Kara McMellon

English Composition II 1020XA

July 21, 2011
Rewrite of Essay One

When You Least Expect It Today the world is hustle and bustle. Everyone seems to think they are the center of the universe. They push their carts into others at the grocery store. They cut one another off in traffic, often followed with a finger suggestion. Just trying to say hi, to be polite the return is a snort or a sneer, and the look seems to suggest the question, ‘what do you want?’ Upon entering a Wal-Mart or Lowe’s, if one wants to ask a question, they will be hard pressed to find a sales person to help. Yes, the world seems cruel and unkind. That is, until this one thing happened and it came to light that people are not always what they seem. I was on a camping trip with a group that I belong to. It was a hot, sultry weekend, so we went and spent time by the shore of the lake we were camped on. I just happened to be people watching and I was astonished by the sight that I saw. My faith in humanness was restored that weekend and it was definitely what I least expected. As the man emerged from the campground, he was boisterous and burly. The tattoos seemed to cover every inch of natural skin. He wore a heavily patched leather vest; faded Levi’s and black boots, yes, even in the heat of the summer. He inspired fleeting glances from passerbies. No one would have approached this monster of a man for fear of scathing remarks. There seemed to be a cloud of darkness and evil surrounding this man. The boy was just about twelve. He suffered from Autism Spectrum Disorder. He didn’t respond to his name and didn’t look to form any type of communication bond. He covered his ears to the sounds of the birds chirping. He clapped his hands and screeched ‘eeee’. This had been going on for at least an hour. He was alone in his mind and no one wanted to play, so he sat by his mother not saying a word. Wonders of all wonders, he proved to be an amazing boy. The boy, for some unknown reason, got up and walked over to the bench where the man was sitting. He plopped himself down with a heavy thud, grabbed a stick and began drawing in the dirt. It was all nonsensical stuff, but he was doing something besides screeching and clapping. Instead of becoming angry or ignoring what had just landed in front of him, the man got off the bench and knelt down beside the boy and began drawing too. The two of them sat there for hours, neither of them talking. The boy took the man’s hand and pulled as in to motion him up. He led him to the cool, clear water of the lake. This burly biker took off his boorish boots, rolled his pant legs and walked with the boy into the water. He held the boys hand as he splashed around. The man did not care that the boy was soaking his clothes with water. It seemed like they played for ever. Finally, the man walked the boy back to his mother and I over heard her say a warm and genuine thanks to the man. He responded with the biggest grin and told her that her boy was a gift from God and if it was ok he would like to spend the next day by the water with him again. In a world where it seemed no one cares, here came someone you would least expect, with a warm heart and a gentle hand, to take a boy others would pass by and made a friend. People can surprise you, given half a chance. If a person sat back and watched, given time, they would see a caring gesture being passed that could break down the heart’s wall of even the hardest of men and it would happen when they least expect it.