Doing the Right Thing in a Pile of Poop!

   How do you know what the right choice is? The world is filled with many greedy & egocentric people who will lead you down the wrong path, just to fulfill their needs.  As an adult, one may rely on mentors, life-experiences or-if fortunate enough-parents to help us through life's challenges. In 'Grandpa's Grapevine', Elizabeth had her Grandpa Frank to confide in and seek guidance.

    If you are not blessed with these options, keep reading.......

          The year was 1989 and the month was June. I was sitting in my theology class at Saint Paul Catholic High School. The classroom was filled with seniors awaiting graduation night. How could Father Mark possible keep our attention? And then, he told us a story....
  
'I know you are all excited about leaving high school, but I wanted to share something
with all of you. This world is filled with many types of people and sometimes life  may
be cruel. I pray you are blessed with meeting people who share your willingness to do
what's right, but sometimes these people are dressed like a sheep, but their souls are  a   
wolf. Listen to my  story-

Once there was a litle bird who lived in New England. Every year, he and his feathered friends flew south for the winter. One fall, this little bird decided not to fly south, he wanted to see what winter was like. He was doing all right until January came along. It became so cold and the little bird knew he just wouldn't survive. So, he began to fly south. As he was flying, the air became so cold that the bird's wings became frozen. The bird propelled to the ground like a helicopter with engine failure. He landed in a large field with no one around for miles. The bird knew he would die...it was hopeless. And then, just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, a cow came over and pooped on him! The little bird thought to himself- 'great, now I am going to die all alone and with poop on me....can life get any worse!' Then, something happened....the warm poop actually began to thaw the bird's wings! The little bird became so excited he started to chirp loud and proud! In the distance, a cat heard this chirping. The cat followed the noise and found the pile of poop. The cat thought to himself- 'there is a bird under that pile of poop....what a great lunch he would be!'  So, the cat licked off the poop and ate the bird!

     Then, Father Mark paused for a moment and looked at our expressions before he spoke. There are three morals to this story and I hope you remember each one as you make life choices. First, the people in this world who poop on you aren't always your enemies. Second, the people who help clean off the poop aren't always your friends. Third, if you're ever in a pile of poop- keep your mouth shut!