How much do you need to be happy?

One day John was doing some errands and had with him a young man who does odd jobs for us. Because they were in the vicinity, Asher* asked, "Would you like to see my place?"

John would. 

Asher stopped the truck outside a small, one-room house. Upon entering the cement dwelling, John kicked off his shoes as everybody does when entering a home. Asher laughed. "You don't need to take off your shoes for this house. This is a local house."

Then his demeanor changed as though he suddenly grew embarrassed to have John see how he lived. The room's only bed was for his mom and sister to share - his dad had walked out on them long ago. There was a thin mattress for Asher on the floor. There was a television and a radio and a few odds and ends pertaining to cooking. That was all. 

Asher glanced at John to see his reaction. Maybe inviting a white man (who lived in a large, multi-roomed house) into your house (a single room you shared with your mom and sister) was a bad idea all around. 

But John was kind and smiled. "I'm familiar with local housing; we lived in a local house up in the north for a couple of years."

Asher relaxed visibly and said, "I know this is a local house, but I am thankful because there are so many people who have less than we do."

He seemed content.

*name has been changed