The Bike Messenger
It was over.  You tried to look on the bright side, but it was pointless.  There was no bright side.  Chaos spread through America in a matter of days.  It was a while since Americans have had true hardship.  This hardship, would be the test of true human strength.
One of those people that was tested by this hardship was Mr. Alex Keen Junior.  Keen, a very wealthy man, was the CEO of a very successful clothing company known as Platinum Incorporated, a company started by Alex Keen’s father.  Platinum Incorporated was based in the great city of New York, the tall building towering above the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps.  It was the peak of the roaring 20’s and it was an unusually cloudy day for October, thunderstorms on the way, but there was no way that the evil weather would stop the hard workers of  New York.  Alex was walking down the much too noisy 5th avenue when he heard a voice that he usually just ignored.  The voice of a paper boy. 
“Wall street falls!” he yelped, “World expected to drop quickly into depression!”
Curious about the state of the stock market, Alex flipped the boy a shiny dime, getting a bold headline in return.  Alex read the main story over and over once, twice, and then thrice, his brow getting more furrowed with each read.  He waited a minute for the news to sink in, and it hit him in the stomach like a load of rocks, his hard blue eyes turning fearful.  He would go down with Wall Street.  All his fortune would fail before his eyes.
Alex started a fast-walk down the street for his headquarters determined to solve his problem before it began.  Bike messengers flew past vehicles many times their size, traveling way too fast for their own good.  Alex watched one of the messengers, trying to keep his mind off the problem that was at hand.  The young man on the bike had to fight all of New York City to do his work, and every day he won.  He had skill, able to topple New York like David toppled Goliath.  But this day, David’s sling would miss.  Out of nowhere in an intersection, a stoplight running car knocked him over, crushing his legs.  There the man laid, crippled.  The city didn’t care.  Neither did Alex.  The cruel civilization moved on without ever knowing about the hard worker that they had lost.  No one cared.  Eventually sirens were heard and he was thrown in the back of the bus.
Alex pondered this point.  “What if I’m like him one day?” he wondered, “No one caring whether you’re dead or alive.” 
He continued on as if nothing had happened, and after what seemed like a longer walk than usual, came to a halt in front of Platinum Incorporated’s main office.  Alex’s head tilted upward observing the powerful looking but rather gray and bland skyscraper.  He was proud to know that his father had built his company from the ground up into one of the largest businesses in all of New York.  A business that he now led. 
Snapping out of his trance, Alex speed-walked into the lobby and after giving good salutations to the receptionist, Laura, punched the elevator button on the wall.  He stood there nervously shaking his free hand against his hip, trying not to become overcome by stress.  “It’s going to be fine.” Alex muttered to himself, “Wall Street’s too big to fail.”  He wasn’t so sure.
With a ding the two doors to the metal box opened.  He strode into the elevator and pushed the button for the top floor.  The elevator began its ascent.  Alex took a minute to compose himself and straighten his tie.  He took several calming breaths and made ready to face his staff.
The doors opened to a large and very lightly lit, boisterous office, full of quick chatter and commotion.  Immediately, just as Alex had gotten off the lift, his personal assistant Rita was there right in front of him.
Rita Lee was an old women of about sixty years of age and was more of a mother to Alex than an employee.  She had been a family friend of the Keens before Mr and Mrs Keen passed and had cared for Alex ever since he was a child.  She was a round women with a face to match.  Her thick glasses made her eyes look as big as a cats, and her curly red hair always had too much hairspray.  She always had smile on her face when greeting her boss, but today she had a stern look of business.
“Mr Keen!” she barked, “Are you aware of the great predicament that the company is in at this very moment?”
“Yes I am Rita.  I’ve got the jist of it at least.  How bad is it?”  Alex asked while sliding past the women heading towards his office.
“Very bad sir I’m afraid.” said Rita chasing after him, “Wall Street has completely flopped!”
“Ok Rita, call a meeting for the whole building if you would.”  Wordlessly, Ms Lee walked over to her intercom and hailed the staff.
“There will be a meeting in the collaboration room immediately.  All staff is expected to attend.”  The chatter on the floor got even louder as the corporate slaves lifted themselves from their chairs and headed for the elevators.  Alex pushed himself through the  crowd into a packed elevator which began a slow descent to the ground floor.  There was a ding and the traffic moved on down a spotlessly clean hallway into a large room.
The CEO grabbed a microphone and waited for all 500 staff members to file in and take a seat.  All chatter stopped as the leader of this staff hit the microphone making loud booms across the room. 
“Larry Stifts, please come down here with me.”  The Chief Financial Officer Larry Stifts was down to Alex in a matter of seconds.  The Larry Stifts was a wide man with a rather walrus like mustache and a booming voice that everyone respected.  “Larry, could you speak to the staff about the company’s current financial situation?”
“Why, of course sir.” Larry said.  Mr Stifts snatched the microphone and demanded silence.  At the first boom of his voice, the room’s noise dropped dead.  “Thank you.  For those of you who don’t know, my name is Larry Stifts and I am the company’s CFO.  Now some of you may have heard that this past summer has been a strange one for the stock market.”  A loud rumble went around the room but once again dropped down.  “I’m not going to beat around the bush for you people, so I’ll cut right to the chase.  Today, Wall Street has went into freefall, and it is very possible that the company may fold.”  The room was immediately in a roar, screaming at the messenger of bad news.  “Quiet!” Larry roared, “The company can still pull through however.  If Wall Street improves then we will be stronger than ever.  Chances are that some of you will have to be laid off.  I’m sorry but this is all the information that I have at this time.  So, back to work!”
Alex headed home that day knowing that he would lose almost everything in his life.  All of his father’s success and pride was crumbling before Alex’s eyes.  There was only one way out.  Alex was sitting on his bed in his dark bedroom, blinds drawn.  He decided that this would be his last day on this earth.  The once prideful Alex Keen had reached for his always there .22 pistol in his night stand.  A clip was loaded and the chamber was opened and shut with a chilling metallic click that echoed throughout the room.  Alex held the gun to his temple and held his breath.  His finger pulled.  Alex only heard a tiny noise, not a large bang, but more like a small tap.  He dropped the gun and started to cry.  He couldn’t believe what he had just attempted to do.  It was a miracle how the gun misfired.  Mr Keen took a minute to compose himself and slipped on his suede coat.  He needed some time to think and fresh air.  “That was a little rash.” he said to himself waiting for the elevator.  The long descent took forever and he was on the street.  Suddenly the city seemed smellier and dirtier than before.  Even though Alex was banged up on the inside, he kept his head high.  It’s a good thing that he kept looking ahead too, because if he would have kept looking at the ground, he wouldn’t have seen the young man that would save his soul that day.  Alex, out of the corner of his eye saw a homeless man that would have been like any other homeless man if it wasn’t for that fact that he didn’t have any legs.  The image of the bike messenger getting his legs crushed by the out of control car flashed back into Alex’s mind. 
“Any spare change sir?” said the man with surprising joyfulness. 
“Well of course.” Alex, feeling bad for the man, gave him a whopping 100 dollar bill.  The man's eyes lit up when he saw the currency.  The bill was given to the man’s hands. 
“Thank you sir!  I thank you!”
Alex continued on down the street thinking about the man, his hard blue eyes turning a little softer.  The man had lost his legs, and his job in the process.  That man had nothing in the whole wide world except himself and his hope.  Alex had much more than that man and he knew that he always would.  Alex walked away that day realizing that you didn’t need possessions in order to be happy.  That one man gave Alex Keen a new lease on life.