PROMISES
© by: DON GRUBBS aka nite_riter
I had a business in Florida doing home repairs some time back and I met a lot of interesting people during that time. Some were sad cases, lonely people who would almost pay you to be at their home just to listen to whatever they could think of to talk about. I felt so bad that I gave them all the time I could, but soon learned that they would never get enough.
They seemed to have an urgent need to hold you there as long as they could. The conversation was almost always about their life, and the things that they felt were the most important to them. Family, and how their family ignored them now that they were old and didn't have a lot of money. This wasn't always the case but was the most talked about subject. I think a lot of it came from just being lonely and the fear of growing old and being alone. I have seen many who spent all morning bathing, cleaning up their house, dressing and then sitting on the porch waiting on the "meals on wheels" person to bring their daily meal, some times waiting as long as a few hours. I watched as the meal was delivered, and saw how they tried to get the delivery person to stay and visit. I've seen that same look come into the eyes of the delivery person many times before. They knew what this person needed. But they had a schedule to keep, and a lot more people to feed. They had to deliver the other meals. I think it was hard on the delivery people to have to leave when it was so obvious what the person wanted.
I think our lives don't have to end this way, and for many it does not, but I also think that in many cases it does. Is it just the luck of the draw, or could we some how avoid it by what we learn in our lives? Should we learn the importance of standing alone and learn to like ourselves first, so we can love others?
I can't say that I know the answer to this either. I think we all do the best we can with what we learn in life. Is it our fault then if we end up alone and lonely? All I can think of as an answer to this is that I think we have to learn to be self sufficient in all circumstances of our lives. But then, what in the hell do I know?
I worked for one lady I will never forget. She was about 45 or 50 yrs old, lived alone and was just making it month to month on welfare and social security. She seemed to have a disability that had left her incapable of working or functioning in society. I never really knew what was wrong with her, not that it matters to my story anyway.
I met her at my door one evening when she came to see if I would fix her windows in her mobile home. It was August in Florida with days nearing 100 degrees and nights that didn't cool off very much. She had saved change in two jars and brought it to me to see if it was enough to at least get some windows fixed.
I had the occasion to be at her trailer a few times while I fixed the windows, and she fell right into the same group of people that has that great need to talk to someone. She was mentally fine and although bitter in some ways, not really different than all the others that I had met through the years. She followed me around and talked to me in a steady flow of words.
The first time I went to see her, she told me of a young preacher that had come by to see her and invited her to his church. She was excited to have a chance to get involved with others. Since she didn't have a way to get there, he was going to pick her up each Sunday, and bring her home, it wasn't really out of his way.
The church members, at his direction were collecting aluminum cans and newspapers to raise money for the church, and she volunteered to collect all that she could and have all of it ready to take when he came to get her Sunday morning. Since this Sunday was to celebrate their success with the drive, everyone was bringing something to eat for a pot luck dinner. She told me how she had saved her money by skipping some things that she could do without, and was going to cook a nice dish to take with her.
Well, I was glad for her and thought it would be a big help to her to belong to a church group with a preacher that had a heart as big as this one seemed too. A preacher that would give of his time to help others that were so needy, and for someone who couldn't really pay into his church. But I knew she would help out in as many ways as she could.
I drove by her house on the Saturday before the meeting and she hollered at me to stop and see what she had colleted. Her porch was full of newspapers, and boxes of cans. She lived behind a shopping center and had raided the dumpster for all the cans and paper she could find and had it all tied up, and in boxes. I was impressed with her efforts, and with the smile on her face at what she had accomplished for herself, and for her new church.
She had saved enough to make the meal she wanted to share and was cooking it as we spoke. I could see that this was changing her life. She had twice the energy that she had before, and seemed to carry herself differently. I think her confidence had returned to some degree, and I thought what little it took to turn us around in our thinking. I was glad to see her feeling so good and was anxious to see how it turned out for her.
I went by her trailer a few days later hoping to see her sitting there as she usually was. I wanted to see her face while she told her story of the money the church made on their drive and the dinner that she had contributed to. I was excited for her. I like a good ending to all of life's adversities. And I was sure this was one of those times when it worked out that way...
The first thing I saw when I got to her house was all the papers, and boxes of cans, still sitting there on her porch. There was no sign of her. The house seemed closed up, and I was worried that something had happened to her before she had the chance to get to the church. I knew the manager of the trailer park that she lived in so I went to his office to see if I could find out where she was and what had happened to her.
By: Don Grubbs aka nite_riter
Don Grubbs at pix@accutek.com
