You Always Have A Choice

Hello,

Here I am again, presenting one more story. 

It is about making a choice in life. 

A person can always choose. Make a right turn or left, keep going forward or return, exercise today or not, eat right or not, study, finish the work or procrastinate. 

Do I continue with this blog or do I drop it? I still have a few more stories, due to circumstances surrounding me, I have not written anything new, just rehashing what had been sitting on my computer. 

Getting back to the story, a person has a choice to help or not help another person. 

Enjoy the story written for six-seven year old children. 

Meera

You Always Have A Choice

Grandpa sat in their living room with a book. 
Billy hobbled in, tears spilled from his eyes.

Grandpa left his arm chair, picked up his cane and walked towards Billy, "What happened, Billy?"

Billy bent over his leg, "It hurts. I fell down and Robby did not even help me." He flopped down on the nearest chair.

Grandpa, "Uh, oh. Let’s see. How did you fall?" Grandpa sat on a low stool by Billy's chair, Grandpa touched his leg gently. 

Billy, "We were running a race and I fell down. My ankle feels sore and I can’t walk. Tommy’s dad saw me.
and carried me here."

Grandpa moved his hand on Billy's ankle, "Hmm.  I see your sore ankle. How about we ask Grandma to drive us to an emergency room."

Billy hid his leg under his chair, "They'll make my ankle hurt more."  

Grandpa, "Nooo, if I remember it right, the doctors make you feel better."

Billy and his Grandpa sat in the backseat. Grandma drove the car.

Billy continued to pout, "Grandpa, why didn’t Robby help me? I called out for help, but he just ran past

me!"

Grandpa patted Billy's hand, "Well, sweetheart, a person always has a choice."

Billy looked up at Grandpa, "What do you mean?"

Grandpa said, "It's simple. You have a choice of helping someone or not helping."

Billy frowned, "Well, he didn't."

Grandpa smiled, "Hmm. Let me tell you a story and you can figure that out for yourself, Billy."

Billy said, "Tell me your story only if it helps me feel better."

Grandpa nodded, "Well, unless you hear the story, we will not know."

Billy crinkled his nose, "I guess you can tell me the story."

"It happened in the year 2006, in the month of June I think."

Billy smiled, "I finished second grade in June and my birthday is in June!"

Grandpa, "That is right. In June that year, an Australian mountain climber climbed Mount Everest. Then He started his descent."              

Billy's eyes opened wide, "Wow!  Did he actually climb the highest mountain in the world? Was he climbing

all  by himself?"

Grandpa patted Billy's hand, "No, they always climb in twos of more. And yes, I am talking about the tallest of the Himalayan peaks. He had climbed Everest. He looked around.

Billy's eyes grew even more wide, "Did it look different?"

Grandpa smiled, "I am sure it did. How do things look from your tree house?"              

Billy grinned from ear to ear, "Really neat. I can see things that are far-far away. I love it."

"Well, this mountaineer also looked all around from the top of Everest. Then he started to climb down.  Unfortunately, soon he felt disoriented!"

Billy,"Disoriented?"

"Yes, he did not know where he was and what he was doing. That can happen when you are tired, if you don’t have enough sleep, and especially when you don’t get enough oxygen."

Billy, "Grandpa, people and animals die if they don’t get oxygen, right?"

Grandpa said, "Correct. Well, this mountaineer was so disoriented, that he just sat down and refused to climb down!" 

Billy wondered, "Didn’t his friends help him?"
"Of course, they tried.  But the mountaineer resisted all attempts of help. They soon gave it up because they started to run low on their own oxygen."

Billy, "Oh, no. that was bad. Did the poor mountaineer die?"

Grandpa: "Well, the Sherpa, that’s the guide, and the others felt his pulse, and listened to his heartbeat. There were none. They decided that the man was dead! They left him there and came down the mountain."

Billy, "Then?"

Grandpa continued, "Well, on the next day, an American was climbing the same slope with two other Americans and a Sherpa."

Billy, "Good for them. So the Americans brought the dead Australian down!"

Grandpa nodded, "Yes, the Americans brought the Australian down, and he was not dead!"

Billy, "Cool! How did they bring him to life?"

Grandpa said, "Billy, nature is fantastic. In cold temperatures, the human body turns on its defense mechanism. All of the body functions slow down to save the body heat." 

Billy, "Wow, the Australian's body protected itself!"

Grandpa, "So it would seem. Billy, this guy sat in a lotus position, on the snow, without any gloves, without a hat, without an oxygen tank, with his jacket unbuttoned, and without a sleeping bag to keep warm."

Billy, "That's crazy."
Grandpa answered, "Right, but the Americans saw the Australian did not really know who he was nor what he was doing there!" 

Billy, "Didn't they see he was disoriented?"

Grandpa replied, "Perhaps. Well, the American wondered: Do I keep on climbing or do I help another human being!" 

Billy, "I got it, Grandpa. If the American continued to climb, the Australian dies, if the he helped, the

Australian lives! What did he do Grandpa?"

"Well, he asked his fellow climbers of their opinion---whether to help a fellow climber, another human being or make their dream come true and reach the peak in two hours."

"What did they choose?"

Grandpa said that they let their dream go and …

Billy interrupted, "And they decided to save a life. They made a good choice, right?"   

"Yes, Mr. Billy, that’s right. There is always a choice: You can either go this way or that."

Billy nodded, "I guess Tommy made the wrong choice."  

Grandpa said, "Right or wrong, that the choice he made, son."

Grandma braked the car when they reached their destination, "My dear fellows, we are at the hospital."

Billy held his Grandpa's hand, "We made a good choice by coming to the hospital. With your cool

story, I did not even think about my ankle! I am ready for the doctors. Let’s go."


The End

Discussion:  Do we have a choice in our daily lives?  Choice in what we wear?  Choice in what we eat?  Choice in what we do?  How does our choice affect us?  How does it affect other people?

(The Australian’s name was Lincoln Hall and the American was Dan Mazur)


© 2013, Meera Desai Shah