The Samaritan He dozes by the phone in fitful dreams, and ponders, "Life is never what it seems. In here the night ticks by in blissful peace; out there, a world of pain and silent screams.” “I volunteer," he muses with a sigh, "to listen to the lonely when they cry; but why so few who pause to make the call? and why so many choose to pass me by?" "Because you've got it wrong," the visions weep from tearful dark recesses hidden deep within the night. "So get it right. For you must know that what you sow is what you reap.” “The lowly ones, rejected and abused by life, are sensitized by fear and used- to treading wary. If they sense your plans and colour-schemes, maybe they feel accused.” “Forego internal empires. Don't dictate or label long-term callers 'green,' or state that sex is 'red;' or this or that one can't be helped. Accept them all, dispassionate.” “And train your volunteers to cope with all and every situation, any squall that comes their way." He wakens with a start; but what the visions said, he can't recall.   Charlie Gregory Samaritan Days