A life full of seriousness and woe must be balanced out with a healthy serving of good friendship. Friends provide laughter and enable one to see the fun and joy in life.
In his short story “Little Helping Hands,” Waldron Kintzing Post follows a young man as he attempts to win a bet he made with his friends. He takes the whole thing quite seriously, but they provide ample situations to prank him, bringing lighthearted laughter to the situation.
A Bet to Walk On
A few Harvard students sit in a dorm room debating walking speeds. Steve Hudson believes that 4 miles an hour can be easily achieved and held for an extended period of time, but his friends Stoughton and Gray disagree. Hudson subsequently bets $5 that he can walk 24 miles in six hours. Stoughton, Gray, and their friend Ned Burleigh each bet $5 against Hudson, spurring Hudson’s determination to prove them wrong. With bets in place, Hudson decides on a proper route and sets a date for his 24-mile walk.
The day arrives and Hudson sets out at half past ten, wearing proper British “walking breeches and big Scotch stockings.” It’s a beautiful day and Hudson feels the effects of it as he makes his way from Harvard Square to Framingham. His heart fills with joy and he takes long strides, embracing the wonderful November weather.
He makes it to the first town in very good time. Unfortunately, Hudson notices that the town square is full of people, specifically young children, who obscure his path. He continues on through the crowd, but finds himself accosted by the children. They surround him and say: “Hey, mister, give us some!” Hudson is taken aback by this wild reception, but once the boys discover that he has nothing to give them, he’s free to move on unhindered.
Hudson plods on, staying well within the time. Yet he’s startled to find that in each town he passes through, he encounters the same type of wild, confusing reception as he did in the first town. Boys swarm him and girls stare at him and different people ask him whether he is the “winged wonder.”
A 20th-century mens’ walking suit, housed at the Rotterdam Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. (Mr. Nostalgic/CC BY-SA 3.0)Spirited on by Friendship
After making his way through one of these busy towns, Hudson encounters a local farmer. They begin talking and, when Hudson mentions how far he plans on walking, the farmer asks: “Mebbe you’re advertisin’ suthin’? Oh, I want to know! Be you the winged wonder o’ Westchester, or some sech place I hear tell on jest now?” Hudson is taken aback, but the farmer’s question gives him an idea.
This idea is solidified in his mind when he continues walking and finds a pamphlet on the ground. For, upon reading the pamphlet, he grows certain that the crowds in the towns have been a well-planned joke.
Through this story, Post shows the wonderful nature and fun that a good friendship provides. He demonstrates, as L.M. Montgomery wrote in “Anne of Green Gables”: “True friends are always together in spirit.” Friendship doesn’t fade, but continues to be an ever-present presence that spurs one on, brightening life and bringing a laugh.
Though Hudson’s friends aren’t near him, their spirit is present on his adventure. Their friendship lights his path and breaks through the barriers of seriousness and difficulty. His friends prove that a good friendship remains an endearing presence that makes life worth living and laughing at.
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