In the heat of the exchange(Donald J Brown) Todays weather couldn't be any more perfect. Clouds cast the grey skies with rain showers and sounds of thunder with flashes of lightning were in the distance. This wasn't your typical weather in Maine during the summer months. I find the weather to be great on this day seeing that i've worked 80 plus hours in my lumber yard this week. My whole body aches and not to mention all the scratches and bruises from head to toe. In the end, all the hard work pays off. Finally, a day off. My day started like any other day, fresh pot of coffee brewing, filling my cabin on the lake with that bitter sweet aroma that gets me going every morning. The start of most days i would rush around and take a really quick shower, which i was in the midst of when i realized that there's no hurry. 'today i'm gonna enjoy a nice long shower and heck i may not even get dressed,' i thought to myself as i lathered on some body wash. After my final tasks i shut the shower off and wrapped myseld in a towel. I could hear the pot of coffee sputtering mixed with rain hitting my roof and the waves from the lake crashing into my boat landing. The combination of these sounds was rather refreshing. The main reason i chose to build a cabin in this remote location was because it's on an exquisite lake and the beauty that the landscape had to offer. Most mornings i could hear the loons calling and at night wolves and coyotes howled in the distance. It's so peaceful and relaxing.

I began building my dream home about 5 years ago but before that i was living the city life and working in the corporate world. My department focused mainly on world trading and did a lot of business with foreign banks. I made substantial amounts of money but deep down i felt like an ant, i hated it. People always told me that nobody could perform this job as well as i could and that some day i would make partner. One day while sitting at my desk on the 47th floor in my more then extraordinary office i was going though some case files when i heard a loud slap on the floor followed by a couple smaller noises. It sounded to me like a stapler had fallen off someones desk. I walked over to my door and opened it. Why i decided to get up out of my chair and walk over to the door and peak out still remains a mystery. As i peered across the room full of cubicles it was as if time stood still. Every person on the floor looked like statues as they were buried nose deep in their work. Buttons clicking from the computers and papers being shuffled around were the only noises that filled the room. As i stood there i felt a surge run through my whole body, almost like an electric shock followed by a loud voice in my head that screamed 'is this it? all the years of top notch colleges i attended and the hours upon hours of internship and i get to be keeper of an ant farm.' Logic quickly began to sink in as i walked back to my desk and sat down. After some brief phone calls and emails i started to feel hunger pains in my stomach. As much as i enjoy all the gourmet food the lunch den had to offer i didn't care for all the whispers and how fake people began to act as soon as i walked into the room. On my way out of my office door i grabbed my briefcase and dreadful trenchcoat that this firm mandates once you get your foot in the door. i started towards the lunch den and all it took for me to not want to enter was a look. This person wasn't looking at me, it was just the same look that i've been seeing for nine years now and today for some reason it really annoyed me. i walked past the den and straight to the elevators. On my way down to the first floor my hunger grew more and more by the minute. I knew that at the rate of things i wouldn't see any food for at least a half an hour or so due to parking, traffic, being seated and what not. Just then i realized that there is a nice little pizzaria on the other side of the park, about a 10 minute walk from here. It sounded all so great until i remembered that i had my heavy briefcase in my hands. Soon as i entered the park i could see a hotdog cart no more then 20 feet away. I couldn't even remember if i liked hotdogs or not but i was so hungry that i devoured the first one and after putting condiments on the second one i decided to take a seat on the nearest park bench. I began to nibble away at my hotdog when a glob of mustard found its way onto my hideous coat. In a panic i jumped up and began to scatch the mustard away with the napkin i had acquired from the vendor. 'Oh, it's no use!' i said aloud and sat back down on the bench. I leaned myself all the way back trying to clear my mind as my head sat adjacent to the ground facing the sky. As i closed my eyes i could feel the nice spring breeze on my face and the rays of sun beamed down so much that i could almost see the light through my eye lids. Just then i found the bench to be very comfortable as i ran my hand across the grain in the wood trying to figure out what kind it was. A clear picture of a little cabin on a lake came to mind. It looked and felt like heaven and like that, it was gone. Still sitting with my eyes closed i could hear foot steps approaching. I opened my eyes to see a couple and their child strolling by. 'Excuse me?' i said. All three looked over at me but the woman quickly looked away after figuring that she didn't know me. 'Yes?' the man responded. 'I know this sounds rather random but do you know what kind of wood this bench is made from?' i asked. He took a quick look, shrugged his shoulders and said 'It looks like pine to me.' as he started back to rejoin his family. 'Pine.' i thought to myself, 'hmmm'. as i ran my hands over it back and forth.

I finished my lunch, grabbed my briefcase and started walking out of the park. Just outside i noticed a homeless man asking people if they could spare any change. Most people didn't even acknowledge him and continued to walk past him as though he didn't even exist. Most days i would do that same but today i was feeling different. i approached the man and asked him why he chose to live in these less then humane conditions. The man looked to be in his late 30's or early 40's and seemed to be in shape physically. His answer was that he once had everything and more but it wasn't enough. he got caught up with the wrong group of individuals and invested all his life savings and his family's as well and lost everything he worked for. Instead of getting back up and fixing the problem he turned to alcohol which ultimately turned to drugs and his family left him. He began to steal and scam to feed his addiction. At this point i decided to sit down on the sidewalk next to him since my coat was pretty much ruined anyway. He went on to tell me that after a few years of crime sprees he was eventually caught and sent to prison to serve 4 and a half years. He explained that on the inside he frequented AA meetings and read the bible every night before bed and he would kiss the only picture he had of his two daughters. In my head i was thinking, 'bullshit'. Just then he proceeded to pull a crusty old picture out of his billfold made up of duct tape. "See, that's Cathy the oldest and that there is Jeannie. We named her after the television show 'i dream of Jeannie'" he explained. "When they opened the gate for me when i got released there was no one waiting for me and since then i've been doing what i can just to survive and stay away from the devils sauce. That's why i'm way over here and not on the other side of town where i know i can get more money but all the bars and street hustlers sit and wait til someone gives you money then they try to lure you in somehow." I looked at my watch and stood up. "I tell you what i am going to do for you," i said as i reached into my pocket and pulled out a pen along with my business card. "You go into the park," as i pointed, "do you see that bench right there?" He shook his head yes. "Go over to the bench and find out what kind of wood it's made from and where it grows. And then come to this address," as i pointed to it with my thumb. "There will be a nice reward waiting for you if you can complete this task," i said as i handed him the pen and card. He looked at me and said "How do i know that you're not pulling my leg and this isn't some sick joke you and your friends are playing?" "You don't," i said. "You are just gonna have to trust me and plus you have my thousand dollar pen in your hand." i said goodbye and headed back to the office.

I was so deep in my work that i didn't hear my office phone ringing. My assistant did her usual double tap on my door and as always peaked her head in before i answered. "Ah, there's a homeless man down in the lobby with security claiming that he knows you and wants to personally return your property to you," she said with a confused look on her aged face. I looked up at her kind of dumbfounded, not fully understanding what she had just said because of the deep thought i was caught in. "Oh nevermind, how silly," she said as she began to close the door. "Wait!" i yelled as i finally figured out what she had just said. The door opened back up. "He's not a homeless man," i explained, "he's just a really underdressed client of mine and over lunch i loaned him my pen to finalize some papers and i must have forgotten it." She smiled as though she knew it wasn't the truth. "Do you want me to send up Mr..." "Pine" I interrupted. "And no that won't be necessary," i told her as i stood up and headed torwards the door. Upon entering the lobby i noticed Mr 'Pine' right off, standing with the guards. He stuck out like a sore thumb. Most people can dress in their sunday best and would still look out of place in this particuar building. He did in fact look comfortable though as he stood there talking and laughing with the two men. As soon as he noticed me walking over to them he started to dig the pen and business card out of his pocket and said "I have that information that you had requested, sir." Then handed it over to me. I took a quick look and shoved them into my pocket. I noticed that his hand writing was quite good considering. "Ah,yes," i said as i handed him an envelope. He slid it into his pocket and was just about to say something when my boss walked in through the front door. He looked over at us and then hurried in our direction. "What is this?" he exclaimed, "No begging or pan handling on the premises" as he looked over at the two security guards. "Get this disease of a person out of my building and call the police if he returns." Without any kind of explanation he proceeded to his very own private elevator mumbling things under his breath. "Mr Cordero" i yelled. He turned around looking grumpy and gloomy as always and said "What is it Mr. Basin?" I thought long and carefully about what i would say next and then stated, "This man was returning some personal property of mine that he had found and does not deserve to be ridiculed by you or anyone else at that." He looked very stunned and began to walk torwards me. "The next time you have a guest in my house you make damn sure that he or she has on the proper attire!" He said reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a handful of change and dropped it in Mr 'Pine's' hand and then stormed off. I looked over at him holding his change in his hand and told him to give me back the envelope and to stay put until i got back. It took me about 20 minutes to return from going to my office and back. I handed the envelope back over to him and said "Sorry about the wait but Mr Cordero inspired me to inspire you. From this moment on, the contents of this envelope will hopefully put you on the right track and help you get your family back." He opened it and slid a check a quarter of the way and then half way out and almost fainted. He burst into tears thanking me from the bottom of his heart. "Please, do the right thing this time" i said as i patted him on the back and walked back to the elevators. "Hey John" he yelled. I turned around and he smiled and told me, "You're a good person, you don't belong with these kind of people, God bless." he waved goodbye and headed out the front door.

The very next morning i was called into Mr Cordero's office. "John" he said, "Why is there $250,000 missing from the business account?" "Oh that" I said, "that's part of my severence pay because I QUIT!" I took off the stupid trench coat and threw it on his desk. He looked as though he were gonna have a heart attack. "How's that for proper attire?" i asked as i walked out of his office only wearing a pair of socks and these 'damned' dress shoes.

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