Thanks for your time...

A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.
 
It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls,
career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend  with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
 
Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old  newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
 
" Jack, did you hear me?"
 
"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.
 
"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.
 
"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.
 
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said
 
"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack  said.
 
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his
relatives had passed away.
 
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.
 
Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.
 
"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.
 
"The box is gone," he said
 
"What box?" Mom asked.
 
"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I  must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.
 
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered  it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.
 
"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
 
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a  package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.
 
Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was  difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
 
"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett.   It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the  letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box.  
 
There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.
 
Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched  the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:
 
"Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."
 
"The thing he valued most was...my time"
 
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and  cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.
 
"I need some time to spend with my son," he said.
 
"Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the
moments that take our breath away,"
 
Think about this. You may not realize it, but it's 100% true.
 
1. At least 2 people in this world love you so much they would die for you.
 
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
 
3. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
 
4. Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
 
5.   You mean the world to someone.
 
6. If not for you, someone may not be living.
 
7. You are special and unique.
 
8. When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won't get it, but if you trust God to do what's best, and wait on His
time, sooner or later, you will get it or something better.
 
9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good can still come
from it.
 
10. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look:
you most likely turned your back on the
world.
 
11. Someone that you don't even know exists loves you.
 
12. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude
remarks.
 
13. Always tell someone how you feel about them; you will feel much better when they know and you'll both behappy .
 
14.If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they
are great.
 
 
To everyone " Thanks for your
time"

This truely brought tears to my eyes. Thank you Mr. Robinson

Houston, we have no problems.
Clear skies, calm seas and an RV to go please!

WONDERFUL POST! Thank you so much. It helps to remember what is most important in our lives. TIme is precious. But even more precious... is how we SPEND that time. Today, we should take that small moment in time, to let someone know that they are special.

I am sharing with THE OTHER SIDE.....taking it to OOM2....there are those there that don't frequent over here now as often. They are looking for less dinar and this is so wonderful.

Thanks, good, very good stuff ... would that we all remember, and take the time.

THANK YOU - A GOOD reminder today... and for the days ahead... Thank YOU for taking the TIME to share the story with us!

Thanks...speaks for itself..

Thank you so much for that.
Tearfully,I just emailed it to my son,who I have not seen for over eight years. :(

I have a three letter word for me feelings on this post:

WOW

dinarstar wrote:Thank you so much for that.
Tearfully,I just emailed it to my son,who I have not seen for over eight years. :(

I was reading the archives again and came across this thread.  When I saw this post from you dinarstar, I couldn't help but wonder if you have seen your son yet?