(lygenztia *113) Appearances can be deceiving....

Went to lunch recently at one of my favourite burger haunts..North End Burger in Whitby. (or "Johnny Burger" to those that know the owner)

So...in I walk....anxious to get my feed of burger and fries and I see this young punk at the counter. All decked out in gangster clothing..looking the part. I think to myself, "great..just what the world needs...another punk ass hood."

Then the "punk ass hood" gave me a reality check that I haven't been able to quit thinking about. He was about 15....give or take. As he waited to place his order..a beautiful little girl about 8 years old came out of the washroom. She was not dressed properly for the weather....and her clothes looked like they had seen too many winters...and not enough washings.

The little girl stands beside the boy, he places his order..then he places her order for her...listening close as she whispered in a shy way. He took great care to see that it was perfect...exactly what she wanted. It was obvious that it was his little sister. He counted out the money, from loonies, quarters..dimes. It was also painfully obvious that he had just enough to pay. Then he did the most amazing thing....

He said to the owner... "Hey mister, here is the 30 cents that I was short the last time I was here. I didn't forget." and he hands the owner 2 dimes and 2 nickels. I felt like an absolute heel. Here, I had made a complete judgement on a kid, that was a complete mis-judgement on my adult part.

Eventually, we all got our food,and I ended up in a place where I could see the two kids. The little girl adored her brother...he made sure she got napkins. They shared a Coke...he made sure she got more than he did. Then, he did something that touched me so much, I couldn't finish my lunch and had to leave.

He took out a little toy stuffed bear and gave it to her..it must have been her birthday. Her birthday..... and here was big brother (who was just a kid himself) acting like a man. He was making her feel special and loved.....taking her out to lunch, seeing that she got everything she needed...and giving her a present. They way she reacted, you would have thought he just gave her the keys to heaven.

I will never forget that little white bear with a tiny bow around its neck.

And I bet the little girl won't either.