Overview

One of my favorite stories is the story of little Johnny, the optimist.

Little Johnny was a boy about eight years old who was growing up in a poor family. Despite the hard conditions, little Johnny remained an optimist. Whenever his parents would see little Johnny in his torn and tattered hand-me down clothes, they could be certain he would have a smile on his face. As time passed, conditions continued to be bad. With never a reason for a glint of hope, little Johnny remained positive. Finally, little Johnny's birthday arrived, and Johnny told his parents that he wanted above all, a pony for his birthday. As it turned out, his father was out of work, the rent was long past due, and the cupboard was bare. Had there been any money there were many priorities ahead of a birthday gift for little Johnny but, alas, there was no money. To add to the bleakness of the day, a dump truck hauling a load of horse manure was misdirected and somehow managed to dump a huge pile of horse dung on the driveway leading to Johnny's house. The smell was overwhelming and it was unlikely that the mess would soon be removed. Rather than grimacing, when Johnny caught wind of the delivery his round face broke out in a big smile and he immediately went out to the manure pile and began digging through it with...