I get asked all the time where I have gotten my inspiration from over the years. My parents taught me at a very young age, and my father drilled it into me like a true army drill Sergeant, that you respect your elders and learn from them. They also taught me to respect Jesus Christ our Lord & Savior. Right after I graduated college, I taught school at Baltic. I lived in a duplex and across the street from us were condos. I kept noticing this one older lady, and I never, ever saw anyone with her. One wintry day, she was having trouble with groceries, so I ran across the street to help her. I carried her groceries inside, and she asked me if I wanted a cup of hot chocolate. I was supposed to meet some friends at a local pub, but I told her I would stay. I noticed several pics of a couple families with children, and she had many religious pictures and quotes from the Bible hanging up everywhere. I ended up staying three hours and never made it to meet my friends. Her husband had passed away and her two children both lived on the West Coast with their families. She went out there once a year, and they came here once a year. She told me story after story about her kids and grandchildren and her husband and his experience in WW II, which I could relate to because of my own father. I ended up going over there several more times over the course of the next year. She passed away almost a year to the day I had first gone over to help her. I learned so much from Martha, and she really did become an inspiration for me. At her funeral, both her kids came up together and asked if I was the neighbor Tom. When I replied yes, they both hugged me at the same time and told me how much their mother had talked about me. I told them how fond I had grown of her also. Martha, you helped mold me as much as my own parents did, and at a time where I needed you as much as you needed me.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 12:41:44 +0000
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