Last Minute

Last Minute The old lady went to the thrift store. She found the row of coats, and looked for just the right tags. The color of the day. She bought everyone that she could afford. There were nine in all. Then she pushed her cart… toward hats and gloves, boots and shoes. Soon enough there was no more room in the cart, and no more money in her wallet. The old lady went through the line at the front. Outside in the snow, she put shoes, gloves, a hat and a coat in a hand made denim bag. Nine bags filled the back of the old Oldsmobile. The old lady went to the corner of Row and 5th. She got out. She opened her trunk and placed all the bags under the lamp. The old woman left. The old woman went home. She went back to her empty apartment, with no family, no friends and no heat. She had not paid the bill. There was no reason too. (9) Nine strangers made it through the coldest night in a 100 years! Someone had left bags… Someone filled a need. The newspaper read, “Old Woman Dies… Alone.” It was not a tragedy. It was a last moment, purchase, on the way to heaven. The ticket already stamped… The passenger just waiting at the stop, for the arrival, “the Herald of Angels” Amen.