The long awaited McDonald's - Hallmark story.....

My friend, Kathy, finally, after several years of trying, convinced me to join the Cub Scouts. We have had more fun than I could have imagined! For Christmas, we took the Tiger Scouts (6 and 7 year old 1st graders) caroling to a Retirement Home. The boys did a fine job with all their songs, and, after they were done, we encouraged them to walk around the room and introduce themselves to the residents and wish them a Merry Christmas. Some of the residents had sung along with the boys, some had clapped, and some were crying. It was a moving experience. Now, as you can imagine, 6 of the 7 boys worked that room in 3 seconds flat.........shook hands, said hi, and were ready to go. For a Mom who had just been moved by the emotions in the room, I was a little disappointed in my son, who is usually very gregarious. He kind of zoomed through that room like he was Mario Andretti. In hindsight, I realize that for a 6 year old, some of the residents (wheel chair and bed bound) may have been a little scary, and didn't inspire long chats. The 7th boy however, (Kathy's son) was simply amazing. A kinder spirited, more caring, 6 year old can not be found on the face of the Earth. He greeted each and every resident, made eye contact, asked them their life story, shared some of his own, and made the rest of us wait 15 minutes while he brought Christmas magic to every person in that room. Some of us decided to take the boys out for an icecream at McDonald's after we left the Retirement Home. (only in Florida). Kathy's son, Jimmy, immediately spied 2 older couples sitting outside drinking coffee at a table. He was really caught up in the mood and really wanted to sing these 4 people Christmas caroles. Unfortunately, he was on his own. The other boys wanted nothing to do with more singing and had their eys set on icecream. Jimmy begged and pleaded with his Mom to the point where the couple took notice that they were being spoken about. Kathy, who, once you know her, you completely get why her boys are they way they are, walked over to the two couples and explained that we had just been caroling and that Jimmy really wanted to sing to them and would they mind if he sang for them. Who's going to disappoint a Cub Scout? Now, one thing that makes Jimmy so absolutely precious is that he has a hard time pronouncing the "r" sound, and really wanted to sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. So, you have to use your own imagination here to visualize Jimmy, in his full Cub Scout uniform, with a red Santa hat, singing by himself, in a slight lisp, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". At this point, I shooed all of the rest of the boys outside to sing with their fellow Cub Scout. All of a sudden, this "gang" of teenage boys, who had been sitting inside, jumped up and ran outside to the table. Now, without being disrespectful, I can tell you that these boys looked a little omnimous. Some of them had tattoos, some had hats on backwards, and one had those baggy jeans that hang around the knees. I was counting how many Dads we had in our group in case we needed a show of force to protect our little Tiger Scouts. One of them said, "can we sing too", and everyone, 4 Cub Scouts, 4 older people with their coffees, Kathy, and 5 teenage hoodlumish boys, all started to sing "we wish you a Merry Christmas". It turned out that the boys were a part of the local high school chorus group, and added their rich baritone voices to the singing. As they were sitting right outside the doors, everyone inside could hear them and the employees started to sing, and the other customers in the store were either singing or smiling and for 15 seconds, it was if Christmas Spirit was a tangible powder that had covered everything. And, as fast as it had happened, it was over. The boys said "goodnight" and all jumped into their cars, the older couples got up and left, and we all got our icecreams and sat down. It was truly a Hallmark moment, set in place by one small Cub Scout.