For two days Johnny Larson had seen the man standing on the street corner by his school - even during lunch the man had been there. The first day Johnny thought nothing about it; now, he noticed that at the man's feet sat two medium-sized boxes. He couldn't remember if the man had had the boxes the day before, but seeing them today aroused his curiosity.
Johnny Larson was twelve years old and in Junior high school. Everyday his parents made it a point to tell him about the dangers of using drugs and everyday they would remind him of drug pushers who prey on children his age. He had, personally, never come in contact with a drug pusher but seeing this man in front of his school made him wonder.
On the school bus Johnny was silent - keeping his thoughts to himself. At his stop he hurried off the bus and into the garage, dropped his books on the floor, grabbed his bike and took off.
Peddling as fast as he could, Johnny stopped about a half block from where the man was standing, parked the bike, and sat down on the curb to watch. People were lined up to receive small green packages the man was handing out. Johnny watched for a while; then he jumped on his bike and raced home.
Mrs. Larson had seen her son speeding away from the house and she was slightly irritated that he'd not bothered to come in the house first before going off. Now, as he came into the house, she was all ready to scold him until she saw the look on his face. “Mom! Dad! John called excitedly.
“I'm here,” said Mrs. Larson.
“Where's dad? He questioned.
“He's upstairs son. What's wrong? you're looking very strange.” Just then Mr. Larson came down the stairs. He was about to say something to Johnny, but the boy, anxious and excited, cut him off with, “Dad, there's a man standing on the corner by the school, and he's been there for two days. At first I didn't notice the two boxes he had. He was there at lunch and again this afternoon when the bus came. So after school I decided to go back and see if he was still there. He was there all right, only this time he was passing out little green packages. Dad, I just know he's selling drugs!.”
At this point, Johnny's dad should have stopped him and warned him of the dangers involved in making false accusations. Instead, he went to the phone and dialed the sheriff's office. “Say Walt, this is Max. Yes, Maxwell Larson. My son here has witnessed something you ought to know about. Johnny says there's a man on the corner of Twelfth and Walnut passing out drugs. Yes, Johnny says he saw the man giving out packages wrapped in green paper. He says the man has been there by the school for two days.”
After a few, minutes, Maxwell Larson hung up the telephone.
“Walt wants us to meet him there.” He said to his wife. “You'd better call dad and mom and let them know what's happened. After you call them, then call Bud, he'll want to know. Let's go Johnny.” Going out the door Max called back to his wife, “Oh honey, you'd better call Ella and Kate too - they'll be awfully unhappy if they have to find out from someone else.”
“Okay, and you be careful.” Jan Larson admonished.
On the way Max met up with Walter Hudson, the County Sheriff, and within a few minutes they reached Twelfth Street. Sure enough, the man was still there, and sure enough, he was passing out small green packages.
Several cars drove up. Johnny could see his grandmother and grandfather, his Uncle Bud and Aunt Elizabeth, Aunt Ella, Aunt Kate, all with their husbands and children; and there were other cars filled to capacity, with friends and neighbors.
The man did not move. He looked up only once, saw all the cars, but continued, as more cars came, passing out his little green packages. Sheriff Hudson was livid! He knew the man had seen him!
Patting his hip to make sure his gun was there, the sheriff got out of his car. Slowly he walked over to the man. Just as the sheriff was almost upon him, the man bent down into one of the boxes. The sheriff pulled his gun. At the same time, the man raised up from the box saying, “You just made it, this is my last one.”
The man reached out to the sheriff. In his hand was a green leather-bound New Testament Bible. Without a word, his face as red as a beet, the sheriff took the little Bible; then turned, walked over to Maxwell Larson's car and gave it to him.
By this time all the relatives and neighbors had surrounded Max's car. They saw the Bible, and they saw the sheriff's face.
Meanwhile, oblivious to all that was going on, the man stomped the boxes flat, put them into the nearest trash barrel, and with a wave and a smile, got into his car and drove off.
There are lessons to be learned here:
- Parents need to make sure their children are understanding what they are trying to teach them and/or the dangers they seek to protect them from.
- Parents need to teach their children that things aren't always what they seem.
- Parents need to teach their children the difference between assumption and fact; that is - I think, so it is!
- Verbal accusations, even when proven false, in many cases, may subject the falsely accused to “finger pointing.”
- Parents need to know their children, what they are capable of doing, and how they might react in a given situation.
