Page 31 - Publishing Inspiration Christmas Card 2020
P. 31
Walk in Someone Else's Shoes
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The recent coronavirus outbreak, and the
fear surrounding it, reminds me of a story I heard.
It was based on an event during the 1918 Spanish
Flu epidemic.
Earl was a hard-working, family-oriented
man. He, his wife, and their children ran a little
country store in a small western town. In the area
where they lived, there was a lot of excitement
about a new branch of the railroad that would be
coming through.
When the rail line work started, many new
people came. Most of these were families of men
who were working on the railroad. Earl's business
increased significantly. But bringing the goods in
was costly. Until the rail line was finished,
everything had to come over the mountain on
mules and wagons.
Earl tried to keep his prices fair. He only
added enough markup on goods to pay his costs
and take care of his family. But many people
complained about the prices at Earl's store. Most
of these were people who had come from other
towns much farther south. These towns already
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