There was an old man about in his late 60's early 70's who had a grandson who was around 12 or 13. They were poor and lived in the country and all they owned was a ragged old mule who was as old as the man. They loved the mule and the mule loved them and they took good care of the mule, since it was there only means of survival. The mule was their tool for plowing and gathering the harvest, their only means of transportation, and was their beloved pet.

Every now and then the old man, the boy and the mule would walk to the store in town, which was a 5-mile walk both ways. Since the walk was quite a ways, this day the old man figured he would walk and let the boy ride the mule and if he got tired they could switch.

So they started on their way to town and up the road about 2 miles was an old shack house with two old ladies who sat on the porch everyday gossiping about everyone that walked by. This day, when they saw the old man, the boy and the mule walk by, they waved to the old man and he and the boy waved back. Then one of the old ladies shook her head in disgust and said to the other old lady, "Would you look at that. That selfish little boy ridin' that mule knowin' that that old man is 'bout dead." The other old lady agreed saying, "Um hm, that's a damn shame."

So when the old man and the boy got to town and had gotten what they needed and started back, the old man felt a little tired so he decided to ride the mule and let the boy walk; the boy wanted to play on the way back.

On down the road they passed by the two old ladies again, they waved to the old man and he and the boy waved back; this time the man was riding the mule and the little boy was walking. When the two old ladies saw this they could not believe it. The one old lady shook her head and said to the other old lady, "I'll be, look at that foolish old man, ridin' that mule and lettin' that 'lil boy walk knowing that boy is too young to walk all the way from town." The other old lady agreed saying, "Um hm, that's a damn shame."

The next day the old man and the boy had to make another trip to town so they prepared the mule and started off, this time the man and the boy was walking because they figured they could make it a little faster that way. On up the road they passed by the two old ladies again and the ladies waved to the old man and he and the boy waved back. But what them old ladies saw almost blew their panty' hose off. The one old lady said to the other old lady, "Look at them fools, they got a mule and neither one of them got sense enough to ride the mule into town." The other old lady agreed saying, "Um hm, that's a damn shame."

After the old man and the boy got what they needed and started back home, they both decided to get on the mule after that long walk to town. They passed by the old ladies and the ladies waved to the old man and he and the boy waved back. When the old ladies saw what they saw one almost fell out her chair. She grabbed her fan and started waving her face. "That poor mule." The other old lady agreed saying, "Um hm, that's a damn shame."

What's the moral of this story? No matter what you do or how you do it, somebody will always have something negative to say, so live life and do what works for you.

Now read To Hell With Social Conformity

© 2003 by AfroStaff