Michael devoted himself exclusively to educating poor children in his town. To do this, he worked nights at the grocery shop. Of course, he didn’t expect anyone to slip a cheque for $50,000 into his pocket secretly.
In the 1980s, Geldville was a thriving town. It was a well-organized town with a good climate, and at the time everyone wanted to move there.
But after the closure of the car factory, everything went downhill. It caused instability in the economic ecosystem because many companies were linked to this big factory. So businesses were closing down. People were forced to leave the city in search of better opportunities.
The politicians did not help either. Each of them used the city’s name to promote their political agenda, but nothing was done to revive its lost glory. Institutions, including housing and education, were crumbling.
A generation later, Geldville was known as a poor town. Politicians still use its name as an example of crime, illiteracy, and low culture.
Michael did not believe this at all.
Michael, 29, was born in the same town as his parents. In fact, they were teachers. Steve was a sociology teacher and his wife was an English teacher.
As a child, Michael saw his hometown destroyed. Luckily, his parents helped him find his way and protected him from the chaos.
“When one’s attachment to society is weakened by circumstances, crime happens,” Steve reminded Michael whenever another story about Geldville appeared in the newspaper.
“Crime is a product of society’s excesses, according to Vladimir Lenin. Some people just lack appreciation for what they have,” Ella added.
“This quote sounds beautiful, but it is very one-sided. Doesn’t it ignore the important factor of luck and circumstance?” replied Steve.
“Luck is such a handy tool for solving problems, isn’t it?” Ella rolled her eyes.
Young Michael listened intently to his parents’ heated arguments. He wished all children had parents like his. “You can learn a lot from them,” he thought. It shaped him and made him want to be a teacher when he grew up.
Although Michael was endowed with knowledge and an innate desire to teach, financially things did not go well for him. Perhaps the city affected his life, or perhaps his devotion to his parents and teaching left him no room for development.
After losing his parents, Michael stayed in Geldville and dedicated his life to teaching. He believed that education was the only way for the next generation to get out of poverty.
He blamed himself for not liking money. But this feeling was overcome by his dedication to educating the youth of this poor town.
For the first five years, he tutored university students and helped them find good jobs in the city. Later, he helped high school students get into good universities. But he knew he had to be as close to people as possible.
So Michael set up a tent in an abandoned housing estate in the area. He taught children whose parents had little money.
Michael covered the local school board’s curriculum. But he also took the time to teach the real thing. He wanted the children to be aware of their situation and the opportunities to improve their lives.
Michael knew that for the children to officially complete their education, he needed to establish a link with the county public school system. The paperwork was time-consuming and cost a lot of money.
He decided to raise the money himself. He taught during the day and worked in the grocery shop in the warehouse at night. After putting the goods on the shelves and serving long lines of customers, he would return home at dawn and sleep for several hours. This cycle was repeated every day and it became his life.
Until one morning Michael came home and found an envelope in his pocket.
He had no recollection of it being there that morning.
Michael was exhausted, but he was too curious to put the envelope away.
“A cheque… for $50,000?”
He had never seen such a large amount written on a cheque. He noticed that the cheque was signed by Mr. Wolowitz, the owner of the grocery shop. He became worried.
“Did I accidentally take the cheque? If Mr. Wolowitz finds out, I’ll lose my job. I can’t have that.”
Michael decided to return the cheque immediately. He gave the kids a break as Mr. Wolowitz was leaving the shop early in the evening.
“Mr. Wolowitz!” rushed Michael into the owner’s office.
“Michael, right?” – Mr. Wolowitz said, about to leave the office. “What’s the problem, son?”
“Sir, I’d like to apologize. Yesterday… I think I… I don’t know how… maybe I wasn’t at my best…”.
“Is it the cheque, son?”
Michael was surprised. “Yes, sir,” he nodded.
“I was here on my sneak overnight visit a few nights ago. I often do that to check on my staff and make sure they’re not slacking off. And I saw you napping.”
Michael was embarrassed. He didn’t even notice that he had fallen asleep on the job. It was probably fatigue that took over him. He burst into tears and said:
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Wolowitz. I don’t know how it happened. I hope you will forgive me and not fire me. This job means a lot to me.”
“Oh, good, you reminded me. You’re fired,” Mr. Wolowitz said with a laugh.
“Please, sir. I can’t explain it to you, but I need this job. I had no intention of stealing the cheque. I can’t explain how it could have happened…”.
Michael’s attempt to explain the situation was interrupted by Mr. Wolowitz’s laughter: “Hahaha. You don’t get it, do you, son? You don’t need to explain anything. Your kind colleagues have already told me everything.”
Michael thought of his really nice colleagues. There were days when he didn’t have enough money to buy lunch or even the strength to strike up a little conversation. And this group of co-workers was always there to help him.
“Now stop being emotional and listen to me,” Mr. Wolowitz insisted.
Michael wiped away his tears and listened carefully.
“This cheque was put in your pocket last night by one of your colleagues on my instructions. This money will go towards the children’s education.”
Michael was speechless.
“Besides, you didn’t know it, but I knew your parents. Steve and Ella helped me when I lost my father. They told me how to start a business, and they told me how important it was to keep the business going for our struggling community.”
“When I realized you were their son, I was surprised to learn that you were working for minimum wage. Then your manager told me what you were doing. Your colleagues also came to my office to beg me not to fire you. They told me about everything you do to ensure the education of children.”
“I wanted to tell you, son, that I am proud of you. Your parents would also be very proud of you.”
Hearing this, Michael could not hold back tears. Mr. Wolowitz hugged him until he felt better.
“Now go home, son. Take a nap and come up with a plan for tomorrow. You have your parents’ heart. I’m sure you have their intelligence too. Use the money wisely to make a difference. You don’t have to come to work today, do you? Remember, you are fired,” Mr. Wolowitz said with a smile.
Michael returned with thanks to Mr. Wolowitz, his manager, and his colleagues. But on his return home, another surprise awaited him.
He opened the door and could not recognize his home. The floors were clean, the carpets vacuumed, the kitchen cleaned, and the bed made. Michael was amazed. Because he worked all the time, he could never pay attention to his home.
Apparently, rumours had spread among the students that their teacher was working at night. One of the students was the niece of one of Michael’s colleagues. He was the one who had taken the key out of his pocket and, together with the children, planned to surprise Michael by cleaning his house.
Michael was touched by the gesture of his students. But most importantly, he realised that the sense of community was still strong. This motivated him to be more successful.
He worked hard to revitalise his town. So he used some of the money to revitalise the public school and used the rest wisely to make the school thrive.
Michael encouraged the community to attract investors. And Mr. Wolowitz was one of the first. Later, Michael’s former students also contributed to his fundraising efforts and awareness of the new school.
Within a few years, the school in Geldville became one of the best in the state. Michael became an important figure in the history of the town’s renewal.
