Bo-Bo's Goodwill

Bo Bo's Goodwill

A short Story By Paul McCann

Bo-Bo was the kind of person who never took much for granted . Especially friendships and peace of mind . His early years as an orphan were hard and it brought him an understanding of what was important .

One cold afternoon as Bo-Bo walked through the town centre he looked at how busy it was . People shopping and lots of sales everywhere .
He also noticed the added stress on the postman's face and how many deliveries each day he was doing .

Bo-Bo thought about that and decided that he would try to lend a hand .
So he went to the mail centre and asked Danny the postmaster if there was any thing he could do to help ease the load .

Danny was really taken back by his offer and said ,

" Bo-Bo I'd be grateful of anything you could do ."

Bo-Bo replied ,
"Ok . I'll borrow the community bus in the morning and do a few deliveries for you . Is that all right Danny ? "

The postmaster replied .
"Bo-Bo that is great . Now because of the lack of funding I can only pay you
the standard rate of wages ."

Bo-Bo said ,
"I'm not doing it for money . I'm just doing it to help out "

The Postmaster replied ,
"Well that's up to you . If that's what you want Bo-Bo ."

"Yes that's it . Ok . I'll see you in the morning about six . "

"Right you are ."
Bo-Bo left and went straight to Charlies house . He knocked on the door .
Charlie answered it .

"Hi Bo-Bo .Its nearly Christmas ."

"Sure enough Charlie ."
Bo-Bo replied .

"So is everything all right ?

BoBo replied .
"I've a job lined up for us tomorrow Charlie . "

Charlie said .
"Great news Bo-Bo . I could use some extra cash for Christmas "

Bo-Bo said ,
"Charlie it's a goodwill job we're doing ."

"What's that Bo-Bo?

"It's a job we're not getting paid for ."
Bo-Bo replied .

"I'm not with you . What are you talking about Bo-Bo ."
Charlie looked puzzled . Bo- Bo smiled and continued ,

"0h the thing is Charlie sometimes we do things to help others . Sometimes in life we give a little just because we want to ."
Charlie was speechless .

"It gives you a nice feeling to do something for nothing ."

"Help who Bo-Bo ?
"Danny down at the mail centre ."

"What's his problem ?

"He can't get the mail delivered . There are too many cards and letters this year and if we don't help out Charlie, a lot of people might be disappointed because they never got their mail ."

"And we're doing it for goodwill . Is that what you're saying ?
Said Charlie .

Bo-Bo patted Charlie on the back and said .
"Exactly . Now you're talking Charlie "

Taking a step back Charlie asked ,
"When are you going to start this goodwill thing ?

"Tomorrow at six in the morning ."
Bo-Bo replied .

Charlie said ,
"I'd love to help out, but I promised Mum to do some cleaning for her tomorrow morning ."

At that very moment Charlies mother returned home from work .
She met Bo-Bo at the front door and said .
"Hello Bo-Bo . The boss gave us all the day off . Seems goodwill has finally got to him . How are you ?"

Bo-Bo replied .
"I'm fine . Is that true about him giving you the day off ?

"Not really Bo-Bo . I'm not feeling too good to tell you the truth ."

"So is that why you asked Charlie to do some cleaning up for you tomorrow morning then ?
B-Bo asked her . She burst out laughing and replied .

"Charlie clean up . Bo-Bo that's a good one ."
Bo-Bo looked at Charlie and said ,

"Then if Charlie is free in the morning, is it ok if he comes out with me .
I'm in need of a hand to do a little job for someone ?

"No problem Bo-Bo . That would be great . Then I'd get the chance to get some peace a quiet for a while .

Bo-Bo looked at Charlie's bright red face and said .
"See you at six in the morning then ."

Charlie replied ,
"Mum I was just telling Bo-Bo I was going to help you around the house ."
Charlies mum replied ,
"Don't be silly Charlie .Go and help your friend . "

"See you at six the Charlie ."

Charlie nodded passively and Bo-Bo walked slowly away down the street to the community centre were he picked up the keys to the bus .

When morning came Bo-Bo was parked outside Charlies house . He tooted the horn three times . Eventually he saw Charlie peeping out from behind the curtains. He turned off the engine and walked up to the front door . Bo-Bo stood there under Charlies bedroom window and started to shout aloud .
"I know you're up Charlie . So if you think I'm going to leave without you then
you're wrong ."

A few dogs started to bark and some of the neighbours lights came on .
"Hurry up and get yourself down here ."

Charlie finally opened the window and said .
"Ok Bo-Bo . I'm on my way . Keep the noise down
Charlie came out and got in the bus and off they went to the post office .
Bo-Bo backed the car in to the large roller doors at the delivery centre and rang the bell . Danny opened the door and said ,

"Good morning Bo-Bo . I've got a few sacks for you . Each sack has a list of odd and even numbers and a code for the streets on the local map ."

"That sounds easy enough ."
Said Bo-Bo who got out and opened up the back of the bus . He gave Charlie a fierce but friendly gaze and said .

"Charlie will you get yourself into gear and get the bags on the bus ".
Charlie helped load the mail bags in the bus and Danny said .

"Morning tea is at nine boys . So see you in the sorting room then . It's my treat ok ."

"Nice one Danny. See you at nine ."

Bo-Bo got in and drove off . Charlie sat there in the front and looking a little happier he said .

"We're getting a free morning tea then . That sounds ok ."

"Its called goodwill Charlie . How do you feel ? "

"I feel good Bo-Bo . "
Came the reply .
Bo-Bo puled up at the top of the hill and pointed to a street opposite and said .

"That there is Pine Street Charlie ".
Then he grabbed a sack from the back of the bus and pointed to it saying .
"In this sack are the Pine Street mail . They all have odd numbers . Pop them in through the letter boxes that match and while you do that I'll do all the even numbers in Pine Street . OK Charlie ? "

Charlie put on this real smart look and said .
"Odd numbers ? Don't you not mean uneven ?

"What are you some kind of mathematician Charlie ?
Bo-Bo replied .

"Mathema what?
Said Charlie .

Bo-Bo looked into Charlies eyes and said .
"Its somebody who thinks they know more than others . So lets just get the job done before morning tea is over ."

They both took their sacks and walked along both sides of the street .
Charlie crossed over the road to Bo-Bo and said .
"What do I do if there is no letter box ?

Bo-Bo replied .
"Then just smash the window Charlie and throw the letter in through the hole But try and be quiet about it . "

Charlie said .
"What do I smash the window with .'

"Your head Charlie "

Ok . Thanks Bo-Bo ."

Bo-Bo was stunned that Charlie actually believed him .
"Don't be silly Charlie . If there's no letter box slip the letter under the front door , where the person inside will find it ."
Charlie walked back across the road while Bo-Bo continued along his way .
Most of the homes had doors with letter boxes . Some houses had none . Others had people at the door waiting for their mail . Some of these people handed tips to the lads with nice comments like .
"You're doing a great job . Keep it up ."
"Get yourself a cup of tea .
"You look busy . This might come in handy .
"Have a nice Christmas ."
At the bottom of the street the boys had pockets full of small change . When they got into the bus they counted it all out and divided it two ways .
Charlie was beaming and began to hum a few bars of Santa Clause is coming to town and stopping he said .

"This goodwill work is not bad Bo-Bo ."

"It's all good Charlie .".
Bo-Bo replied .

When they had delivered most of their sacks they headed back to the mail centre for morning tea . Parking the truck at the back door they walked through the side door entrance into the sorting room which was deserted .
They called out but no one answered and then walked around to the back loading dock . There was no sign of anyone . It was quiet and still .
Bo-Bo and Charlie made their way back to the bus and suddenly a group of postal workers jumped out and shouted .

"Surprise !

Charlie went white and nearly collapsed with fright .
Danny walked over and reached out a hand and said .

" Happy Christmas boys ."
They all shook hands and Danny brought them into the sorting room where they all sat down . A trolley with food and drink was wheeled in through the back door . Plates of cooked breakfast on trays where brought over to everyone and morning tea began . Someone dressed up in a Santa suit arrived on a bicycle and handed out presents to everyone present .
After the party Bo-Bo and Charlie thanked Danny for their kindness and returned to work . For the rest of the day they delivered the mail all over the town . A hard days work came to an end and Bo-Bo and Charlie made their way home . As the community bus made its way through town it started to snow . The traffic lights went red and as Bo-Bo came to a stop he saw an old man walk down an alley way where he lay down amongst garbage bags that were piled up outside the back door of one of the shops .
As tired and hungry as Bo-Bo was he pulled up to the side and parked the bus .
"Come on Charlie . We have another goodwill job we need to do ."
As Bo-Bo walked down the sidewalk to the back alleyway Charlie followed behind . They walked down the alleyway and there he was . Lying half asleep with his white hair scattered all over an unshaven face . Bo-Bo put his hand on the old mans shoulder and he almost jumped six foot in the air and screamed .

"Ah ! What do you want ?
Bo-Bo apologised for frightening him and said ,

"Sorry . Tell me . What has you down in this part of town ?

I couldn't pay the rent and I got told to leave the bread and breakfast. That's why ."

"So where about's did you used to live ?
Bo-Bo asked .

"With Goldilocks in Bryson House ".
Bo-Bo smiled and said .

"Well . I lived there once too after I left the orphanage ."

The old man sat up and became a little more friendly towards Bo-Bo .
"So you know the house rules at Bryson then ?
B0-Bo replied .

"Golidlocks is a hard woman . She's takes a lot of getting used to ."
Said Bo-Bo .
The old man replied .
She sure does . I was three weeks behind with the rent and she turfed me out on the street "

Bo-Bo asked .
"What brought you to Bryson house in the first place ."

"Well I came here for a job that fell through and without work I couldn't pay the rent .

Suddenly two men came from the street and rushed down the alley . They were being chased by the police . One of them had a handgun and the other a bag . The old man sprung to his feet and threw a left hook that brought down the man with the bag . His partner pointed the gun and shot the old man .
Bo-Bo lifted his fist and struck the bandit twice that knocked him unconscious The police swooped and surrounded the area . As it turned out the two bandits had robbed one of the largest shops in town and made their escape on foot . B0-Bo pointed out to the police that the homeless man had stopped the two bandit's single handed .

It wasn't long before the TV cameras arrived with other media people .
The old mans story was broadcast that evening on the main television network and an in depth interview with him told the story about he had come to the city looking for a job after he had lost his farm . With the tragedy of a airborn virus his livestock had contracted a crippling disease that resulted im them being destroyed . Massive debts to the bank saw the old man go out to find paid employment to clear his debts . His inability to find work in the city saw him go through the little money he had in his pocket .
Now with the old man receiving a reward for his bravery he was able to return home for Christmas . His wife still waited for him on the farm hoping that he would be able to find some work . She never expected to see him on the TV and was so proud of him .

The old man was grateful that Bo-Bo had saved his life . The two solid punches Bo-Bo had landed were more than adequate to prevent him from being shot dead in the alleyway .
Beofre the old man left the city he paid Bo-Bo a visit . Handing him a scrap of paper with a amp and some directions on it he said ,

"Bo-Bo you must promise you and Charlie will come and visit me on the farm at Christmas ."

"I will come as soon as I can .
Bo-Bo replied .
When Christmas came that year Bo-Bo and Charlie knocked on the farmhouse door . They were brought in and given a warm welcome and some of the best home cooked food you could ever hope to taste .

The TV report about how an old farmer fought off two dangerous bandits really captured many people . It stirred the heart of a nation and within a week letters with generous donations poured in . The farm was now debt free and all the livestock had been replaced by fit and healthy cattle and egg laying hens . Sheep with thick new wool and well proportioned pigs now filled the fields and pens .

Bo-Bo and Charlie had a great Christmas that year . They had seen goodwill in action as well as making some gestures of their own .

By Paul McCann

THE END

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDGtTCTgVrM

 

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