Company Story

A young mother and her two children are shopping. Her daughter is ten and her son is seven. She has given them a small amount of Christmas money to shop for family. She hopes it will teach them about planning and budgeting. She has a lot of hopes for her children. The children are not rich, but they are blessed. They have loving parents and grandparents. They are healthy. They have a roof over their head and plenty of food to eat. Christmas presents are under their tree at home.

The children wait in line with their purchases. A few people in front of them, an elderly lady is checking out. She is grandmotherly, but her body is frail. Her voice is weak. Her cloth coat is patched. Life has been hard for her, but she does not volunteer that easily. It looks like she is alone on Christmas Eve.

The clerk announces the total of the frail woman's modest purchase. It's more than she expected. She reaches into her purse to retrieve the money from her small purse. She digs in her purse. She counts and recounts her money. She digs in her purse some more. She must have misplaced some money. She feels embarrassed. She's upset and disappointed. She's sad because she knows that she doesn't have the money for her small purchase.

The cashier is in a hurry to get home. He begins to void the transaction and picks up the intercom microphone to page someone to return the items to stock. She looks at him with emotion in her eyes. He announces over the intercom, "Restock at register five. Restock at register five!" The elderly woman begins to cry. Her husband has been hospitalized for several days. The Christmas present was for him. She had been hoping to give it to him tonight, Christmas Eve. The cashier barks that there is nothing he can do.

The young children see what is happening. They feel sorry for the elderly woman's embarrassment and sadness. They don't understand why the cashier is so abrupt to the gentle old woman. They whisper to their young mother. The young mother whispers back to her children.

The children hold out their hands. They offer the old woman some of their Christmas money. In their hands are three worn dollar bills. She doesn't know what to do or say at first. She is grateful but still a little embarrassed. She smiles and asks the thanks the children for their generosity. She gives the money to the cashier to finish paying for her purchase. She asks the children their names. She tells them her name. She thanks them some more and she tells the young mother that her children are beautiful. With emotion still in her eyes tells them, "Merry Christmas" as she is leaving the store.

The next day the children celebrate Christmas all day long.

The day after Christmas their mother relaxes as she reads the newspaper. In the newspaper, she discovers that the husband of the elderly woman died on Christmas day. She is sad for the woman. When her children wake up that day, she has a warm feeling inside. She feels proud that her children had been able to help someone in their time of need.

At Underwood & Proctor, the spirit of that Christmas story is alive every day. We know how important a person's dignity is. We are proud to help the injured, the forgotten, the voiceless, the defenseless and the damned in their most desperate times of need.