A Sombre Christmas Message

I have a friend who I shall call Shmac. He is a very nice guy, who has the usually habit in a modern Ireland of talking to anyone. One day while waiting for a bus he started talking to a homeless guy. Some how the conversation came about to the topic of Xs and Os. The homeless guy told him about a game he once played. He opened his shirt to relieve his chest which was brutally scarred. It took Shmac a second to realise in what way his body was scarred. A game of Xs and Os had been carved into his chest. The homeless man then said “I Lost”. Shmac gave him what change he had which amounted to something around a tener and left. Another story a teacher once told me was of a homeless guy who used to sleep outside a bank. Five years before he had had a wife, family and a job. That job was manager of the bank. His wife had left him and he started to drink. Eventually he lost everything. When ever I go to that bus station and see the homeless people that hang around there. I always wonder if it was one of them. Was it one of them who won? And how things can come so desperate that you would play Xs and Os with a knife. How one moment you can be on top of the pile and next be at the bottom. So during the Christmas period realise not everyone has the luxury of fighting over the remote and worrying about the turkey. Realise what you have and be grateful for it. Realise the loves and friendships you have and cherish them. For it is what saves you from a life like theirs And next time you see someone begging or collecting for charity don’t pretend not to see them, help, for if circumstances were different you could be the one in need of help.