Are You A Lifter Or Leaner?
By Bill Shepard
That’s a soul-searching question! You probably already know the answer. You can rest with confidence that your closest friends and acquaintances have you labeled. You probably have a tag on them also. I suppose that when most folk look deep inside of themselves they fmd their own label. When I do that I discover that I wear both labels! Sometimes I find myself in the position of a Lifter, and at other times I am Leaning! My best feelings come when I find myself in the position of a lifter! It really doesn’t take a lot to be a lifter. It may be surprising as to just how little it take to help someone make it through a difficult time in their day. Sometimes it only takes a smile, a handshake, a pat on the head or shoulder. Just a kind word spoken followed by a warm smile, can lift a heavy load!
When I was a small boy and living on the mill village in Darlington, our backyard had two large trees that had roots extending in nearly every direction and above ground. On the last day of May when I returned home from school my first question was, “Mama, can I go barefooted now?” Usually the answer was yes and I would head for the back porch and become unshod. It wouldn’t be too many days before one or more of my toes would be wrapped in a white cloth bandage that had been soaked in kerosene. That was mama’s remedy for lost toenails, cuts, and rusty nails in those days. That was the price I paid for going barefoot all summer.
Those bare roots above the ground seemed to be a target for my toes. I can remember the times my mama would find me sitting in the yard crying, holding my little foot in my hands and sobbing. Mama would sit beside me and whisper soft words of kindness. First thing I knew I was up and running, plum forgot I had stumped my toe! Yes, it happened many times when I was a boy. It was surprising what mama’s breath could do for a sore toe!
Now, along the road of life I fmd a lot of folk that have stumped their toe…….Go ahead and read the poem.
The Guy Who Stumped His Toe
Did you ever see a youngster who had been and stumped his toe?
He was sitting by the roadside and crying soft and low.
He was holding his rusty foot, so hard and brown and bare,
And trying to hold back the tears that were gathering there.
You hear him sorta sobbing and sniffing at his nose,
You stop and pat him on the head and try to ease his woes.
You treat him sorta kind like and the first thing you know,
He is up and off and smiling- plum forgot he stumped his toe!
Now along the path of life you’ll find a fellow going slow,
And like or not he is some poor soul that has been and stumped his toe.
He was making swimming headway til he bumped into a stone,
And his friends kept hurrying onward and left him there alone.
Now he ain’t sobbing and a sniffing, he’s too old to cry,
But he is grieving and hurting, though he keeps it all inside.
And it does a lot of good sometimes to go a little slow,
And speak a word of kindness to the guy who stumped his toe.
You can’t tell yourself, and there ain’t no way to know,
Just when it will come your time to slip and stump your toe.
Today you are bright and happy in the world’s sunlight and glow,
But tomorrow you may be freezing and trudging in the snow.
The time you think you have the world the tightest in your grip
Is the very time you’ll find, you’re the likeliest to slip.
So it does a lot of good sometimes to go a little slow,
And speak a word of comfort to the guy who has stumped his toe.
Author Unknown
Note: I did not write this poem but I wish I had. It has been in my possession for years.
Bill Shepard
Mr. Shepard is a native of Darlington, S.C., and a current resident of Piedmont, S.C. He is the author of “Mill Town Boy” and “Bruised”. He has been sharing his tales of growing up in Darlington for decades, and we are delighted to share them each week.
His mailing address for cards and letters is: Bill Shepard 324 Sunny Lane, Piedmont, S.C. 29673.