Raggedy, Raggedy

From the time of his first appearance in the park, the old man's crazy, unkempt clothes and his coarse yellowed beard had been the object of unkind jokes between Jill and her friends. Mostly they laughed among themselves at the strange stories they made up about him, but today their joking took a bold turn when Becky grabbed the old knit red cap from his head and started running around the park bench.

"Raggedy raggedy,
raggedy old man,
we've got your hat,
now ...
catch us if you can!"

The old man pulled the frayed collar of his coat up over his freezing cold ears and desperately tried to ignore the laughing, swirling figures. "I just guess he don't want this old hat" laughed Becky, as she wriggled her fingers through the loose yarn, stretching great holes in the old knit hat. "Maybe it ain't raggedy enough for him."

"Oh, c'mon you guys, "cried Jill,. "He's no fun. Let's go over to my house." With that, the girls ran quickly towards home, leaving the old man's hat lying ruined in the snow. As they neared the street, Jill glanced back at the old man. He was still sitting there, staring straight ahead, just as they had left him. Freshly falling snow was beginning to cover his bare head.

The old man didn't appear in his usual place on the park bench the next day ... nor the next. When the park bench still sat empty after a week, Jill felt an uneasy feeling growing inside. She told herself that she didn't care about the old man, but every time she walked through the park she was haunted by a vision of him sitting there, white flakes covering his gray old head, his ruined red hat lying in the snow.

Then, two days before school was to let out for Christmas vacation, it turned bitter cold and very early in the morning it began to snow. By the time Jill woke up everything was a blur of white as the storm outside worsened. Jill swallowed hard when she peeked out of her window. The uneasiness she'd felt inside suddenly grew into a real heartfelt concern for the old man. "Mom! Mom!" she shouted as she ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, "Is there any school today?"

"No, hon. The radio said that school's closed now until after Christmas vacation."

"Then after breakfast, can I go out and play in the snow?"
"Okay Jill, but just be sure that you're dressed warm."

Jill planned carefully while she ate breakfast. When she was done eating, she put on her shiny blue boots, her warmest winter coat, and her thick wool stocking cap. She walked straight to the park, and sat on one of the benches. Her plan was to ask everyone who walked by if they knew the old man, but few people were out on this blustery, cold morning. Determined to find him, she trudged into town, where she hoped to find more people to talk to.

Soon she came upon a group of people singing Christmas carols, and collecting donations from the few hardy Christmas shoppers who had braved the storm. Jill stepped up to a young woman at the edge of the group. "S'cuse me Ma'am."

"Merry Christmas, young lady" said the woman. "It's a pretty stormy day for you to be outside isn't it?"

"It's okay" said Jill. "You see, I've got to find someone. There's this old man that used to sit in the park all the time. He was really old, and wore raggedy clothes and he had this old red stocking cap and ..."

"Whoa, young lady, slow down a minute. Maybe I can help you."
Jill stopped short. "Do you know him?"

"Well, maybe". Let's see if we can find him." The woman took Jill's hand. Together they walked several blocks through the snow covered streets, until turning down a small side alley, they came to an old, dingy-gray building. Over the door hung a carefully hand lettered sign "Shelter for the Homeless". Inside, several men and women lined one wall, waiting for plates of food from the kitchen. Other's sat at tables and talked quietly among themselves. The woman stooped down and whispered to Jill. "See, over there in the corner, is that your old man?"

Jill looked closely. Yes, it was the same gray head and yellowed beard, and the same raggedy old coat. He sat by himself, staring down at the floor. "Yes ma'am ... that's him".

"That's poor old Mr. Felstedt" the lady whispered. "I can't imagine what has happened to him. He used to love to sit in the park where you saw him. But it almost seems that he's frightened to go outside anymore."

The words pricked sharply at Jill's conscience. "Thank you Ma'am," she whispered. "I guess I'd better be getting home now." Then she turned and ran out of the shelter, hoping that no one would notice the tears that streamed down her flushed cheeks.

As Jill trudged through the snow, she pondered the scene at the shelter. "I have to do something" she thought. Soon she was at Becky's house pouring out her heart. "Oh, Becky, you just can't imagine how sad he was. What can we do?" The two girls talked for a long time. When at last they came up with a plan the rest of their friends were quickly enlisted. Late that afternoon they all met in front of Jill's house.

It was almost dinner time when they finally completed their business and walked excitedly to the shelter. Curious eyes followed them from all around the room as the group of little girls crept inside. Jill led the small group to the far corner, where Mr. Felstedt still sat. The old man's eyes grew wide, and he shook visibly as he watched them take a carefully wrapped package out of a brown grocery bag and lay it on his lap. Jill stood on her tiptoes and put her arm around his neck. "We're sorry" she said. "We truly are." Then she kissed his rough cheek, and as quietly as the girls had come in, they all left.

Christmas morning dawned a radiant new day. The sky was clear and blue, and the sun turned the new fallen snow into a sparkling blanket of white. In the park, a lone figure moved slowly to one of the benches and sat down to enjoy the beauty of this most glorious of days. On his head was a most wonderful, new, bright red stocking cap.