Robert's Gift

At Martha Cooper Library we have a group home for boys just half a block down the street. They are in and out two or three times a day--playing games on the computers, checking out movies, and occasionally picking up a book (often a comic book or Manga).

Robert is a shambling bear of a boy--maybe 15 or 16, coke bottle glasses, a black brush of hair, a yellow Sponge Bob t-shirt that doesn't quite descend to his pants and perptually looks as if it's three days from its last bout with a washer. His pants are baggy and held up by friction--sometimes you have to wonder whether gravity will eventually win out over friction. One glance from the rear tells you the lad could have a career in plumbing.

He's also just a little bit slow and needs help on virtually every foray through the doors.

Tuesday, hands behind his back, he came up to the desk while I was issuing a library card, leaned over, and said, "I've got something for you."

I acknowledged him and asked him to wait just a bit until I finished with the gentleman at the counter. He did--never moving from his spot, smiling quietly.

When I finished, I turned to him and said, "Okay, Robert. What've you got?"

He grinned as he brought a crumpled Whataburger bag out from behind his back and said, "I saved you half my triple meat burger and a few fries because you are always so nice to me and help me with the computers and stuff."

I can’t tell you how moved I was. For Robert to save half a burger would, on the face of it, be a major sacrifice. I thanked him and put the bag in the back.

Later on, I got a chance to take a look in the bag. There was half a triple meat burger all right—mangled, munched, well-gripped, and generally looking lucky to have survived the fate of the other half.

I have to smile even now when I think of it. Robert gave me a gift that day, but it was much more than half a burger and a few fries.

Robert gave me a sweet, funny reminder of why I’m doing what I’m doing—it’s not just about books and computers and dvds and talking books. It’s about touching and enriching the lives of the people in my community.