Little black book

Little Black Book

A child is born to parents so happy and proud. They raise this child as best they could, giving him all the love and things that they can. They don’t have a lot but they do their best for Sam as he grows. Sam is generally content but with influence from friends and the big world around him, he is dissatisfied, he is looking for more. After high school he goes to the Army hoping to see the world and experience all the things he believed was missing from his life. Boot camp and infantry training done and he gets deployed.

But with just one tour in a war zone he became overwhelmed with the evil and loveless nature of the world out there. Any good that he thought would be possible has disappeared. Returning home, disillusioned and sad he wasn’t ready to face his family. He knew there was love there but with his own feeling of failure was overwhelming. The next step was going to be difficult. But getting a job was first priority. The only job he could find was working at an auto wrecking yard. His job was to be recycling cars and trucks. Each day he was to take a vehicle and strip it if anything that could be sold as parts, recycled or used for any other purpose such as scrap metal. Plastics would go in one pile and metals were sorted for value. Aluminum in one pile, copper in another then the various steels in yet another. Then he would be given a list of any parts that, if salvageable, he would set aside. It wasn’t uncommon for him to find coins or other personal items inside the wrecked vehicles. He would often imagine the lives of those that had owned the vehicle and even the injuries or deaths suffered in the crashes that brought the cars to the yard. Then came the day that would change the rest of his life. A seemingly nondescript older car was brought to him. Sam checked his list and got to work stripping and taking the car apart. First he drained all the fluids. Next he identified all the parts on the Keeper list. Lastly was to finish the disassembly and sorting of recyclables. As he removed the backseat he found a little black binder and inside he found a list of names almost like a ledger. Many had been scratched out with dollar amounts listed next to the names. Oddly the amount was the same for each of the names, $20,000. He set it aside to continue his work thinking that the nice leather binder might be useful.

As he continued to remove the interior of the car he found a small shaving kit type bag. Opening it he was amazed to have found $20,000 in 100 dollar bills. Finishing the car meant his day was done and without telling anyone he took his finds back to his rented apartment.

What to do about his find? Sam would spend most all evening pondering what to do with the money and the ledger. He mulled over the connection between the binder and the bills and concluded that this money was meant for the next name on the list. Tomorrow was Saturday and a day off so he would try to locate the person listed next on the list.

He began the morning with research and was able to get an address for the next name on the list. The name was for a women that lived on the other side of town. He rode his bike passed the house and found she had several children and they seemed happy but struggling. When no one was looking he took the money from the shaving kit bag snd stuffed it in her mail box. He went back to his apartment and scratched her name off the ledger writing $20,000 beside the name. It felt pretty good to have done such a good deed. Sam sat back and imagined how that gift was going to help the lady and her children. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to do this for others, he thought. As he grabbed the bag, he noticed it was heavy again. Opening the bag he is stunned to find $20,000 cash in it again. Sam began research on the next name on the list.