*****
Leftover from the Holidays
The Christmas Parade
Main Street, in the little town of Rosedale, was alive with the sounds of sirens, horns, bangs and pops from their Annual Christmas Parade. The people were gathered from one end of the town to the other as they anxiously awaited the parade. Their cheeks were red from the cool crisp breeze that kissed their faces. There were clowns, floats, fire trucks, police cars, bands, balloons and candy. As the snow began to float down once again, each flake twirled around and around. They landed everywhere, even on the tongues of the little children; the ground was already covered with a blanket of snow. It was a joyful time of the year.
“Hurray, it’s Christmas!” yelled the children.
There were plenty of oohs and aahs as the parade went by. Little Jimmy, a crippled boy everyone called Jimbo, was there that day to watch the parade. If there was anyone who loved a parade, it was Jimmy.
“Ooh and aah,” he went as his eyes sparkled and his nose ran a little bit. “This is the greatest,” he yelled as the floats went by.
Bang, bang, bang, sounded the clown cars as they approached Jimbo. He laughed so hard at them that he cried. As the tears fell upon his rosy, red cheeks they began to freeze.
“Oh, I wish I could someday be a clown in the parade. I want to walk along the parade route and hand out candy to the children,” he whispered.
Every year Jimbo hoped and prayed that he could be a clown and walk in the parade, but how. How could he in that old wheelchair and with those crippled legs? Suddenly, the marching band broke loose at the sound of the drum major’s whistle.
“Gee, this has got to be the greatest,” he cried.
Cling, clang, cling, clang went the fire truck as the fireman sounded the siren. Riding on the fire truck was the one all the children waited for, Santa!
“Ho, ho, ho,” cried Santa as he waved and pitched candy to the children.
Hurriedly, the children ran out in the street to get the candy. Jimbo tried to reach a piece that fell near him, but he couldn’t. A man standing next to him bent down and picked it up for him.
“Here you go, Jimbo.”
“Thanks,” replied Jimbo.
“Hey, look,” cried a boy. “It’s the freak; the miracle worker.”
Then Jimbo looked up across the street. It was Hurley, an old man that kids made fun of. But, they were also afraid of him. Quickly, the boys took off across the street yelling and calling him names. Jimbo watched as Hurley disappeared into the crowd. Suddenly, the boys stopped and started laughing at Hurley; they called him a chicken.
As the parade came to an end, the sirens faded in the background. Friends and family left for home, while the children fought over the candy that still remained in the street. Jimbo watched the flashing red lights of the fire truck disappear over the hill. He pushed the handle of his electric wheelchair forward and headed for home. On his way home he talked to the Lord.
“Lord,” he said, “I’m sorry. I really don’t understand why I can’t walk as a clown in the Christmas parade and hand out candy. Why can’t I walk, Lord? Why do I have to stay in this old chair?” he cried. “It’s not fair.” As tears filled his eyes, he stopped beside the road, poked out his bottom lip and said to himself, I’ll show them. I’ll show them all. Between now and the next Christmas parade I’m going to learn how to walk. I’m going to walk and be a clown in the parade. I’ll show them, just wait and see.
From that day, Jimbo set his goal for the parade. He was determined to see his wish come true. Out of all the things in the world, he wanted that most of all. The next day, he told his friends about his Christmas wish. They were excited and happy for him. They told him they would do all they could to help. It became their dream too. From that day on, Jimbo and his friends worked hard. They had good days and bad. But, they never stopped trying. Weeks went by, Jimbo had progressed but he still struggled. He exercised; he tried this and that, but there were very little signs of hope. After a few months, Jimbo’s friends began to wonder if he would be able to do it. Slowly, one by one, they stopped coming to help. They had become discouraged and disheartened. None of the boys knew Hurley had been watching them from his window. Time soon passed and all but two of Jimbo’s friends were gone. At night he lay in his bed and cried. My dream became too big for my friends, he thought. I believe it has for me too.
“Lord, what am I going to do? Would you help me, Lord?” he asked.
As tears wet his pillow, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. The next day Jimbo and his two friends were out in the yard when Hurley stepped out onto his porch.
Jimbo’s friends started yelling, “Look, it’s the freak!”
One of them looked over at Jimmy and said, “I heard my mother say that Hurley is a miracle worker.”
Then the two boys took off down the street shouting, “Freak, Hurley is a freak.”
Slowly, Hurley eased off his porch and walked over to Jimbo.
“Hello, Hurley,” greeted Jimbo.
“Why hello, Jimmy,” he replied.
“You have to excuse my friends,” he said. “I don’t think they really mean any harm.”
“Maybe not,” he replied, “boys will be boys.”
“Is it true, Hurley, what they say?” asked Jimbo. “Are you a miracle worker? Can you really do miracles?”
“I’m afraid not,” replied Hurley. “Only God can do miracles. I wonder if He can even do them anymore.”
“Me too,” replied Jimbo. “Hurley can you help me?”
“I don’t really know, Jimmy,” he replied. “What do you want me to do?”
Jimbo explained his dream to him. Hurley just nodded his head and sat down on the ground in front of Jimbo.
“Well, Jimmy,” he said, “I don’t know much about miracles anymore. But, I have something you might like to try. Come with me and I’ll show you what I have.”
Jimbo followed Hurley to his house. Hurley went inside for a few minutes and came out with a pair of leg braces.
“Let’s try these out,” said Hurley as he stooped down and slipped them on Jimbo’s legs. “They’re going to take some getting used to.”
“Gee thanks, Hurley,” cried Jimbo.
“Now, wait a minute, Jimmy; it’s going to take a lot of hard work and determination.”
“I’m willing to try,” replied Jimbo as he reached over and hugged Hurley. “Will you help me?” asked Jimbo. “It may not be a miracle but at least it gives me a little hope.”
From that day on, Jimbo and Hurley became the best of friends. As word spread throughout the town, Jimbo’s friends came back to help and support him.
Summer passed and autumn soon fell. Throughout the summer and fall, Jimbo struggled with the braces. The team worked hard trying to make his dream come true. Finally, after a long struggle and hard work, it began to pay off.
“Look, Hurley, a snowflake. It’s the first one of the season.”
That’s when it happened. Jimbo slowly picked his foot up and took his first step to get under the snowflake. The flake landed on the tip of his nose.
“Look,” they cried. “Hurray!” they screamed. “You did it Jimbo! You did it!” they cried as they ran over to him and hugged him.
“Jimbo, Jimbo, Jimbo,” they all chanted as Hurley laughed to himself and shook his head.
“What a boy! What a boy!” he laughed.
“It won’t be long now until the parade,” one boy shouted.
“Your wish, Jimbo, is going to come true,” cried another.
“Now, let’s wait a minute, boys,” said Hurley. “Jimmy still has a lot of work to do.”
“Yeah, but,” said Jimbo.
“Yeah, but that’s only your first step, Jimmy,” replied Hurley. It’s a long walk from one end of town to the other.”
The weeks passed and they worked even harder than before. That first step was the enc
ouragement they needed for steps two, three and four. Halloween and Thanksgiving slipped by; there were plenty of treats and tricks, turkey and pumpkin pie. December arrived and Jimbo was on his way to the big Rosedale Christmas Parade. His big day had finally come. They all would see the results of a long year’s worth of hard work. Everyone in town was excited to see Jimbo’s dream come true.
As he slipped on his clown suit and face paint, tears filled his eyes as he turned to his friends and said, “I want to thank you all for your part in helping me make my dream come true. Hurley, God still does miracles.”
Suddenly, the siren sounded; the parade was ready to begin.
“Good luck, Jimbo. See you at the other end,” they yelled.
“Hurley?” asked Jimbo. “Would you…?”
“Yes, I will, little man. I’ll walk along the side of the road with you.”
“Gee, thanks, Hurley,” he replied.
Main Street was filled with sirens, horns, bangs and pops as the Annual Christmas Parade began. Little Jimmy stood that day with trembling legs and shaking hands. His eyes watered and his nose began to run. He eased up his foot and then carefully let it down. It was his first step of many; he had a long way to go.
“You can do it,” yelled Hurley from the side. “Remember the things you have learned.”
“Go, Jimbo, go. Go, Jimbo, go,” cried the crowd.
Carefully, Jimbo got his balance and slowly took off up the street. He waved to the people and tossed candy to the children. He was the happiest little boy in the world that day. When the parade reached halfway, Jimbo’s legs began to ache. Hurley sensed something was wrong. He noticed Jimbo’s legs were trembling and shaking. The length of the parade is too long for him, thought Hurley. He’ll never make it. He’ll give out before he reaches the end.
But, Jimmy held on; he held back the pain. He stood firm with his trembling legs.
“I can do it,” he mumbled. “I can do it.”
Unexpectedly, he fell down and landed flat on his face. The parade stopped. The crowd held their breath as Hurley ran over to him. Jimbo tried to get up, but couldn’t. Hurley took him by the arm and lifted him to his feet. Jimbo was about to cry.
“Don’t cry, Jimmy,” said Hurley. “You only lost your balance.”
“But, I can’t go on,” he said.
“I believe you can,” replied Hurley. “Look back at how far you have come. Look ahead; you’re almost there.”
“Okay, Hurley,” said Jimbo, “but will you walk with me and hold my hand?”
“Sure,” replied Hurley. “It’ll be my pleasure.”
Hurley motioned for the parade to go on. As the parade continued, the crowd cheered even louder.
“Hurray for Jimbo!” they cheered.
As Jimbo and Hurley eased down the street, his little face lit up. The sparkle in his eyes was like something that’s never been seen before. As Jimmy neared the end of the parade, the crowd counted his steps.
“One, two, three, four and on and on they counted until he reached the end. Everyone ran over to him; they picked him up on their shoulders. They were so proud of him.
No one in the crowd that day knew that Hurley had a crippled son years ago. The braces Jimbo wore were braces Hurley had made for his son. Unfortunately, Hurley’s son passed before he had the opportunity to wear them.