C
Last year (2010) a close friend dropped by for nothing more than to kill time swapping news and drinking my coffee on a cold day. It was December 20th, a Monday and it was snowing lightly. No I don’t have some fantastic memory but I’ve gone back over every step of this story so many times the details will be with me a long time.
One piece of news he shared that a mutual friend’s wife had just been laid off from her job. In this case it was particularly hard news to hear because our friend (Scott) had been out of work (laid off from the local factory) for almost a year. Times were tight for them and they lost their home owners insurance for non-payment of the premium and as luck would have it they had a home fire in August and lost everything. They and their three kids were currently living with his parents in a small farm house and with the loss of his wife’s job were really in a desperate situation. It seemed their lives were going from bad to worse at almost every turn.
To explain a bit, my wife and I live on a small farm and several years ago I bought a large (3 bedroom – 2 bath) mobile home and had it set up on the farm for my wife’s mother. She lived in it until she passed away a year or a little more ago. Since then the mobile home had sat empty. The visiting friend said, “You know it would be a great thing if you could find a way to sell Scott the mobile home and let him work for it instead of coming up with cash”. I pretty much dismissed it out of hand as I simply had no need of an extra pair of hands and it would take a LOT of man hours to match the value of the mobile home not to mention what it would cost him to have it moved and set up on his property. The visiting friend more or less agreed and the subject was dropped. After he left I couldn’t get the idea of working out a deal with our Scott out of my head and mentioned it to my wife as we ate lunch. She too said it was a shame I didn’t really need any help and said maybe there was a way to work out a swap with someone that did need extra hands that could buy it for him. We kicked around a lot of names of people we knew but came up empty handed so again the subject was dropped.
I kept kicking it around the rest of the day and at bedtime my wife asked, “Did you come up with anything concerning the mobile home”. I replied, “Yes, it’s just not a practical idea or doable”. She said, “In all the years we’ve been together I have never known you to not find a way to do something if you really wanted to do it”. (I am 58, she is 56 and we’ve been together since forever.
That was my last thought on the matter as I fell asleep. Now comes the really strange part. No I didn’t dream of a solution or even dream on it at all as far as I remember but when I got up the next morning (Tuesday) I sat on the edge of the bed and my for reasons I can’t explain my first real thought of the day was on the mobile home and the solution had come to me, give it to Scott and help get it relocated. If I am being honest my common sense voice said, “What the heck are you thinking”! My second thought was, “The wife will either crack me upside the head or call the guys to put me in a straight jacket”. We are not what anyone would call wealthy or even rich and giving away something of this value is NOT something I would ever consider but here I was not only considering it but part of me had already made the decision to do it. I wish there was a way to put into words the feelings I was having that morning and believe me I’ve examined them more times than I can tell and still don’t have my arms around it. I just KNEW giving the home to Scott and his family was the right thing to do. I was as certain of that as I’ve ever been about anything.
When the wife got up I had breakfast and coffee waiting and we sat and talked and the first thing she said was, “If we are going to give Scott and his family the mobile home we need to do it before Christmas and that is only a few days away”. I had NOT even mentioned the mobile home, or Scott and definitely nothing about giving it to him!!! In my usual clueless husband way said, “Huh”? She said, “Well that was what you were going to ask me about wasn’t it”? I asked, “What ever gave you that idea”? She replied, “I don’t know, I woke up and knew you wanted to talk about doing it, call it intuition”. I let that part go for the time being, I don’t believe in intuition but wanted to talk about Scott and asked what she thought of the idea. She didn’t even bother to talk to me on “if” we would; she started talking about calling neighbors to help her clean it inside and get it ready. I told her ok, get that done and I’d figure out if we could get it moved. I got a hold of the friend that had suggested it all and told him to come over and help me get it done. He came straight over and when I told him I was giving the home to them he thought I had lost it but admitted it solved a world of problems for Scott and his family and agreed to help.
I made calls and moving it was going to cost a not so small heap of cash and had to be scheduled a few weeks in advance. I told my friend and he said one of our neighbors used to move them when he was younger and maybe knew someone and called him. The long and short of it was that he didn’t know anyone but suggested that if we could borrow a large tractor he had a set up for attaching it to the hitch to move it. The thing here is his brother has a huge 4 wheel drive (dual wheels) that would be perfect but the two of them have not been on speaking terms for years. Some family squabble that got out of hand and split the family apart. Anyhow I asked him if I found a tractor if I could borrow the hitch set up and he agreed and said it might have to be re-worked a bit depending on the tractor. I called the brother and explained what I was doing and he agreed to not only loan us the tractor but to also come drive it for us. I went and picked up the attachment and wouldn’t you know it, it didn’t fit. I called him again and explained why it didn’t fit and he said he would look at it. What I did not expect was for him to pull in the drive way 15 minutes later. Suddenly the two brothers that had not spoke in years were both at my house and working on a common goal. I fully expected sparks to fly and for someone to leave in a hurry but they started out cordial enough, if a little cold but at least seemed to be able to be nice to each other. Well one thing lead to the other and next time I looked they were both working on making the hitch fit and talking a mile a minute catching up on family news. By the time they had it ready to go you never would have known there had ever been a rift between them.
In the meantime my wife had called her women friends and a half dozen had showed up and were cleaning like a tornado in the mobile home including cleaning all the furniture, beds, and well everything. They worked on it until about 6 in the evening and had in spotlessly clean and smelling great. The friend that had started all of it was sitting with me in our house and suggested we should see if we could get some other folks to help out and we made a list and then got on the phone. By the time we were off the phone we had the local Propane dealer setting up a fuel tank for them. Another fellow offered to bring a back hoe and trench in the connections to the water line and septic tank. And still another agreed he would connect the electrical. Finally we had half a dozen guys to help with all the little stuff like putting up the skirting, building steps to the two doors, putting in the ground anchors, etc.
The next day was Wednesday and man did we have a full plate! We were only moving the home about 5 miles but it was on poor two lane road so we had to have folks clear traffic for us and out of nowhere there were a dozen people ready to help. It seems my friend had talked to everyone in the area and they just showed up to lend a hand anyway they could. I think the only people in the community that didn’t know about it were Scott and his family and his parents. You have to realize our little community is a town of 50 or so people and the farmers in the area. All the guys that had just showed up on their own got to work removing the tie downs, skirting, the old steps, wiring, plumbing, sewer, and putting the wheels back on it and getting it ready to move. I was amazed at how fast it went and by lunch time it was ready to move. Somewhere in all that my wife and the other women had decided to fix a lunch and I think I had every person (other than Scott and family) at my house for lunch and just enjoying being a part of the entire thing. I can’t remember the last time I had seen so many smiling faces and good natured talk.
That afternoon the two brothers with the tractor and experience hooked it all up and we had a parade of vehicles as they moved it. Thank goodness the weather had cooperated! Two hours later we had the mobile home sitting on Scott’s property and the work to set it up began. We worked the rest of the afternoon and everyone promised to be back the next morning. The next day the propane dealer showed up with a 750 gallon tank, set it in place and then filled it for FREE. He told me that if I could give them a home he could give them fuel to heat it. The electrical guy showed and started his work, the plumbers, the heating and AC guy, and the guys stated building steps and a deck. When I say a deck I mean a 12’ by 40’ deck with railing and a roof over it. I never found out where all the material for it, or the plumbing, or anything else came from because when I told them to give me a bill everyone said it was just stuff they “had laying around”. It was a long day but by the end of it the mobile home was done and ready to hand over. I could not believe we had accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Collectively we all agreed to give it to Scott the next day (Christmas Eve) around noon.
I got a call about 9 the next morning (Christmas Eve) from the friend that started it all to come by and look at something. I and my wife hopped in the pickup and went and when we got there again everyone in town was there. They had a Christmas tree set up in the living room, wrapped Christmas presents piled up under it, cupboards stocked with home canned goods, a nearly new freezer had “found” it’s way there and was packed full of frozen meat and foods. The women had a huge lunch started and I was told I should be the one to go get Scott and his family. I took the pickup home and got the car and went to his parent’s farm and went inside and told them I needed them to come see something and insisted his parents come too. It took some talking but I finally got them around and we went to his property and when the mobile home came into sight there were a million questions. Well a long story short, he and his family were totally amazed and when Scott learned it was all a gift from his neighbors he actually broke down and cried with happiness. His kids went crazy at having a home again (and deciding who got which bedroom) his wife just kept thanking everyone. We ate, and ate, and ate some more and there was a constant buzz of a couple dozen different conversations from every direction.
After lunch was done and everything cleaned and put away I suggested we all clear out and give Scott and his family a chance to catch their breath and everyone pretty much agreed, until Scott’s youngest daughter (9 years old) said, “Before everyone leaves I want to say a prayer”. She thanked God for everything and then asked that he reward every person that had helped and to watch over them. That’s when it happened. I don’t have a better word for it but it felt like a moment of Grace if I understand the usage of the word. As I stood there listening I looked around the crowd of people and I saw nothing but smiles, warm and caring people, and for some period of time I cannot quantify, it was as if time stood still long enough for me to look in the faces of each and every person, the Christmas decorations, and the look on Scott and his wife’s face and I knew I had done much more than simply give away the mobile home. The two feuding brothers were now as close as they had ever been, the mean old crotchety neighbor (everyone has one) was there and enjoying every second, all the people that had labored so hard had found something that made them feel better from their efforts and in general I have never stood in the presence of a group of people that seemed to be 100% on the same page and so single minded in purpose.
The truth is that every person I had asked to help not only did what I asked without hesitation, they went far beyond what I asked. People that were not the best of friends put differences aside and stood side by side to accomplish it all. For a day, people simply did what they knew was the right thing without question or argument and somehow it all came together far better than I could have ever dreamed possible. When the little girl finished her prayer I don’t believe there was a dry eye to be found, including my own. We all cleared out to give them some time to settle in and when we got home my wife said, “You done good old man, real good”. That evening our kids showed up to spend Christmas with us and somehow it was the best Christmas we’ve ever had.
Now to finish this all up, as you may have guessed I am not a religious person, I haven’t been in a church other than for a funeral or wedding in 30 years. I’m not against it at all it’s just not something I’ve ever really participated in but deep, deep down I KNOW there was a power at work I can’t explain. I’ve never seen something this large a project where everything just “clicked” and came together or where so many people laid aside their own issues to join in on something like this, especially when it cost them money out of their own pocket. Like I said, I’ve gone over it all a gazillion times in my head and still have a hard time believing all of it. I even went so far as to talk to the local minister about it but he sort of pooh-poohed my thinking it was God or that God would work through someone like me. He said he had dozens of people in the congregation that spent their life asking God to show them what to do and he doubted I would be selected over them. Ok, I guess I sort of agree with that. I mean why me of all people right? Surly there were lots of people in his congregation MUCH better suited than me for something like this. I left that meeting feeling a little down but told myself regardless of God having a hand in it or not, I had done a good thing and that in itself was worth it. Still, here it is September the following year with Christmas approaching and I still can’t get it or that perfect moment (of Grace?) out of my mind. I keep saying the word “Grace” because I just have no other word for it. I would truly like to hear what others have to say, even if all of you agree with the minister and think I’m a candidate for a rubber room. All I can tell you is that from the bottom of my being I am certain “something” touched me in a way I have never known before and for a brief few days, that same “something” touched almost every person in my small community. (People still talk about it all the time.)
I guess the reason I am here is that I am still trying to figure it all out.
One piece of news he shared that a mutual friend’s wife had just been laid off from her job. In this case it was particularly hard news to hear because our friend (Scott) had been out of work (laid off from the local factory) for almost a year. Times were tight for them and they lost their home owners insurance for non-payment of the premium and as luck would have it they had a home fire in August and lost everything. They and their three kids were currently living with his parents in a small farm house and with the loss of his wife’s job were really in a desperate situation. It seemed their lives were going from bad to worse at almost every turn.
To explain a bit, my wife and I live on a small farm and several years ago I bought a large (3 bedroom – 2 bath) mobile home and had it set up on the farm for my wife’s mother. She lived in it until she passed away a year or a little more ago. Since then the mobile home had sat empty. The visiting friend said, “You know it would be a great thing if you could find a way to sell Scott the mobile home and let him work for it instead of coming up with cash”. I pretty much dismissed it out of hand as I simply had no need of an extra pair of hands and it would take a LOT of man hours to match the value of the mobile home not to mention what it would cost him to have it moved and set up on his property. The visiting friend more or less agreed and the subject was dropped. After he left I couldn’t get the idea of working out a deal with our Scott out of my head and mentioned it to my wife as we ate lunch. She too said it was a shame I didn’t really need any help and said maybe there was a way to work out a swap with someone that did need extra hands that could buy it for him. We kicked around a lot of names of people we knew but came up empty handed so again the subject was dropped.
I kept kicking it around the rest of the day and at bedtime my wife asked, “Did you come up with anything concerning the mobile home”. I replied, “Yes, it’s just not a practical idea or doable”. She said, “In all the years we’ve been together I have never known you to not find a way to do something if you really wanted to do it”. (I am 58, she is 56 and we’ve been together since forever.
That was my last thought on the matter as I fell asleep. Now comes the really strange part. No I didn’t dream of a solution or even dream on it at all as far as I remember but when I got up the next morning (Tuesday) I sat on the edge of the bed and my for reasons I can’t explain my first real thought of the day was on the mobile home and the solution had come to me, give it to Scott and help get it relocated. If I am being honest my common sense voice said, “What the heck are you thinking”! My second thought was, “The wife will either crack me upside the head or call the guys to put me in a straight jacket”. We are not what anyone would call wealthy or even rich and giving away something of this value is NOT something I would ever consider but here I was not only considering it but part of me had already made the decision to do it. I wish there was a way to put into words the feelings I was having that morning and believe me I’ve examined them more times than I can tell and still don’t have my arms around it. I just KNEW giving the home to Scott and his family was the right thing to do. I was as certain of that as I’ve ever been about anything.When the wife got up I had breakfast and coffee waiting and we sat and talked and the first thing she said was, “If we are going to give Scott and his family the mobile home we need to do it before Christmas and that is only a few days away”. I had NOT even mentioned the mobile home, or Scott and definitely nothing about giving it to him!!! In my usual clueless husband way said, “Huh”? She said, “Well that was what you were going to ask me about wasn’t it”? I asked, “What ever gave you that idea”? She replied, “I don’t know, I woke up and knew you wanted to talk about doing it, call it intuition”. I let that part go for the time being, I don’t believe in intuition but wanted to talk about Scott and asked what she thought of the idea. She didn’t even bother to talk to me on “if” we would; she started talking about calling neighbors to help her clean it inside and get it ready. I told her ok, get that done and I’d figure out if we could get it moved. I got a hold of the friend that had suggested it all and told him to come over and help me get it done. He came straight over and when I told him I was giving the home to them he thought I had lost it but admitted it solved a world of problems for Scott and his family and agreed to help.
I made calls and moving it was going to cost a not so small heap of cash and had to be scheduled a few weeks in advance. I told my friend and he said one of our neighbors used to move them when he was younger and maybe knew someone and called him. The long and short of it was that he didn’t know anyone but suggested that if we could borrow a large tractor he had a set up for attaching it to the hitch to move it. The thing here is his brother has a huge 4 wheel drive (dual wheels) that would be perfect but the two of them have not been on speaking terms for years. Some family squabble that got out of hand and split the family apart. Anyhow I asked him if I found a tractor if I could borrow the hitch set up and he agreed and said it might have to be re-worked a bit depending on the tractor. I called the brother and explained what I was doing and he agreed to not only loan us the tractor but to also come drive it for us. I went and picked up the attachment and wouldn’t you know it, it didn’t fit. I called him again and explained why it didn’t fit and he said he would look at it. What I did not expect was for him to pull in the drive way 15 minutes later. Suddenly the two brothers that had not spoke in years were both at my house and working on a common goal. I fully expected sparks to fly and for someone to leave in a hurry but they started out cordial enough, if a little cold but at least seemed to be able to be nice to each other. Well one thing lead to the other and next time I looked they were both working on making the hitch fit and talking a mile a minute catching up on family news. By the time they had it ready to go you never would have known there had ever been a rift between them.
In the meantime my wife had called her women friends and a half dozen had showed up and were cleaning like a tornado in the mobile home including cleaning all the furniture, beds, and well everything. They worked on it until about 6 in the evening and had in spotlessly clean and smelling great. The friend that had started all of it was sitting with me in our house and suggested we should see if we could get some other folks to help out and we made a list and then got on the phone. By the time we were off the phone we had the local Propane dealer setting up a fuel tank for them. Another fellow offered to bring a back hoe and trench in the connections to the water line and septic tank. And still another agreed he would connect the electrical. Finally we had half a dozen guys to help with all the little stuff like putting up the skirting, building steps to the two doors, putting in the ground anchors, etc.
The next day was Wednesday and man did we have a full plate! We were only moving the home about 5 miles but it was on poor two lane road so we had to have folks clear traffic for us and out of nowhere there were a dozen people ready to help. It seems my friend had talked to everyone in the area and they just showed up to lend a hand anyway they could. I think the only people in the community that didn’t know about it were Scott and his family and his parents. You have to realize our little community is a town of 50 or so people and the farmers in the area. All the guys that had just showed up on their own got to work removing the tie downs, skirting, the old steps, wiring, plumbing, sewer, and putting the wheels back on it and getting it ready to move. I was amazed at how fast it went and by lunch time it was ready to move. Somewhere in all that my wife and the other women had decided to fix a lunch and I think I had every person (other than Scott and family) at my house for lunch and just enjoying being a part of the entire thing. I can’t remember the last time I had seen so many smiling faces and good natured talk.
That afternoon the two brothers with the tractor and experience hooked it all up and we had a parade of vehicles as they moved it. Thank goodness the weather had cooperated! Two hours later we had the mobile home sitting on Scott’s property and the work to set it up began. We worked the rest of the afternoon and everyone promised to be back the next morning. The next day the propane dealer showed up with a 750 gallon tank, set it in place and then filled it for FREE. He told me that if I could give them a home he could give them fuel to heat it. The electrical guy showed and started his work, the plumbers, the heating and AC guy, and the guys stated building steps and a deck. When I say a deck I mean a 12’ by 40’ deck with railing and a roof over it. I never found out where all the material for it, or the plumbing, or anything else came from because when I told them to give me a bill everyone said it was just stuff they “had laying around”. It was a long day but by the end of it the mobile home was done and ready to hand over. I could not believe we had accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Collectively we all agreed to give it to Scott the next day (Christmas Eve) around noon.
I got a call about 9 the next morning (Christmas Eve) from the friend that started it all to come by and look at something. I and my wife hopped in the pickup and went and when we got there again everyone in town was there. They had a Christmas tree set up in the living room, wrapped Christmas presents piled up under it, cupboards stocked with home canned goods, a nearly new freezer had “found” it’s way there and was packed full of frozen meat and foods. The women had a huge lunch started and I was told I should be the one to go get Scott and his family. I took the pickup home and got the car and went to his parent’s farm and went inside and told them I needed them to come see something and insisted his parents come too. It took some talking but I finally got them around and we went to his property and when the mobile home came into sight there were a million questions. Well a long story short, he and his family were totally amazed and when Scott learned it was all a gift from his neighbors he actually broke down and cried with happiness. His kids went crazy at having a home again (and deciding who got which bedroom) his wife just kept thanking everyone. We ate, and ate, and ate some more and there was a constant buzz of a couple dozen different conversations from every direction.
After lunch was done and everything cleaned and put away I suggested we all clear out and give Scott and his family a chance to catch their breath and everyone pretty much agreed, until Scott’s youngest daughter (9 years old) said, “Before everyone leaves I want to say a prayer”. She thanked God for everything and then asked that he reward every person that had helped and to watch over them. That’s when it happened. I don’t have a better word for it but it felt like a moment of Grace if I understand the usage of the word. As I stood there listening I looked around the crowd of people and I saw nothing but smiles, warm and caring people, and for some period of time I cannot quantify, it was as if time stood still long enough for me to look in the faces of each and every person, the Christmas decorations, and the look on Scott and his wife’s face and I knew I had done much more than simply give away the mobile home. The two feuding brothers were now as close as they had ever been, the mean old crotchety neighbor (everyone has one) was there and enjoying every second, all the people that had labored so hard had found something that made them feel better from their efforts and in general I have never stood in the presence of a group of people that seemed to be 100% on the same page and so single minded in purpose.
The truth is that every person I had asked to help not only did what I asked without hesitation, they went far beyond what I asked. People that were not the best of friends put differences aside and stood side by side to accomplish it all. For a day, people simply did what they knew was the right thing without question or argument and somehow it all came together far better than I could have ever dreamed possible. When the little girl finished her prayer I don’t believe there was a dry eye to be found, including my own. We all cleared out to give them some time to settle in and when we got home my wife said, “You done good old man, real good”. That evening our kids showed up to spend Christmas with us and somehow it was the best Christmas we’ve ever had.
Now to finish this all up, as you may have guessed I am not a religious person, I haven’t been in a church other than for a funeral or wedding in 30 years. I’m not against it at all it’s just not something I’ve ever really participated in but deep, deep down I KNOW there was a power at work I can’t explain. I’ve never seen something this large a project where everything just “clicked” and came together or where so many people laid aside their own issues to join in on something like this, especially when it cost them money out of their own pocket. Like I said, I’ve gone over it all a gazillion times in my head and still have a hard time believing all of it. I even went so far as to talk to the local minister about it but he sort of pooh-poohed my thinking it was God or that God would work through someone like me. He said he had dozens of people in the congregation that spent their life asking God to show them what to do and he doubted I would be selected over them. Ok, I guess I sort of agree with that. I mean why me of all people right? Surly there were lots of people in his congregation MUCH better suited than me for something like this. I left that meeting feeling a little down but told myself regardless of God having a hand in it or not, I had done a good thing and that in itself was worth it. Still, here it is September the following year with Christmas approaching and I still can’t get it or that perfect moment (of Grace?) out of my mind. I keep saying the word “Grace” because I just have no other word for it. I would truly like to hear what others have to say, even if all of you agree with the minister and think I’m a candidate for a rubber room. All I can tell you is that from the bottom of my being I am certain “something” touched me in a way I have never known before and for a brief few days, that same “something” touched almost every person in my small community. (People still talk about it all the time.)
I guess the reason I am here is that I am still trying to figure it all out.
