“If your numbers match those called tonight, you are a winner!” exclaimed the lottery announcer, concluding the broadcast.
Leonard Brown rose from his plaid couch placed in front of his aged television set as he did every Tuesday evening. He clenched his lottery ticket tightly between his callused fingers. The ticket which bore the same numbers he purchased every week would soon have a great impact on his life, for this week the ticket was a winning one. Most people who had just won 25 million dollars in the lottery would go crazy with excitement, partying until the cows came home. Mr. Brown, however, quietly retreated to his simple bedroom, placed his winning ticket on his nightstand, and climbed into bed.
Leonard woke up on Wednesday morning at 6:32 without an alarm clock as he had done every morning since he could remember. He slipped on his worn Levi’s and a clean, white t-shirt before escaping to the kitchen. After consuming his routine breakfast of Wheaties and black coffee, Mr. Brown returned to his lonely bedroom and retrieved his winning ticket off the nightstand. He then slid into his work boots, the only pair of shoes he owned, before leaving his old, country home, not even bothering to lock the door behind him.
Leonard walked five miles down his dirt road before coming to the only gas station in town. As he pushed open the heavy door, bells rang, signaling the arrival of a customer.
“Hey there, Leonard,” hollered the gas station attendant as he took his place behind the counter. “Same numbers again?”
Leonard walked toward the counter, holding a loaf of bread and jug of water he wished to purchase. “Nah Sam,” addressed Leonard, “I think I’m set for a while.” The previously poor man handed his lottery ticket to Sam without even a grin. “I won.”
The first drastic change Mr. Brown made after his win occurred that day in the gas station; he did not purchase his weekly ticket for the first time in almost five years. It was an obvious fact that a lottery winner would experience many dramatic life changes, but few would suspect the first of these would be a cutback. However, Leonard Brown was a man of little needs and fewer wants, so at the first opportunity to eliminate money spent on a frivolous luxury, he took full advantage of the chance.
After Sam, or Samuel as he told the news reporters, notified the lottery company of Leonard’s winning ticket, old Mr. Brown became the talk of the town. He was not a very sociable man, so the attention of all twenty residents in little Armstrong, Texas, as well as countless news stations made him quite uncomfortable. He politely answered their numerous questions until they were finally finished and it was time for him to receive his check.
“Leonard Thomas Brown,” started the lottery man in a stiff, black suit, “congratulations on this grand win of twenty-five million dollars!”
Leonard accepted the check given to him by the man, “Thank you, sir.”
“What are you going to do with your winnings?” asked the black-suited man. He chuckled, “Disney World?”
Leonard smiled to humor the man before answering, “No, I’m gonna buy back my Faith.” With that, Leonard Brown turned his back to the silent crowd and began the long walk home.
The lottery man laughed scornfully at the answer just spoken. “Buy back faith?” he asked, mockingly. “Good luck with that one!”
Once Leonard got home, he pulled his dusty copy of the Yellow Pages out of his cabinet. With the massive book under one arm and the telephone in the other hand, he sat down at his lopsided kitchen table. He opened the business section to “A” and under “Assisted Living Houses” found the first number he needed: Homes for the Handicapped.
After working up some courage, Leonard slowly punched the numbers listed by the name into his telephone then lifted the receiver to his ear. After several rings, a young woman with an angelic voice answered. The two talked for a short time before Leonard hung the phone up again. From his pocket he removed a folded piece of yellow lined paper with “Faith” written across the top and a list below. He took the dull-tipped pencil out from behind his ear and in an authoritative move, drew a line through item number one.
After doing some of his everyday chores like feeding the horses and pulling weeds in the garden, Leonard noticed Sam standing behind a tree in his front yard, trying to spy while remaining unnoticed. Once Sam realized he had been spotted, he stepped away from the towering plant and began walking toward Leonard.
“Hey pal,” called Sam from across the yard. “How’s life goin’ as a multi-millionaire?”
Leonard laid his shovel on the ground and met Sam under another large tree in his yard where both took a seat in the shade. “It’s goin’. That’s all I know,” he replied in a simple tone.
Sam then brought up the question the whole town was wondering, “When ya told the lottery man you were gonna buy back your faith...what were you talkin’ about?”
Leonard looked up from the piece of grass he had been picking at and stared deep into his friend’s eyes, “Sam, you just wait and see.” Then, without warning, Leonard quickly picked himself up off the ground and walked away, leaving his guest in total confusion.
A few days later, the list sitting in Leonard’s pocket had three more things crossed off, one per day, and many changes were beginning to take form. The residents in Armstrong had long given up on figuring out Leonard’s hidden life story after nearly five years of failed attempts. However, once Leonard stepped into the national spotlight, Sam, as well as many other neighbors, took renewed interest in walking by the Browns’ ranch once or twice a day, just to see how Leonard was going to carry out his crazy plan.
On one particular day, Sam saw a construction van in the long, gravel driveway of Mr. Brown’s. His curiosity drew him closer and closer until eventually he was standing in the open doorway of the house. Inside on their knees were a number of workmen, tearing up the carpet in the hallways and bedrooms. Behind them were some other men, replacing the carpet with new hard-wood flooring.
Leonard isn’t the type of man to spend his money on new wood floors when there are tons of other things he needs, Sam thought to himself. As he left the battered estate, deep in thought, he noticed a large, awkward looking van parked in the garage that had been lacking a vehicle for so many years. Once again, Sam tried to get closer for a better look, but when he saw Leonard circling the van, he darted away before he could be seen.
The next evening, after all the flooring had been installed and the house modernized a bit, Sam walked by the Brown’s ranch for his usual evening look. To his surprise, the newly purchased van was not sitting in the garage as he expected to see. After waiting for an indistinguishable amount of time, Sam grew impatient and decided to return home, not knowing where Leonard had gone.
At about 8:30 in the evening, the oversized van pulled into the driveway, now wearing a handicap ticket around the rearview mirror. Once in the garage, Leonard got out and unloaded from the backseat a woman in a wheelchair. He rolled her out of the car along with several expensive machines he had purchased to bring with her. Leonard pushed his companion up the ramp that had been installed the previous day and into his cozy home. He easily maneuvered the wheel chair along the smooth wood floors until the woman was comfortably seated at the kitchen table.
Leonard knelt down so he was eye to eye with the woman and an unfamiliar smile crept across his face. He picked up the gnarled hand of the lady and massaged it between his own two hands, placing a wedding ring that had been missing from its position on one of her fingers for nearly a decade now back into place. After several minutes of silence, Leonard set down the hand and dug the wrinkled yellow piece of paper out off his pocket. Removing the still dull-tipped pencil from behind his ear and crossing off the last item on his list, he said to the woman with tears filling his eyes, “Welcome home, Faith.”