed the food and asked that those receiving it be properly grateful to those who left their warm beds to serve it.  And also to God.  

He took his place in line and spooned onions over the cold buns and warm hot dogs, looked into each face and said, “May God help you become worthy of a minimum wage job.”

Some of the men had sturdy shoes and jackets and were wrapped in a faded blanket.  Others were in canvas shoes, without socks or coats.  One elderly man wore only a t-shirt and shivered.  Bob had to hold his plate to avoid spilling onions on the concrete floor.

Bob’s heart was pinched by the elderly man who didn’t have a hat or a scarf to cover his large ears and his bald head.  Who knew but what Bob had been born for such a time as this?  Abandoning the onions, he went to the man who was hurriedly devouring the hot dog before it turned into a popsicle.  Bob took off the long leather coat with real fur lining that his mother gave him.  “Here,” he said, helping the man slip it on, knowing that God would reward him as sure as cash back credit cards.    

“Thank you.  God bless you.  Thank you,” the man said.  

It wasn’t a good fit but it was protection from the wind and the cold.  Bob told him how to oil the leather so that it didn’t crack. 

“And be careful you don’t stretch the seams,” Bob said before returning to his post behind the onions.  What a good thing I have done, he thought.  I hope someone noticed.  He shivered mightily and said several times that it was cold.

“I thought you had a coat,” Tiffany said.

Bob gave a sigh of relief that someone had noticed.  “You mean my long leather coat with real fur lining that my mother gave me when I moved from the south side of San Antonio to the north side where it is colder?  I gave it to a man who had no coat,” he said.

“That was so sweet,” said Tiffany who was pretty sweet herself.  She put her arms around him to warm his back and that was even sweeter.  Sweetest of all, Tiffany told the pastor.  

The next morning when announcing the good work the church was doing, the pastor told the story of Bob the Good giving his coat to a coatless man.  Bob stood and with bent head humbly accepted the church’s applause.  

He didn’t tell anyone of his sleepless night.  Pondering what coat to wear should some freezing person ask for it.  He pondered for a long time before choosing the leather coat with fur lining that his mother had given him that he was going to take to a consignment store.  God would reward him as he had promised as sure as frequent flier miles.  And without the black out dates and holiday restrictions.