The Old Profesor (standard:Inspirational stories, 3041 words)
Author: Dave Sumner	Added: Nov 05 2005	Views/Reads: 3273/2163	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A professor fears that none of his students will graduate from a seminary. He puts them to a test, only one student passes the test.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

how they were going to find their way back to the campus. The professor 
pushed aside a condemned sign, and walked to what appeared to be a 
house ready to fall down at any second. They walked into the house and 
Lori said 

"Burr... it is chillier in here than it is outside" Fredrick looked
around and said 

"That is not the worst thing, This place reeks of urine" complained
Lori. Wallpaper hung halfway down the walls. As the professor and 
students eyes adjusted to the darkened room, they saw an old sofa 
obviously dragged in off the curb, dusty and torn, wood  was exposed in 
several places. Sitting at a lopsided dining room table was an older 
woman and a nine-year-old girl. The sound of coughing and moaning came 
from an open doorway across the room. 

"Good Morning Hannah! How is Samuel feeling today?" asked the old
professor. 

"He is still alive,” sneered the woman, the professor turned to the
students and said 

"This is the Robinson family. This is Hannah (showing the woman) and her
granddaughter Hallie. In the bedroom is Samuel. I am afraid Samuel has 
not been feeling very well lately" The woman looked up the students and 
spat on the floor, and replied 

"He's dying" 

"Oh" echoed each of the three students; They looked at Professor
Bergenmiester and moved toward the door. The old professor threw his 
arms around Hiram and Lori's shoulders and drew them back toward the 
woman. Fredrick stayed near the door. 

"How can we help you?" asked the professor. 

"Well, Hallie would like to go to the playground at the school" replied
Hannah 

"I'll take her" called Fredrick, looking for any reason to abandon the
squalor 

"I would like to speak to you first,” said  Professor Burgenmeister "You
two can remain here" indicating Lori and Hiram. Then Professor 
Burgenmeister, walked outside with Fredrick 

"Hallie, does not know who God is; Your final exam is to describe God to
her" He explained to Fredrick. 

"That is all; I can do that before we leave" exclaimed the prideful
student. The professor shook his head slowly and re?entered the house. 

"You can go now, Hallie" called Otto "She will be fine" He added when
the old woman began to object. As the young girl skipped out of the 
door, the professor asked 

"Ok, Now what can we do about this home" 

"Just let it fall down around us, and him" She snarled with a look of
pure hatred at the open door. 

Lori was slowly walking around Hannah and then she spoke: 

"Hannah would you like to go to the Beauty Shop? It would be my treat;
you really do have lovely skin, and I am sure your hair could use a 
trim" 

"What, No! I don't waste my time or your money on such foolishness. It
is not like I am going anyplace" snarled the old  woman. But Otto was 
not about to let her get away with that; He quickly replied 

"Oh, Please for me, you deserve a little pampering and it will give you
girls time to talk and get to know each other." 

"I have not been a girl in decades and you know it, you old flatterer;
however you are right I could stand to get away from this place,  if 
you two are going to stay and watch 'him'" as she gave an indication of 
the backroom with her chin. 

As the ladies left, the professor marched to the kitchen and began to
unbutton his shirt sleeves. Hiram  followed the professor and stood 
watching as Otto sorted through the dirty dishes piled in the sink. The 
professor filled the sink with water and added soap. Just then there 
was a plaintive moan from the back room. Otto, looked around for a 
towel and then shook his head "No!". He casually remarked to Hiram; 

"Maybe it is time for you to meet, Samuel" 

The old man shook his hands to rid them of as much water as he could and
then wipe them against his pant legs, as he looked to the back room and 
at the door motioned for Hiram to join him. 

Hallie skipped down the street as Fredrick followed. 

"Hallie, come over here and sit a second" 

"But I want to get to the park" 

"We will go down there in just a second, I just want to talk to you
first. Otto says that you do not know who, God is" 

"Grandma says God can't exist because no good god would let all this bad
stuff happen to us" 

"Yeah, Sometimes bad things don't make sense. When I was little, I cut
my lip, my father held me down, while the doctor sutured my lip. I 
couldn't believe that any father would hurt their child in that way. I 
understand now that it was for my own good. In some ways God is like a 
father." Hallie looked confused, shook her head and asked 

"Can I go to the park now?" 

"Sure, I will push you on the swing" 

Lori tried to push Hannah along, without actually having to touch her.
They walked down the busy thoroughfare, ignoring the suspicious glances 
thrown their way. The crowd parted as soon as they got a whiff of 
Hannah walking toward them. Lori finally had to grab the older woman's 
arm, when she started to walk past the spa that Lori wanted to take her 
was taking her to. 

Hannah protested "Oh, We can't go in here" Lori said nothing just
continued through the door with the filthy arm, and Hannah was forced 
to follow. 

"May I help you... Ladies?"  icily asked a girl in a flowered smock. 

"Hannah, will have your 'grand transformation treatment', ...just throw
the clothes away. I will return with new clothes by the time she is 
done,” replied Lori. 

Hannah attempted to protest but was already being led away and undressed
by a group of women. Lori just waited until Hannah slunk into the tub, 
until she left. 

Hiram started for the room but was stagnated by the vile odor, of blood,
pus and urine. Even from where he stood, he could see the filthy bed 
with what appeared to be a skin-covered skeleton lying in it. Otto 
sensing Hiram's reluctance hurried past the doorway, and stood looking 
down at the pitiful sight. 

"How is it, Samuel?" asked the professor. Hiram was shocked, when the
skeleton answered, in a strained whisper: 

"I think it is almost over" Hiram turned and went back into the kitchen.
Otto gave an audible sigh of regret, figuring he had lost at least one 
of the students.  Then unexpected, Hiram returned with a plastic tub of 
water. Without speaking, Hiram set to work, washing the invalid's body. 
He looked around and said: 

"Is there a towel or sheet we could put over him during his bath?" Otto
looked a round and returned to lay his own coat over Samuel's body. 
Hiram quickly and efficiently washed Samuel's body and then looked for 
fresh sheets to make the bed, but there were none. Together, Otto and 
Hiram made the bed carefully so as to not disturb the dying old man. 
The man fell into a quiet and content sleep. The professor and student 
returned to their labors in the kitchen. 

Hallie quickly forgot that Fredrick was supposed to be with her, as they
neared the playground, she ran ahead and climbed up a rope ladder to 
get to a slide. Fredrick, seeing that she was fine, sat on a bench and 
watched her. Hallie rushed from the slides, to the swings, to plastic 
tunnels for well over an hour, before she remembered that Fredrick was 
to be with her. She came over and sat on the bench with Fredrick, who 
asked: 

"Would you like some ice cream?" 

"I don't know" shyly replied the little girl 

"What do you mean, you don't know?" amazed asked the young man. 

"Well, I've never had it, but my friend at school said if you eat ice
cream too fast you get a headache. I don't want a headache, but I would 
like to try ice cream" 

"You just wait here, I will get us two cones and I won't let you eat it
fast enough to get a headache" Fredrick walked over to the snack shack 
and bought two cones. As he walked back to the bench, Hallie's eyes 
grew wide at the sight of the treat. He handed her one of the cones and 
displayed the proper method for licking a cone. As they relaxed 
together, Fredrick returned to their former conversation. 

"Has your Daddy ever done anything that hurt you, which you didn't
understand?" 

"Nope!" 

"So your Daddy always did everything you wanted him to?" 

"Nope!" Hallie replied, concentrating on her ice cream cone. "I never
had a Daddy; do you have one?" Fredrick looked at her confused. 

Lori entered the shop laden with shopping bags and boxes in both hands
under her arms and hung by strings from her around her neck. She 
dropped them in a heap at the feet of a regal, elegant older woman. It 
was only as the woman spoke that Lori recognized that this was Hannah. 
Lori smiled and beckoned: 

"Come try on the clothes I bought you, I hope they fit." 

"I can't afford all this,” said Hannah indicating the pile with her
hand. Lori just grabbed her hand and pulled her along to the changing 
room in the back of the shop, at the last moment Lori stopped to dig 
underwear from one of the shopping bags. Hannah put on token 
resistance, but as she tried on each piece, her face began to smile, 
and then glow. 

"Samuel will be so pleased, with how nice you look" commented the young
student 

"I don't care how pleased he will be," snarled the now beautiful mature
lady. Together, the two ladies gathered the packages and walked back to 
the hovel. 

Hallie and Fredrick were coming down the street and met Lori and Hannah
as they got to the Condemned sign. Fredrick held the sign up and out of 
the way as Hallie, Lori and the Hannah crawled beneath it and entered 
the home. 

The home while still dilapidated, was far neater and cleaner then when
they had left. Hannah took a look around and ran from the house crying. 
Lori followed and put her arm around Hannah's shoulder. 

"God provides what we deserve" comforted Lori "Oh, yeah" muddled Hannah
" I deserve to be stuck in this pile of junk, with that bastard that 
raped his own daughter. Julie couldn't take it; she killed herself and 
left Hallie with us. Now Samuel is dying, from AIDS. I don't know which 
is worse the prospect of being infected or being left behind alone." 

Back inside the house, Hallie ran from one area of the house to another,
checking out, how everything looked.  Hiram stood back and allowed the 
professor to show off the progress that had been made on the home. The 
little group quickly said their good?byes and the professor and 
students left. 

The Professor Bergenmiester walked down the street.  Looking back at the
small?group, following him.  "Well, I suppose we should get together in 
the morning." 

"I'm not sure I can be there."	Replied Hiram. Hiram walked off opposite
to the others. Otto walked along, wondering if he had made any success 
with the students or not. He returned home, sad and read his Bible. 

The next morning as, the professor entered the room, Hiram was missing
as he said he would be. Frederick and Lori entered the room together, 
looking somewhat worried. Professor Burgenmeister asked them, "Well, do 
you think you pass the test?" 

Lori replied, "Hannah never looked so good " 

"Oh, and making her look pretty was your test?" Said Otto. 

"It certainly wasn't my fault that Hallie never had a father.  Snarled
Fredrick 

The old professor, slowly shook his head "No" and walked from the room. 
Outside, the classroom building, Otto thought of Hiram and walked 
across  campus to the dormitory. Each step seemed to drag the 
professor, further into the ground. He had to drag himself up the 
stairs, by way of the handrail. 

Hiram's roommate was packing up, preparing to go off to his first job as
a teacher in the Appalachian Mountains. Hiram's dresser was covered 
with pictures, coins, ties, books, nicks knacks and  whatever's. The 
professor was surprised to see that Hiram's bed had been stripped of 
blankets and sheets.  The pillow was missing. 

"Did Hiram leave?" the professor, asked the roommate. 

"I don't know, he came in here yesterday, grabbed his bedding and left.
I asked him if I could have the rest of his stuff; he just said 'Not 
yet!', whatever that is suppose to mean." Answered the roommate. 
Professor Burgenmeister left, dejectedly. He was heading back to his 
home, when suddenly it hit him, where Hiram might be. 

The condemned sign squeaked, as the professor swung it out of his way.
Hiram was obvious, since he was on a jittery ladder, struggling to 
stretch a tarp across the roof. The professor ran over and steadied the 
ladder. With the new stability, Hiram soon had the roof covered. He 
climbed down and greeted his old instructor. 

Otto looking sheepish said "I really did not mean, you had to come back
here" Hiram gathered his tools and stated "I know, you did not send me 
here. But I had to come back.... Please come in; I need to check on 
Samuel." Inside the hovel, the professor could see that things had 
changed. Hannah as humming to herself, as she ground cereal into mush 
that Samuel could eat. Hallie was playing amusing herself with scrap 
pieces of wood. Samuel lay on the couch, an oxygen mask over his face 
and an IV in his arm. Music, from the local contemporary Christian 
radio station,  blasted from Hiram's boom box, on the floor. 

"Good Morning, Otto!" called Hannah 

"Can we talk, in here?" asked Hiram as he headed for the bedroom. The
professor followed him into the room. Now used to the method, and 
without the impediment of Samuel, they set to work making the bed. 
"These are yours, I assume" asked the professor indicating the sheets. 
"No actually this set of sheets are Samuel's; I put mine on last night, 
so that I could wash these. I will take my set over to be washed, soon 
as I get this bed made" commented Hiram. 

The professor had asked his students to come give a few hours to this
worthy cause. Hiram did not just give his time, He gave his life. 

Oh Yes, Hiram passed the test. 


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