Harmless.
That's what the punk kid thought the old man was, sitting at a table by himself
in the strip mall coffee shop. Perfectly harmless. He quickly slipped behind
the counter and slid the edge of the razor sharp stiletto against the young
clerk's neck, whispering, "Keep calm, honey, and I won't cut you." He
smiled as he watched a tear form in the young girl's eye. This robbery will be
a piece of cake, he was thinking. No problem at all.
Just then, all hell broke loose.
The old man noticed what was going
on and it made him mad. He angrily got to his feet and started yelling and
waving his arms, causing such a distracting scene that the cashier was able to
press a button under the counter which notified security. In the few moments it
took for them to arrive, she stomped down heavily on the punk's toe with the heavy
heal of her boot and he screamed in pain. While all that was happening, the old
man slowly but steadily made his way to the counter and began smacking the punk
across the top of the head with his cane. It might have been comical if the
young clerk hadn't inadvertently been cut by the robber's knife and was
bleeding.
Two beefy guys from security showed
up, quickly subdued the punk and held him until the police arrived. A nurse
browsing in the nearby bookstore administered to the young clerk pronouncing
that she'd be just fine, it was just a slight nick.
That left the old man, an
octogenarian named Jack, who received a hearty thank you from the building manager,
offering, "We could get you on the evening news if you'd like, Jack. Your
fifteen minutes of fame? I could fix it up with the local station." He put
his arm around the old man's skinny shoulder and sat him down."What do you
think? You want to be famous?"
Jack didn't have to think. He shook
his head to the negative, and said, "Why make a big deal out of it, young
man? Most of the people I know would have done the same thing."
The manager laughed to himself.
Yeah, right. A bunch of old people? I sincerely doubt it. But to Jack he said,
"Suit yourself. How about a free cup of coffee?"
"You're on for the
coffee," Jack said rising to his feet, looking at his wrist watch.
"But I'll have to take it to go if you don't mind. I have a bus to catch.
After he got his coffee Jack picked
up his cane and made his way to the door, waving good bye to the building
manager, the clerk, the nurse and the two security guards. He was feeling good,
better than he had in a long time. He couldn't wait to get back to the Long
Lake Retirement Home where he lived. Tonight was their self-defense class and he
didn't want to be late. Boy did he have a story for them.
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