Once Upon a Time

So, I heard this story today about this warrior guy, let's call him Big Joe, who was holed up in a castle and surely defeated by another warrior guy, who we'll call Tall Sam. Well, Big Joe knew he had to surrender, but all the ladies of his kingdom and his worldly goods were residing in the castle, so he negotiated a deal w/ Tall Sam to allow his ladies to leave the castle w/ as much treasure as they could carry on their backs and no harm would come to them.

Big Joe gave the word to his ladies of his kingdom to leave w/ treasure, and Tall Sam and his army stepped back to watch them leave. Big Joe and the men of the kingdom knew they would be killed once the women and treasure were gone.

The women began to emerge from the castle bowed over by the weight of their burden. Tall Sam, the victor, was moved by what he saw.

Instead of hauling the jewels and coins of the kingdom on their backs, the women of Big Joe's reign were hauling, instead, their husbands. Their treasure.

Today's storyteller went on to say how he lost his young wife to cancer and how their good-byes were really not good-byes and the whole time he's talking, he's just TALKING, and his voice isn't breaking or wavering or even lowering in volume. And the rest of us in the basketball gym have grown VERY silent and sniffly and I am clutching my cheeks in HORROR thinking, "SURELY, she's going to wake up. WAKE UP!" (She doesn't.) He then ends the story on a very high note of his new wife and sweet, young family and newborn son and how we should all take note of our "treasure" and tell our treasure how much we value them.

"So, what was the half-time speaker's message today?" The Tall One asked me at the end of the day.

"You don't wanna know."

"No, I really do."

I couldn't even get thru the story of Big Joe and Tall Tom before I was blubbering and wiping and sniffing and blowing and CLUTCHING MY CHEEKS saying, "I just knew he was going to say she woke up. Annnd. sheeeee. didn't!! And then there was that part about the treasure. On their backs. And that was so sweet and brave ... and ... "

"Did you tell your mom that story?" he asked.

"Are you freaking KIDDING me?"

My mom and I don't do SUPERBOWL commercials without tears. Clydesdales? Gah! Heartstrings.

I admire that speaker. And treasure my treasure.

Oh, and Tall Sam was so moved by the actions of the women of Big Joe's kingdom that he didn't kill Big Joe and his fellas. See? Happy ending.

The end.