This story all began with me tripping myself up the stairs last Thursday. It wasn't on purpose or anything. I was just minding my own business when an unexpected stair appeared in my way. All of a sudden I was sprawled on the ground, far closer to the grit left behind from the steps of others than I ever wanted to be. In all regards this shouldn't have been much of a significant moment. I’m not the only clumsy person in the world. What was significant was the moment after, when I met Little Man Joe.

I was about to get up and shake off the humiliation of my fall, but before I could something unusual caught my eye. Directly in front of my nose was a little person, a guy smaller than my thumb. He was dressed all in gray with a tiny helmet and could easily slip by unnoticed. Well, unless a person’s face is within mere inches of the guy, as mine was. He was hanging off the edge of the stairs, over the lower flight, and it only took me a second to realize that he was going to fall. He was slipping, action movie finger-by-finger slipping, until he could hold on no longer. He began to fall, plummeting to his certain death.

Even with my two left feet and uneven balance, I somehow managed to fling myself around the corner and catch the little man. My heart was beating fast with the adrenaline of the instant in time where life could have gone wrong, but the little guy seemed unfazed by the near death experience. He promptly stood up in my hand and saluted me. I nodded and he began to search his pockets. After a minute he pulled out a minuscule pad of paper and an even smaller pen. He scribbled a note then tore it off and held the thumbnail size piece of paper to me. When I took the note, he saluted again and I set him on the ground here he scurried off and disappeared from my view.

It wasn't until later that I could read the note with a magnifying glass. It read:

Soldier,

Thanks for the service you rendered to me today. You might very well have saved my life. My people and I will remember you and your good deeds.










Never change,










Little Man Joe