25 August, 2013

Chocolate Chip Cookies

An elderly man lay dying in his bed. Suddenly death's agony was pushed aside as he smelled the aroma of his favorite homemade chocolate chip cookies wafting up the stairs.

Gathering all of his remaining strength, he lifted himself up from the bed. Leaning against the wall, he slowly made his way out of the bedroom, and with intense concentration, he supported himself down the stairs, gripping the railing with both hands. In labored breath, he leaned against the door frame and gazed wide-eyed into the kitchen.

There, spread out on the kitchen table were literally HUNDREDS of his favorite chocolate chip cookies! Was it heaven? Or was it one final act of heroic love from his devoted wife, seeing to it that he left this world a happy man?

Mustering one great final effort, he threw himself toward the table, landing on his knees in a rumpled posture with one hand on the edge of the table. The aged and withered hand quiveringly made its way to a cookie near the edge of the table, and the feeling of the warm soft dough actually made the pain of his bones subside for a moment. His parched lips parted. The wondrous taste of the cookie was already in his mouth, seemingly bringing him back to life.

What, then, was this sudden stinging that caused his hand to recoil? He looked to see his wife, still holding the spatula she had just used to smack his hand. "Stay out of those!" she said, "they're for the funeral."
Author Unknown