Rifle found after being "cast upon the waters".(THE GOODNESS OF AMERICA)(Terry Jackson )

"Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days," goes the famous saying from the eleventh chapter of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. It is unlikely that eight-year-old Terry Jackson would have had this verse in mind when he generously gave up one of his prized possessions in order to get a gift for his grandmother, but he nonetheless experienced the scripture ring true nearly 50 years after his sacrifice.

The Associated Press reported on September 26 that, "at age 8, Terry Jackson gave up his prized .22-caliber Winchester short-barrel rifle to get his grandmother a washer." Recently, the now 57-year-old Idaho resident "got the gun back through a series of chance encounters and conversations."

"As a boy," AP noted, "Jackson felt bad that his grandmother was too poor to have a washer. So he took the rifle he had earned money for by mowing lawns and doing other chores to a pawn shop.... The pawn shop owner agreed to trade a wringer washer for the rifle." Recounting the story, Jackson told The Lewiston Tribune that the rifle "was the only thing I had that was worth ...