The Ultimate Gift Part 2

Jason turned to me and said, "I'm not sure I understand what it is I'm supposed to do. Where do I find these people, and how much-"

I interrupted him by explaining, "Young man, you heard your instructions just as I did. I am not authorized to give you any additional information or a.s.sistance. This lesson, like all of the others your great-uncle is trying to teach you, is one you must learn primarily yourself. I can a.s.sure you that Red Stevens was a thorough man, and he has given you everything you need to succeed."

I reached into the box and took out a small envelope just as Red had described. I handed the envelope to Jason and said, "We will look forward to hearing from you on or before the end of the month."

Jason rose slowly with a bewildered expression on his face. He turned and slowly retreated to the door. Miss Hastings and I remained in the conference room for several minutes. Finally, she broke the silence. "I don't think he has any concept of what to do with that envelope full of money."

I thought for a moment and then replied, "Most of us have learned about money over a number of years. Jason has been absent from school, and he has a lot of catching up to do."

It was the next to the last day of the month before we heard from Jason, and I will admit to being a bit anxious about his progress. Jason arranged an appointment for the next morning. At the appointed hour, Miss Hastings ushered him into my office, and he and Miss Hastings sat in the two leather chairs in front of my desk.

Jason seemed a bit nervous and uncertain of himself. I paused for a few moments, thinking about what I might have done had I been given one month to find five people whose lives I could affect with money. I resigned myself to performing my tasks as Red Stevens' attorney and the executor of his estate. I knew that if Jason had not lived up to the letter of the agreement, I would have to end the journey at that point. That was a prospect that did not appeal to me for Jason's sake and, I must admit, for my own as well.

Finally, I turned to Jason and asked, "Well, young man, are you prepared to present your report?"

Jason nodded and drew a piece of crumpled paper from his inside jacket pocket. He cleared his throat and began to speak slowly. "Well, I'm not quite sure if this is right, but here goes.

"First, I was driving late one evening and pa.s.sed one of those fund-raising car washes people hold in parking lots. It was nearly dark, so I knew they were about done for the day. I asked the man in charge what group this was and how they were doing. He told me that it was a group of inner-city Boy Scouts who were trying to raise the money to go to their Jamboree the following week. He went on to explain that it had been a bit disappointing because this was their last effort, and since they were a bit short, at least one or two of the boys were not going to be able to go. I asked him how much they needed to reach their goal. He seemed discouraged when he replied that they were almost $200 short, and they were going to have to clear the lot within ten minutes. I pulled my car into the s.p.a.ce designated and told the boys to do their best job. When they were done, I handed one of the boys $200 and drove away."

Jason looked up at me seeking approval. I merely nodded for him to continue. Although he was still shaky, he seemed to be gaining momentum as he consulted his sheet.

"Next, I found myself at the mall looking for a parking s.p.a.ce. I spotted a young woman holding a baby, standing in front of an old car, and shouting at a guy driving a tow truck parked behind her. The two seemed to be really arguing, and since they had one of the best parking s.p.a.ces, I stopped and asked what the trouble was. The guy told me he worked for ABC Used Cars and that the girl had missed her last two payments. He told me that the payments were only $100 a month on an old junker like that. The girl began crying and said that her baby had been sick, and if she lost her car, she wouldn't be able to keep her job, and then she didn't know what would happen. I asked the tow truck driver how much the balance was on her car loan. He told me it was four more payments of $100 each. I gave him $400 and got a paid-in-full receipt for the young mother. Here's a copy."

Jason dropped a soiled and creased receipt on the edge of my desk, and then he pressed on. "While I was in the mall, I discovered a young husband and wife with two small children shopping in a toy store. Each of the children repeatedly asked for various toys, but their parents regrettably told them that Santa Claus probably wouldn't come this year since their father had lost his job. While the children were at the end of another aisle looking at some stuffed animals, I handed the mother $300 and asked her to be sure that Santa made it to their house this year.

"As I was leaving the mall, I noticed an old woman sitting on a bench. As I pa.s.sed, she dropped her purse, and when I picked it up to hand it back to her, I noticed that she had been crying. When I asked her what the problem was, she told me that her husband, Harold, and she had been married fifty-seven years and, for the first time in their lives, they just couldn't make it. His heart pills cost over $60 a month, and the pharmacy in the mall wouldn't take her food stamps for the medicine. I spent $200 buying a three-month supply of Harold's heart medication and leaving her $20 to take him out for his favorite lunch."

Jason looked at me expectantly, and I smiled at him and said, "It sounds good so far, but you were instructed to find five examples."

Jason appeared more nervous than ever as he explained, "While driving one day, I discovered a car broken down at the side of the road. I got out and met a young man named Brian. He's about my age, and we found we have a lot in common. I used my cell phone to call a tow truck, and they towed him into a garage. The mechanic said the engine in the car was really shot and needed to be replaced.

"Brian was totally panicked because he needed the car to get back and forth to school and work. The mechanic said it would cost $700. Brian nearly went into shock because he didn't have any money, so I gave him the $700 he needed to get a new engine."

Ever efficient Miss Hastings seemed to have an emotional quiver in her voice as she said, "Sir, that seems to add up to $1,800. I believe the original doc.u.ment called for only $1,500."

Jason seemed alarmed as he leaned forward in his chair and said, "Well, I put in $300 of my own money. Is that okay?"

Miss Hastings beat me to the punch and replied, "Of course, it's okay. Mr. Hamilton is a fair and reasonable man."

She glared at me and said, "Aren't you, Mr. Hamilton?"

I a.s.sured both Jason and the indomitable Miss Hastings that I was fair and reasonable, and Jason had learned an important lesson in the value of money. I hoped he would never forget his lesson. I knew I never would.

FIVE.

THE GIFT OF FRIENDS.

It is a wealthy person, indeed,

who calculates riches

not in gold but in friends.

The next morning, Miss Hastings let me know that Jason Stevens had arrived and would be waiting in the conference room. After his successful journey into the realm of work and money, I had hoped that his sullen att.i.tude would have improved; however, upon entering the conference room, I rapidly discovered this was not the case. Before I could even sit down, he started in on me.

"Look. Why do I have to go through all this stuff? This is ridiculous. You have a copy of the will. You must know what it is that I'm going to inherit. Why don't we just cut through all the garbage and get down to the bottom line?"

I smiled at him and said, "Good morning, Jason. It's nice to see you, too. I had hoped after your great-uncle's lesson in money, you would be more understanding of this process."

I rose to my feet slowly-which is not unusual when you're eighty years old. I gave him a stare that I had used successfully during my years as a judge. "Young man," I said, "you have two-and only two-options. You can go through this process the way Red Stevens laid it out for you, or you can quit right now; but I will tell you one thing, your att.i.tude is putting you dangerously close to losing the ultimate gift that your great-uncle planned for you."

Jason leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Okay, let's get on with it," he said. "What's next?"

Miss Hastings brought in the box and set it on the table next to me. I took out the next videotape, and Miss Hastings started the VCR. Once again Red Stevens appeared and began to speak.

"Jason, as you heard me tell Mr. Hamilton at your first meeting, he is quite simply my best friend. Friend is a word that is thrown around far too easily by people who don't know the meaning of it. Today, people call everyone they know their friend. Young man, you're lucky if you live as long as I have and can count your real friends on the fingers of both hands.

"I am now going to share a story with you, Jason, that I promised I would never tell as long as I lived. Since you are watching this after my death, and in the presence of the one whom I promised, I feel comfortable sharing it. As you know, I lived past my seventy-fifth birthday and enjoyed what to most people was a long and healthy life. But this was not always a sure thing.

"I remember when I had just turned thirty-eight years old and was hospitalized with an extreme fever. The doctors weren't sure what was wrong with me, so they brought in every specialist from across the country. Finally, I was diagnosed as having a rare kidney disease which was incurable. The only hope they gave me was a new procedure called a kidney transplant.

"You've got to realize that this was unheard of at that time, and donors were not readily available as they are today. I called Mr. Hamilton, who has always acted as my attorney, and told him we would need to start a nationwide search to find me a kidney. I was very frightened because the specialist had told me that without the transplant I might not have more than a few weeks. You can imagine my relief when Mr. Hamilton called me two days later and told me he had located a kidney on the East Coast.

"Well, as I'm sure you can guess, the operation was a success and gave me back over half of my adult life. What I'm sure you couldn't guess, and what no one has known until now, is that the kidney that Mr. Hamilton found was his own."

Red paused on the videotape to take a drink of water, and young Jason Stevens stared at me in disbelief. On the big screen, Red continued. "There's only one way in the world to explain something like that, and it's called friendship. Now, Jason, I know you think you have a lot of friends. But the reality is, you have a lot of people who simply want your money or the things it will buy. Except for your time with Gus Caldwell, you've never worked a day in your life nor done anything I would call productive. But you have been the life of the party and an easy touch for a lot of weak hangers-on you casually call friends.

"During the next thirty days, I want you to spend a lot of time thinking and observing. I want you to find what you feel to be the principles that underlie true friendship, and I want you to be able to report to Mr. Hamilton an example of true friendship that demonstrates your principles. Jason, you will never do anything in your life that will bring more quality to your existence than growing to understand and nurture friendship."

The videotape ended, and Jason seemed to be deep in thought. Finally, he blurted out, "I don't understand. I mean-"

I interrupted him. "I know you don't understand. That's the whole point. I only hope that you will remember your great-uncle's words and, for your sake, by the end of the month you are at least beginning to understand. I will look forward to your report."

I walked out of the conference room, leaving young Jason Stevens to his a.s.signment.

On the last day of the month, Miss Hastings called into my office to let me know that Jason had set up an appointment and would be arriving within the hour. I sat back and thought about my lifelong friend, Red Stevens. I wasn't sure how you could teach someone the depth to which a friendship could grow, especially if the person had never experienced it himself. I will admit to feeling a great sense of doubt and foreboding as I considered Jason's prospects of succeeding in the task Red Stevens had given him.

As we gathered around the conference table, Miss Hastings and I were quiet. Both of us were observing Jason's expression and manner. He seemed to have a lot on his mind. He gave us each a perfunctory greeting and muttered, "I hope that ... well, I mean ... I just don't-"

Miss Hastings stopped him by saying, "I believe our agenda today involved your report to Mr. Hamilton on your progress with respect to understanding friendship."

Jason looked at me doubtfully, and I nodded and gave him a brief smile of encouragement.

He began. "I thought a lot about friendship this month, and I tried to come up with the principles that define friendship. The best I can do is to say that friendship involves loyalty, commitment, and a process that includes sharing another person's life. It even goes deeper than that, but it's hard to put into words.

"The best example of friendship I can give to demonstrate my principles is a story that Gus Caldwell told me when I was working for him in Texas. He explained that when he and Uncle Red got started in the cattle business, they had ranches several miles apart, but they and several other ranchers all shared the same range. Each spring, all the ranchers would have what they call a roundup, which apparently involved collecting and branding all of the new calves, called yearlings, which had been born since the last roundup.

"As Mr. Caldwell explained it to me, the young calves simply follow their mothers wherever they go, so as the cattle are collected, representatives from each ranch are present to brand each new calf with the same brand as its mother's.

"Well, it seems that early on, Mr. Caldwell was very concerned that Uncle Red wasn't going to make it as a rancher. So, during the roundup one year, Gus simply branded a number of calves that should have been his own with Uncle Red's brand. He told me that he figured that he had been able to give over thirty calves to Uncle Red through that process.

"But at the end of the roundup, when Gus performed what is called a tally, which is simply counting all the cattle with his brand, he found that instead of being thirty calves short as he thought he should, he actually had almost fifty more than he started with.

"He was confused about that incident for many years until, while Mr. Caldwell and Uncle Red were on a fishing trip, Uncle Red told Gus that when they first got started, he had been worried about Gus making it in the business. Since he didn't want to lose his best friend and neighbor, he had actually branded a bunch of his calves with Gus Caldwell's brand."

Jason paused and glanced at both Miss Hastings and me for any sign of approval. He continued. "That story that Mr. Caldwell told me about my Uncle Red best describes how I understand each of the elements of friendship. I know it takes many years to build a friendship like that, but I think somehow it must be worth it.

"As you know, last month I met Brian when his car broke down at the side of the road. I helped him get a new engine for it, and since then we have done several things together, and I hope that someday we can be friends like Gus Caldwell and my Uncle Red."

Jason looked directly into my eyes and said, "And I hope I can be as good a friend as you were to Red Stevens."

I smiled at him and said, "In my best judgment, you have begun your lifetime lesson in friendship. The only thing I can tell you is that any effort you put into a friendship is always returned manyfold."

I thanked Jason for sharing the story about Red Stevens and Gus Caldwell. I had known for half a century that they were both great men and great friends. Jason's story, pa.s.sed to him by Gus Caldwell, was just one more example of great friendship.

Miss Hastings walked Jason out of the conference room, leaving me alone with my memories.

As I sat back in my chair and remembered my lifelong friend, Red Stevens, I reflected that our friendship had begun simply and without either of us understanding what our relationship would grow to be. Jason had learned the beginnings of how to be a friend, and I hoped that his new friendship would blossom into a lifelong treasure giving him as much pleasure as Red Stevens and I had enjoyed.

SIX.

THE GIFT OF LEARNING.

Education is a lifelong journey

whose destination expands

as you travel.

Red Stevens' bequest to his great-nephew, Jason, represented the most unusual and, potentially, the most important matter I had ever handled for a client or a friend. As we entered the fourth month of our one-year journey with Jason, I was-n't sure how much progress we were making. He had shown many signs of improvement, but his belligerent, arrogant, and selfish att.i.tude-borne of a life of idle privilege-still showed through from time to time.

As we began our monthly ritual around the conference room table, he interrupted the proceedings before Miss Hastings could even start the videotape.

"Look, I have done everything you have said up to this point, and this has all been well and good, but I need to have some idea of where we are going here and what I get at the end of all of this. I can't just waste a year out of my life."

I stared at Jason for several moments and tried to think of what Red would want me to say. Finally, I responded. "Jason, it seems to me that your entire life to date has been a series of wasted years. I don't see how this one-year acquiescence to your great-uncle's will could do anything but improve your track record; however, you do have the option to stop this process at any point in time."

He fired back at me, "Can't you just give me some idea of what I am going to get out of this so I can decide if it's all worth it?"

I gave him my courtroom stare and stated, "Young man, I am bound by honor, duty, and friendship to perform each step of this process as directed by Red Stevens. I have no option in the matter. You, indeed, do have an option. Either you play or you don't play, but if you're going to play, you're going to play by the rules. Is there any part of that you don't understand?"

Jason and I locked eyes, and we were in a staring contest that represented a test of wills. Unfortunately for him, my will had been tested many, many times over eighty years, and his was only just now being tested due to the love and concern of Red Stevens.

He finally looked away and mumbled, "Okay, let's play the video."

Red Stevens appeared on the screen and seemed to display a bit more intensity than before. It seemed that as we cleared each hurdle, the one before us seemed to take on more importance and significance.

Red began. "Jason, the next element of the gift I am trying to leave to you encompa.s.ses knowledge and learning. As you know, I never had the benefit of a formal education, and I realize that you have some kind of degree from that high-toned college we sent you to that is little more than a playground for the idle rich."

Jason leaned back in his chair, slammed his fist onto the table, and blew out a long stream of air.

Red continued. "Now, before you get your feelings all hurt, I want you to realize that I respect universities as well as any type of formal education. It just wasn't a part of my life. What was a part of my life was a constant curiosity and desire to learn everything I could about the people and world around me. I wasn't able to go to school very long after I learned to read, but the ability to read, think, and observe made me a relatively well-educated man.

"But learning is a process. You can't simply sit in a cla.s.sroom and someday walk offstage with a sheepskin and call yourself educated. I believe the reason a graduation ceremony is called a commencement is because the process of learning begins-or commences-at that point. The schooling that went before simply provided the tools and the framework for the real lessons to come.

"In the final a.n.a.lysis, Jason, life-when lived on your own terms-is the ultimate teacher. My wealth and success have robbed you of that, and this is my best effort to repair the damage."

Red paused for a few seconds, collected his thoughts, and continued. "Jason, you are going to be going on a little trip. Mr. Hamilton and Miss Hastings will be accompanying you. Your destination will be the greatest source of learning I ever discovered. If you will keep an open mind, you will find the key to the gift of learning that will serve you all the days of your life.