STEVE SMITH -- What’s up?

The 6-year-old boy’s family lived on the top floor of a four-story,

U-shaped brick building.

It was a two-bedroom apartment into which four brothers and their

parents were crammed. The two youngest boys slept on a bed so old that a

stack of books replaced what once was a leg of the bed frame.

The mother, not having enough money for proper bedding, covered the

middle of the mattress with large pieces of cotton sheeting--one half of

what used to be a full sheet.

And being the youngest, the 6-year-old’s clothes were almost all

hand-me-downs.

The boy ran in the streets of Chicago’s Hyde Park district, often

without any shoes, which were left in the family’s apartment in the warm

months so they could be made to last for school days.

His dream was to own a pair of P.F. Flyers--the sneakers he saw on

television--and was sure they would make him run faster and jump higher,

just like the announcer said. In his dream, he wore the shoes all day,

even after school.

The boy never asked his mother for the P.F. Flyers because he knew

that she could not afford them and reminding her of this fact would only

make her sad.

Over the years, the boy never dwelt on what he did not have. He

learned that although his family was poor, it still had so much to be

thankful for: excellent health and each other.

On Christmas morning 1961, the presents under the tree were few. The

boy’s mother had done the best she could but, as in previous years,

little, inexpensive gifts made up his treasure.

But 1961 proved to be different. That year, there was a special box

marked for the boy. As he opened it, he noticed that his family’s eyes

were fixed on him and the gift.

Upon examining the contents, the boy broke into a big smile. That was

a big reward for his family for giving him a new pair of P.F. Flyers.

The boy put on the shoes and ran down the apartment hall in his

underwear and a T-shirt. The shoes really did make him run faster and

jump higher!

Almost 40 years later, the boy remembers that Christmas like it was

yesterday. But today he remembers not the shoes but how special it was

for his family to give them to him.

Giving is good for the soul. Giving of ourselves reminds us that we

are all blessed in some way and that we can all do even a little bit to

help those who are less fortunate.

In our lives, our best memories will not be about what we have

received but what we have given.

It is important that children see at an early age that we all have an

obligation to leave the world a better place than the way we found it.

Giving helps do that, even if it’s watching you write a check. This year,

I hope you will pull your children into whatever giving it is you do.

The children in the twin cities who must rely on charity and do with

less do not suffer their fate by choice. We must all continue to give

them hope and help them understand the power they have to change their

own lives.

One of the best providers of hope and power for children is Orange

Coast Interfaith Shelter in Costa Mesa.

Year after year, the organization takes in families, trains the

parents and gives the kids hope. Thanks to the shelter, there are fewer

parents on assistance and more kids with hope.

This year, our family will sponsor another family’s Christmas. We will

be given the ages, genders and sizes of the family members and provide

gifts for Christmas morning. We are pulling our kids into the process of

giving to others so they understand their obligation to those less

fortunate.

We will buy shirts or sweaters, pants or shorts and a few other gifts

for the family. Our kids will help us purchase and wrap them and help us

deliver the gifts to the shelter.

I hope we get a family with a 6- or 7-year-old boy because I’m going

to buy him some new sneakers, ones that make him run faster and jump

higher, just like my P.F. Flyers did for me in 1961.

Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter needs your help to continue this

outstanding work. It does not have a major corporate sponsor or a

“dot-com” angel, relying instead on smaller donations to make its budget

each year. As of today, there is one family left to sponsor. If you can’t

sponsor the family, your donation will help children in need.

For information, call Lori Glover of Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter

at (949) 631-7213.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and freelance writer. Readers

can leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at (949) 642-6086.