See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The Amelia Earhart Story.
Life Lesson #87 – The Drug of Choice.
It would be two more years before Linda’s oldest brother would be home from prison. He was caught stealing money to buy drugs, and everybody knew it. One day in the library, Linda heard some giggling going on behind her, so she turned around to see several girls. “What are you looking at?” one of the girls asked.
“I thought I heard you call my name,” Linda answered.
“Well, we were talking about you, not to you,” another one said. “You and your jailbird brother.” The girls all giggled again, and Linda felt very sad. Well, Mrs. Holt, the librarian, had been sitting in the floor putting some new books on a low shelf. When Linda left the library, she stood up and surprised the girls. “Why would you be so mean to Linda? I heard every word you said.” One of the girls quickly spoke up and said, “I didn’t say anything.”
But Mrs. Holt assured her that she was just as much a part of hurting Linda as the rest of them. She had laughed along with them and certainly had done nothing to stop the hurtful conversation. Mrs. Holt went on to say, “Why don’t you start talking to Linda more—in a kind way, that is? Linda is not responsible in any way for the bad choices her brother made. So stop hurting her and become her HEROES by making school a better place for her.”
Two of the girls thought about what Mrs. Holt said. They apologized and told Linda they would try to convince the other girls to start HELPING other people with their words and actions instead of hurting them. And you know, that is exactly what they did.
– Jim Lord