Eddie sat in the waiting room outside the mayor's office, with the want ads of the newspaper folded on his lap. A big red circle was drawn around the ad stating that someone was needed to empty wastebaskets and sweep the floors in city hall. Eddie knew he could do that, because he did it at home. And Eddie wanted a job. He needed money to buy a computer to use for doing his school-work.
While he sat there waiting, an important-looking man in an expensive suit came into the waiting room.
"The mayor will be with you in just a moment," the secretary said to the man. "She's on the phone right now."
"That's quite alright, young lady," he said to the secretary. "I can wait. I came to apply for the position advertised in the newspaper."
"Uh oh," Eddie worried. "He wants the same job as me."
"Say," the important-looking man said softly to the secretary, "could you tell me what kind of a person the mayor is looking for in the position of her assistant?"
Eddie relaxed. That was not the job for which he was applying. He just wanted to empty the wastebaskets and sweep the floors.
"Well," the secretary answered the important-looking man, "I don't know much about that. But I do know that the mayor wants someone who is very interested in helping the people of our city, and not just in being the assistant to the mayor."
Just then, the door opened and a little girl walked into the waiting room.
"Does anyone have change for the drink machine in the hallway?" she asked sweetly. The secretary shook her head, and the important-looking man didn't even bother to answer. He was busy trying to get more information from the secretary about what kind of person the mayor wanted as her assistant.
"I might have change," Eddie said, as he dug into his pocket. "Yep, three quarters, a dime and three nickels."
"Thank you," the little girl said nicely as she gave Eddie her dollar bill. Then she headed back into the hallway.
As the little girl went out the door, the important-looking man continued to try to get more information from the secretary. But before he could ask another question, the door opened again and an old man stuck his head inside.
"Can one of you tell me where to find the city water department? I came to pay my bill," the old man said.
"Can't you see that I am talking to this young lady?" the important-looking man said rudely.
"I'll show you," Eddie volunteered. "My mom brings me here to pay our bill too."
Eddie got out of his chair, and led the old man down the hallway to the office of the water department.
When Eddie got back to the waiting room outside the mayor's office, the important-looking man was still drilling the secretary for more information about the job of assistant to the mayor.
"Sir," she politely replied, "I really don't know much about what the mayor wants. Why don't you just ask her yourself? If you will wait just a minute, I think that she is off the phone now."
The secretary pushed a button on her speaker-phone and said, "Mayor, there is a gentleman and a boy here to see you about the jobs we advertised in the newspaper."
"I will see them in just a moment," the mayor answered over the speaker-phone, "but first I need for you to take some boxes to the post office for me."
So, the secretary got up and went into the mayor's office to get the boxes. A moment later, she came out of the mayor's office with a teetering stack of boxes. There were more than she could carry, but she was doing her best anyway.
The important-looking man ignored the secretary's difficulty carrying the boxes, but Eddie jumped right up to help her. He took more than half the boxes, and carried them out to the secretary's car.
"Thank you," the secretary said, "I can take them from here."
As the secretary got into her car to drive to the post office, Eddie returned to the waiting room outside the mayor's office. As he got there, the mayor was walking out of her office consoling the important-looking man.
"I'm sorry that the job as my assistant is already taken," the mayor told him.
"Would you mind telling me who got the position?" the important-looking man asked the mayor.
"Certainly not," the mayor answered. "I was looking for someone who would really want to help the people of this city. And so, I decided to hire this young man to be my assistant," the mayor said as she pointed to Eddie.
"But…but, he's just a boy!" the important-looking man sputtered.
"Yes, I know," the mayor answered. "But when I sent that little girl in here for change, you ignored her. This boy gave her the change she needed. And when I sent an elderly man in here to get directions to the water department, you yelled at him for interrupting you. But this young man led him down the hall to the water department. And when my secretary went through here with more boxes than any one person could carry, you did nothing. But my future assistant got out of his chair, and helped carry the boxes to her car."
The important-looking man's face started turning bright red.
"You will accept the position of my assistant, won't you?" the mayor asked Eddie. "It pays just $45,000 a year. Can you get by on that?"
Eddie stood with his mouth hanging open, not able to believe his own ears. With $45,000 he could buy computers for his whole class at school!
"Uh… I guess," he finally managed to say. "I mean… uh… sure! I'd love to be your assistant!"
"Fine! Then it's settled," the mayor said to Eddie. Then she turned to the important-looking man, who was starting to stomp out of the waiting room. "By the way, we have another position open. We need someone to empty wastebaskets and sweep the floors."
But the important-looking man never even answered the mayor. He just slammed the door to the waiting room, and stomped off down the hallway.
"Say," the mayor said to Eddie, "do you have any friends who might be interested in the opening we still have?"
Eddie immediately thought of several friends, whose families did not have much money. "A job could help one of them," he thought to himself. Then he asked the mayor, "Do you want to interview them now, or do you want me to do something else first?"
"Eddie," the mayor said, "we're going to get along just fine."
Questions for Meditation, Discussion or Preaching
Copyright 2020. Robert D. Ingram, 32746 Jourden Rd., Albany, Ohio 45710 (dr.bobingram@gmail.com). Used by permission.
