A Lot With Just a Little

A Lot With Just a Little

I've always been interested in cars

although I've not bought

any cool ones myself in many years,

I've always kept an eye out

whenever I drive down the street

for cars worth seeing.

Years ago when I was young

my friends and I used to laugh

at this old junker Plymouth that this guy

drove all over the town where I lived.

I never met the dude, but his car

was old and dented with faded brown paint.

On the side he spray painted in large, sloppy

letters a sign that said “Jeff Barts, Private Eye.”

It wasn't until years later,

long after I'd moved away that I realized

that Mr. Barts was a young man to be respected

because even though he had next to nothing,

he was striving to realize his dreams in life

with the resources he had at the time.

A few years back, a friend and I used to go

to this parking lot in town where early

Sunday mornings lots of people gathered

who had fast and exotic cars

to show off their rides and chat

over coffee and beer.

Amongst all the Cobra's,

Viper's, Ferrari’s, Porsche's

and six hundred horsepower

Corvette's there was this guy

who showed up every Sunday

with a clunky faded green

'75 Ford Gran Torino with a white vinyl top

that had a 400 Cleveland with a blower

sticking out of the hood.

It was obvious that he'd done

all the work himself with sloppy

liquid metal beads around the edges

of plexiglass windows, badly wound

aluminum tape on the hoses

and klunky orange paint

on the brake drums that didn't match

the rest of the car.

His Torino stood out like a sore thumb

there amongst all those high dollar rides.

All the other owners shunned him

and chuckled at his car.

I chatted with him once.

He was very proud of his ride

and all the work he'd put into it.

I listened to him talk thinking to myself

that here was another man who was striving

towards his dreams in life come hell or high water.

Of all the people gathered there, he was the one

you just had to respect because even though

he didn't have much, he did his best

with whatever he had.

Whenever you see someone

who is the black sheep of the crowd,

whenever you see someone going for

whatever dreams they have in life

without much to work with

except loads of enthusiasm,

make sure to chat with them.

Give them encouragement

and a kind word.

Remember, the misfits,

and the odd ones out

are often the ones

who have the strongest will and deepest love

for the life that flows in their veins.

When comes the time for humanity

to save itself, it will be the odd ones,

the misfits and the black sheep

who have the most

experience at doing

a lot with just a little.

Likely as not the future

of our species will rest with them.

Dewey Dirks