Happy Thanksgiving! I wanted to share a story about a man named Charles in Port Charlotte that I met Wednesday afternoon. I pull up to his home at 2pm and at first glance you could tell that it hasnt been kept in the best of shape. The grass is dying, the paint on the walls were peeling, roof shingles dangling, literally a mess. I get out of my car, walk up to ring the doorbell and after a what seems like an eternity, the garage door opens to my left. I proceed towards the door and announce myself. Im greeted by an elderly gentleman that I suspected was in his 80s. He didnt say anything at first, no smile, he just looked me up and down. I introduce myself and ask if it is a convenenient time still. He eventually smiles and says sure, come in. (You see, I was slightly miffed about my day up until this point. My morning appointment was a no show, I had delays in multiple errands that had me running around everywhere. I was able to get a haircut and a couple of other things done, so basically I was already spent from the stress of the day. I wanted to cut short this interview and just go home to get ready for tonight. I had a great dinner planned with someone, but that fell through. Eh, not worth talking about.) I enter Charless home and Im immediately greeted by a young female pitbull by the name of Gertie Mae. Light brown, beautiful and she had blue eyes. I had her wagging her tail the whole time. I love the bigger dogs and she made me really miss having one. Once I sat down in the kitchen and had a chance to get a good look around the home, I couldnt help but notice that the place lacked a womans touch. It smelled as bad as it looked. Cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling, dirty carpet, the smell of dog permeating everywhere. I didnt show any reaction to the surroundings. I continued smiling and started my presentation. Charles is 89, widowed, a career Navy Man of 24 years and additonal 20 years in the civilian sector for the maintanence of our Submarines. He has one daughter and 2 grandchildren that happen to live close by. Charles complained about his replacement knee, hip discomfort, lower back pain and not to mention that his mattress is about 30 years old, geez lol As Im scanning his home, I notice pictures of various dogs, family and a collection of miniature trinkets. It turns out that Charles is a dog lover, Im talking the guy that grew up with dogs, raised dogs, adopted dogs and at one point had as many as 12 and Im talking about big dogs, not those little waste of air mini shits (can you tell Im not a fan of small dogs) that bark for no reason. Charles tells me that 8 of his previous dogs are buried in a Punta Gorda pet cemetery, but the cost had been too great and so he had his last 5 dogs cremated and he keeps them in his home, hence the bags with pictures. Now, its obvious that Charles has a soft spot for dogs and Im the same way, I love dogs more than any other animal. The whole time that were talking, Gertie is near me as Im petting her and she is behaving nicely. (I lose track of time and Im no longer in a rush to leave. I feel that Im here to learn something from Charles, that maybe hes going to help me and boy did he!) I ask Charles about his family, he tells me about his daughter and how close they are. She is his only child (not true I find out later) and he has left everything in her name. He shows me pictures of her when she was in her early 20s, her wedding pictures and a couple pictures of his grandchildren. What he was about to tell me next broke me down to tears. (One thing I want to mention about Charles is that he is a twin, the first by 15 minutes. He tells me that his brother has since passed, but after birth, he was always the sickly one. Charles was the physically gifted athlete, while his twin was more into studying and reading. His brother never got involved into any sporting activities. Long story short, his twin brother would wind up becoming a Priest. For a Catholic family, that is a huge honor and Charles said his parents would always make the comment why cant you be more like your brother. Charles said that bothered him, so he joined the Seminary to do the same, but after 6 months he left, he said he couldnt give up the women lol) Charles joined the Navy and while he was on the East Coast waiting to get deployed. He and a bunch of his friends go out drinking and in between enter a diner to get a bite to eat. There he says was the first time he saw his eventual wife Carol. He said it was love at first sight and he told his friends right there and then Im going to marry that girl. When Carol came to take their orders, Charles asked can I take you to the movies tonight, Carol says I dont date drunken sailors. Charles smiled and says If I sober up, will you go with me?. Carol smiles and says sure, but I doubt youd be sober in a few hours when I get off Charles stopped drinking, went to other diners and drank alot of coffee and water and before Carol got off of work, he shows up and says Im not drunk, Im sober. Will you go with me to the movies? Carol just smiled and they had their first date. Charles says they hit it off and were making out in the theater, walked her home and they just sat on the steps and made out some more (he couldnt go upstairs because she had roommates that wouldnt appreciate him coming up that late). Charles asked if he could see her the next day, Carol says sure. The next day, Charles shows up and he asks Carol to marry him!!! Carol says YESSSSSS I couldnt believe it, here I am standing with a Man tell me the story that weve only heard stories about. Here I was with a Man that is from the greatest generation our Nation has produced. Carol says that they will have to of course date some more to get to know each other better and Charles of course agrees. Charles has orders to deploy to fight in the Pacific, so he does everything he can to get the paperwork in order so that they can be married before he leaves. Charles and Carol were married for 49 years before her early death from cancer. She bore 2 sons, one that died at a young age and the other that Charles has since disowned. Why? you might ask. Well, Ill get to that. I ask about his daughter, because now its not making sense based on the age. (This is the part that I couldnt hold back the overwhelming emotions of this mans actions.) Charles tells me that after his wife had died, he was lonely. He couldnt see himself marry another woman and his dogs were only so much comfort. He had accumulated all this wealth and he had no one to share it with (after disowning his son, he says they have not talked in over 15 years) and he wanted to do something for someone. One day he was reading the newspaper and there was a story about a young lady with 2 children that was diabetic and she was saying that she didnt have the resources to buy the necessary medical items to treat her condition and take care of her children. She needed help. After Charles reads this, he decides that he wants to help. He contacts this young lady and asks how they would meet to discuss the help he would offer. They mutually meet at her doctors office. Charles says he had an envelope with $300 in cash ready for her. They meet and exchange information and Charles tells her I hope this helps you and if you need more, let me know. The young lady is very grateful, hugs him, thanks him and they part ways. This happened on a Friday. The following Monday, Charles receives a phone call and its the young lady calling to say sir, I just want to thank you for your help. Your generosity helped me not only to get the medical items for my diabetes, but also to put food on my table for me and my children. I just want to let you know that I literally had only pennies and to be honest I didnt know what to do next and like an answered prayer, you showed up and I just wanted to thank you Over the course of time, Charles continued to help this young lady. Much so, that he made it official and adopted her legally as his own daughter. Wow!!! As Charles is telling me this story, my eyes start welling up. Im so touched by his generosity, his heart, just the Man that he is. To sit here and hear about his life, to feel his warmth. I was just overwhelmed. I just broke down and let the tears flow and I say Sir, you are truly one of a kind. I also love to help, but what you did was just so wow was all I could say. I was speechless for a minute or two. At this moment, the bed was the furthest thing from my mind. I wasnt here to sell a bed, I was here to learn something, to remind me again what my purpose in life is. Charles was showing me the Man that I aspire to become. Charles did make a purchase, he said why not. This guy is awesome :-) The past few weeks have been amazing for me in not only my job, but also in my personal life. Ive been so happy, but the past couple of days made me doubt myself in an area that I thought I had conquered. I let others affect my happiness again and Im upset that I let that happen. Tonight has reminded me on where to focus my time and efforts. I want to give thanks to God for not only giving me life, but for also giving me a purpose in life. I want to give thanks to my parents for instilling in me the traditional values that I adhere to and use as a guide to be a Man and a Gentleman. My mother remains my moral teacher and best friend. I want to give thanks to my friends that not only give me their time and ears, but also accept me for who I am. I want to give thanks to one person more than any other, but that would be unfair to the rest. So, Ill just leave it at: Because of you, I have achieved another level of greatness. I continue to look up climbing plateau after plateau, evolving, changing into someone that Id love to have as a friend, becoming a better version of my past self. Your friendship has inspired me to be more, to become more, to want more and achieve more. I will return the favor ten fold and Im happy to have you along for the ride so you can watch me soar! I wont partake in any of the Black Friday events. Getting a deal on a flat screen TV and fighting the crowds to get one just doesnt seem to represent what the spirit of Thanksgiving is. Ill continue giving even as nothing is expected in return. Happy Thanksgiving
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 05:41:49 +0000
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