Many years ago on one very bitterly cold evening in Northern Virginia, an older man waited for a ride across the Potomac River. The wait seemed endless; his body became numb and stiff from the frigid north wind. As he waited, he heard the faint steady rhythm of approaching horses. Anxiously he watched as several horsemen rounded the bend. He let the first one pass without an effort to get his attention. Then another passed by and still another. Finally, the last rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a statue of snow. As this last man drew near, the old man caught the rider’s eye and said, “Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side of the river? There doesn’t seem to be a passageway by foot.”

Bringing his horse to a stop, the rider replied, “Sure thing, sir.…