Modern Day Zacchaeus

I was reminded as I read a good friends blog that one of the purposes of writing these stories and glimpses into our lives is that we never forget the things that matter and that impact us. So I will attempt to reach back into my past to log an event that to this day still makes me wonder, and still somewhat impacts how I think and act. So here it is.....


It was the summer of 1984. I know this because the Olympics were in Los Angeles and the Olympic torch was making it way across the nation. I was a courier for banks and small businesses just taking deposits and cancelled checks to a central processing center. Nothing big, no armored car just my new bright red Toyota Corolla driving around the streets of Orange County. It was the middle of the week and my route took me through downtown Fullerton at the same time that the Olympic Torch was supposed to pass through. To a courier time is money. There is always a schedule but I had the unfortunate luck to end up on Harbor Blvd just north of Commonwealth as traffic ground to a complete stop. I knew I was going no where and there would be hell to pay for being late when I got there, so I simply settled in and waited for the torch to arrive. As 15 minutes turned into 30 minutes, turned into 45 a crowd had started to gather and the mood had begun to pick up. A line of people began to form between myself and the side of the street the torch would be making it's appearance and between that line and my car my modern day Zacchaeus showed up. I was standing in the open door of my car, making me a good three feet taller than the crowd, and I noticed that this man, maybe 5 feet tall had begun to pace back and forth looking for a break in the large crowd that had formed. (I just got shivers reliving it) He asked me no less than a dozen time "Do you see it?", "Is it coming?" each time answering "Not yet", "I don't see anything yet!". Soon I began to see, off in the distance the beginning of the entourage for the famed Olympic torch. The crowd became electric. People had begun cheering and clapping, it was easy to be caught up in the moment as I forgot that I even had a job and was engulfed in national pride. As the torch drew near I began to notice my little friend had grown more nervous and even a bit frantic as he realized he would not be able to see the Olympic Flame passing by. His pacing became more desperate and his questions came faster, "Can you see it?", "What does it look like?" The noise of the crowd was deafening. I had a clear view of the torch and as it came within 20 feet of me, my modern day Zacchaeus made his final plea. He thrust his camera towards me and said these words, "I cannot see the torch passing, would you please take a picture for me?" I reached down, grabbed his camera and clicked off three pictures as fast as I could with his "non-digital" camera. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that my friend was no longer pacing and with his back to the flame and the crowd, was staring up at me as I took the pictures of something he could only wish to see. The flame passed within 10 feet of me, I was estactic. Out of sheer luck I had landed my car in the middle of a parade and was privy to an incredible wave of national pride. A minute later the torch was gone, the crowd had begun to dissipate and my friend could not wait to have his camera back to develop the film and finally see what I personally had witnessed. I handed him his camera, he thanked me and disappeared into the crowd. I climbed down into my car and immediately realized what I had done. I had been witness to a remarkable event. I had seen a simple flame ignite a city, much more a country with patriotic fervor. But Zacchaeus only saw me. He watched me as I watched this great event unfold before me. I was floored. I had seen the "light" and did not have the presence of mind or even courage to show someone else. I should have grabbed my friend by the scruff of his neck and stood him on the roof of my new car and told him "Here, you look, you see the glory that is passing before us!" But I didn't. I drove around the block twice looking for him. I was 90 minutes late to my next stop. I drove by again after work just hoping by some chance I would have the opportunity to apologize, to describe in detail everything I had been witnessed to. I never saw Zacchaeus again. By the time I got home I was visibly shaken. I had been given the opportunity, the direct opportunity to show someone the light, and I had failed. I still get goose bumps every time I drive through the intersection of Harbor and Commonwealth in Fullerton. I think when I get to Heaven I will ask God about that divine appointment and how I missed it. And ask, can I see that man, Zacchaeus so I can apologize and tell him how beautiful the light is.