A CUP OF WATER

[In today’s gospel for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, Jesus tells us to give each other cups of water – so I made up this story for today’s Children’s Mass. It’s a reminder to make sure we give cups of water to each other. Amen.]

The 8th grade of St. Henry’s Catholic School in Aurora, Oklahoma, visits a nursing home just across the street from their school as a way of putting their Christian faith into practice.

Each Wednesday after lunch, the 28 kids in the 8th grade, walk across the street with their teacher, Mrs. Julia Washington, and stop in to see different folks who are living there in the Aurora Springs Nursing Home, Aurora, Oklahoma.

The mostly older folks living there – as well as the nursing home staff – look forward to the kids’ visit every Wednesday. The kids are great. Old folks, as well as the nursing home staff, need to see young folks. The kids are trained very well by their teacher, Mrs. Julia, whose mom is in a similar nursing home in Oklahoma City. She found out that no kids or volunteers drop in to see her mom or those in her mom’s nursing home. She found this out because each Sunday afternoon she drives the 137 miles to Oklahoma City to see her mom.

Mrs. Julia, as the kids call her, their 8th grade teacher, trained her class on just what to do each Wednesday afternoon when they walk over to the nursing home. Mrs. Julia scouted the nursing home out and with the help of the head nurse and the activities director, she lined up 14 folks who would love a visit on a regular basis. The kids were assigned in teams of two to the person whom they were to visit. It was just like the way Jesus sent his disciples out – two by two.

The 8th grade kids would bring art work from their younger brothers and sisters as well as from 1st and 2nd grade kids whom they would also visit and tell about their visits to the old folks across the street in Aurora Springs Nursing Home. They would also have a question of the week for their assigned person in the nursing home – and sometimes they would bring muffins or flowers or home made chocolate chip cookies to the person they were visiting.

It was a great plan – and the 8th grade kids got more out of it than the person they were visiting.

Well, one evening, at supper, an 8th grader named Cory Branch, was asked by his dad, “How was your visit to Mr. Mannix this afternoon?”

And Cory told the following story about Mr. Tim Mannix whom he and his classmate Teri would visit every Wednesday afternoon.

“Teri and I went in and our question of the day was to ask our guest to tell us the ten top memories of that person’s life. I was the reporter, the questioner, and Teri was the one who had to write down the answers.

“I said to Mr. Mannix, ‘We have to make a report on the ten top memories of your life. So please help us with our homework.’

“Mr. Mannix smiled. ‘No problem Teri and Cory,’ he answered. ‘You’ll get an A with my answers.’

“Dad, mom, his mind is still very sharp. In fact, Mr. Mannix said, ‘This is like a question from David Letterman. Okay, let me start with #10 and go to # 1 – the most important thing I think that I have done in my life – or at least my best memory.’

“‘Number 10: When I was a junior in high school, I pitched a no hitter in baseball.

“‘Number 9: My mother had a cousin who was the Governor of Wyoming in the 1930’s – so that makes me a cousin of someone who was a governor and we used to visit him from time to time.

“‘Number 8: Did you know that I played minor league baseball? I made it to the Major Leagues one September – but that was when they call everyone up and there are at least 40 players on the bench. But I did get up to pinch hit 3 times and pinch run 2 times in the Major Leagues. That was it. But nobody ever asked me to give them an autograph.

“‘Number 7: I was in World War II and was captured by the Germans and spent 2 years in a German Prison Camp. I thought I was going to die many times – but I survived – and when the U.S. Army made it to our prison camp, I had lost 48 pounds.

“‘Number 6: I had a brother who was in navy and he was killed in World War II when his ship sank. I didn’t find out about this till after the war was over and I came back to the United States.

“‘Number 5: After the War I went to college and got a degree – thanks to the G.I. Bill of Rights. I became an engineer and worked with aluminum – in fact, I was part of the team that helped make aluminum cans for soda and beer.

“‘Number 4: I became president of a company that made racing bicycles – and Lance Armstrong used one of our bikes to win the Tour de France 3 different times – and we all got to meet him.

“‘Number 3: I am ¾ American Indian – and have written a book about my grandfather who was a full blooded Creek Indian.

“‘Number 2: I was married to a wonderful woman named Mary. She was the love of my life – but we weren’t blessed with kids – so that’s why it’s so wonderful that you and Teri come here every Wednesday. And my Mary died very early of cancer at the age of 36. That was a tough one. That is a rough memory.’

“Well, when he came to # 1, he paused and started to cry a bit. Teri and I got a bit nervous at first – but his tears were coming down a face that had a beautiful smile. We just sat there and waited. Then he told us what he felt was the best thing he ever did in his life – and he said it was his best memory.

“‘When I was a young kid my dad had a stroke and he couldn’t talk. We didn’t have any nursing homes or places like this at the time. My mom had to go out to work in a factory – to make money for my dad, my older brother and I. So when I got home from school in the afternoon – except during the baseball season – I would sit with my dad and talk and talk and talk – and he would listen, listen, listen.

“‘After a while, and this was what became the most beautiful moment. My dad would signal for water. At first I would get it out of the faucet. Now this was before this new thing called, “Bottled Water.” Then I found out he loved iced water. I would get ice cubes and really cold up that water – in a big pitcher of water I kept for him in our ice box. That’s what we had before refrigerators. I was doing this for years – every day – and he would almost say every time, “Thank you.” He loved cold water.

“‘Then surprise I’m in church this one Sunday and the priest said in his sermon that Sunday morning, “Want to be a good Christian? Simply give each other glasses of cold water!”

“‘Looking back at my life, I consider doing that was the most important thing I did in my life – giving my dad glasses of cold water for over 12 years till he died at the young age of 44.’”

Then Cory said, “We were crying hearing his wonderful story – then Teri spoke up and said, ‘Mr. Mannix can Cory and I have your autograph.’

“And he signed her notes – and next week I’m bringing a baseball in for him to sign.”

[P. S. Someone asked after Mass if there was an Aurora, Oklahoma and I answered, "As far as I know, no. The story is an imaginary story - with hopes that it could become real."]