Mr. Charlie Harary
Returning Home
כבד את אביך ואת אמך
Honor your father and your mother (Shemot 20:12)
It seemed to be just another Thursday afternoon for the Amtrak train traveling from New York to Baltimore. As one man walked down the aisle slowly and glanced from side to side, no seat seemed to be available. But then, all the way in the corner, he found what he was looking for. One seat was open. Maneuvering his way around and about, the man settled himself down. But then it hit him.
The man realized why in fact this had been the only seat available. The boy sitting in the adjacent seat had an intense worried look on his face and could not stop fidgeting. Something was clearly disturbing him. Wishing to be amiable and perhaps even helpful, the man gently said to the boy, “Is everything alright? Can I help you with something?” The boy stared back at the man. “You wouldn’t understand.” For the next few minutes, the two of them just sat there silently. But then the man spoke up again.
“Are you sure everything is alright? You look awfully unnerved. I’ve been looking at you for some time. Tell me, what is wrong?” But all the boy could do was reiterate himself. “I can tell you, but you will not get it.” “Try me,” the man said.
“I grew up in a small town outside of Baltimore. For the larger part of my youth, I had no friends and spent a lot of time by myself. One day, my parents approached me and said, ‘We have something for you.’ They handed me a wrapped box, which I excitingly opened and looked at with intrigue. It was a computer. I slowly began learning how to use it, and no sooner than later, gained great proficiency at understanding numbers and statistics. At the same time, my favorite baseball team was the Baltimore Orioles. I spent a large amount of time computing the team’s statistics for each game they played and kept it on record.
“This went on for some time, until my cousin one day approached me. ‘What’s going on with you?’ he asked. ‘Well, I got this computer and figured out a way of tracking all the baseball player’s statistics.’ ‘Really?’ he said. ‘People would love having this information at their disposal. You could make a whole business out of it.’ I wasn’t sure what my cousin meant, but he continued to explain. ‘Why don’t we start a website where these statistics can be posted and everyone can view?’ I had no idea how to organize this, but my cousin assured me that he would take care of it all. It sounded good to me.
“The next thing I knew, my cousin called me and said, ‘I have all the paperwork done and we are in business!’ Next week when I returned home, I noticed a check for fifty dollars addressed to my name. It was from someone who had subscribed to the website. I was quite surprised. But then I received another check for $100, then $500, $1,000 and $5,000. I was soon making a total of $20,000 a month as a tenth grader. All of a sudden, I became extremely popular and gained a handful of new friends.
“As my parents heard about my success, they told me, ‘If you keep it up, you can make this into a career.’ While, in truth, they were communicating sound advice, as a young teenager, I thought too much of myself. I was too self-centered and conceited that I disrespectfully dismissed this suggestion and just about any other advice they gave me. ‘I am making more money than they are,’ I thought to myself. I figured that I could take care of myself. And so, I began coming home late and acting out. Eventually, I told my parents, ‘I don’t need you! I can manage all alone! Goodbye!’ And with that, I headed to New York and bought a private, fully furnished loft which was quite expensive.
“I would regularly invite people over and extend invitations to all of my friends from Baltimore to come and visit me. I felt that I had made it big. Everything was going perfect. I was young and rich and no one could stop me.
“Until one day, when my cousin walked into my apartment and sat on the couch. I could tell something was wrong. ‘Do you have any other skills?’ he asked. ‘What do you mean?’ I said. ‘Well, I hate to tell you, but our whole genius idea is over. ESPN, one of the major sports reporting websites, now features all the statistics of every professional athletic team. And it’s all for free. Our business is about to spiral downward.’
“When I heard this, my heart sank. The money which had been coming my way faster than I could count now began to dwindle even quicker. And there was nothing I could do. I was forced to sell my couches, electronic appliances and finally, my apartment. I was pretty much both financially broke and emotionally broken. I tried getting a job at a local fast-food restaurant, but because I didn’t know how to accept orders from any higher authority, I was soon asked to leave. I then started playing music in the corner of a subway station, but that didn’t get me too far either. So, there I was, all alone with no money, no friends and no home. Gloomy and depressed, I wandered off by myself to a park and took a seat on a bench, staring down at the floor.
“And then I thought to myself. ‘What about my parents?’ Taking out a pen and paper, I wrote the following letter to my mother and father:
“Mom and dad, I know I caused you a lot of distress growing up and you probably never want to see me; but I am down and out and have nowhere to turn. I am going to get on the train leaving Amtrak next Thursday and make my way down to Baltimore. But let me just mention one thing. As you may know, right next to the train station, there is a large tree. If you want me home, put one white flag on the tree. If you don’t want me home, just leave the tree empty. I will then continue along on the train to Washington D.C. and see if I can start a new life there. Love, your son.”
“And with that, I got a hold of an envelope and sent off the letter to my parents.” “So, what did they do?” the man seated next to the boy telling this story asked. “I am on the train right now,” replied the boy. Now, it was the man who was fidgeting and nervous.
As the train neared closer and closer to the train station, the boy could not bear to keep his eyes open. “I can’t look,” he repeated again and again. But the man, who was now nearly as tense as the boy, reassured him. “Don’t worry; I’ll look for you.” Picking his head up over the boy, the man peered out the window and squinted as best as he could. And then he fell back into his seat. After a moment of silence and with tears in his eyes, the man said, “There’s no white flag.” The boy, whose heart was by now racing, mustered the courage to look outside the window. And there he saw that the tree did not have one white flag. The entire tree was draped in white.
And then he saw two older people, who stood near the tree with tears streaming down their faces, anticipatingly awaiting someone. And that someone was none other than him, their beloved son.
While we may at times make mistakes in life, we can never forget that our Father in Heaven always awaits our return. Each and every day, he longs for us to recognize who we are and who we can become. For us, as His children, the tree is always draped in white. Hashem is always waiting, waiting and waiting our return home…
