Six years ago a man asked us for a small cash loan on a silver dollar. I gave him $20.
"I'll be back in a week to pay you back." Steve was homeless and I didn't expect to see him again.
A week later he returned to our store with a $20 bill. We chatted. After graduating from university he lost the love of his life. He started drinking. He has been an alcoholic for 40 years and lost everything - including his family.
A couple of weeks later, he returned with the same request and this continued for about a year. Each time he came into the store we chatted. He is an avid reader. Each week he borrowed three books from the library and became an encyclopedia of facts - a 'walking Google.'
When we moved from our home he helped me pack everything and on moving day was an incredible help. A year later we moved into our new store and he was the chief helper again.
Our new store's back entrance is in a parking lot. He got himself a chair and parked it there. For the past three years, he sits in that chair and reads. He has become our Chief Security Officer.
When Covid hit, our local food kitchen for the homeless closed. I brought him meals every day and often he came to our house for dinner (but hubby made sure he had a shower first)!
Steve has been in rehab numerous times, has attended AA meetings for years, but nothing seemed to make a difference. I spent hours encouraging him but trying not to make him feel guilty.
A few months before his 60th birthday he announced that he has had enough and was quitting for good. To celebrate, we invited him to dinner on his birthday - filet mignon, prawns, all the trimmings, and two types of pies. He had FOUR pieces of pie.
He is now six months sober and has ZERO desire to drink. He feels he owes us a great debt but we have assured him that seeing him sober is an incredible gift to us.
When hubby and I were in the city last week we visited our goldsmith. He asked us to wait a few minutes while he ran to China Town. He returned with a large, heavy plastic bag and told us not to open it until we got to the car. I put the bag on my lap, untied it, was going to put my hand into it when a LIVE jumbo prawn jumped out.
I screamed. Then laughed. Immediately we called my chef friend and told her we were on the way home with three pounds of live prawns. We dropped the prawns off to her, unloaded our car from the day's grocery shop, and 20 minutes later she arrived with all the prawns prepared including an incredible stir fry! What an amazing feast.
Next week I am headed out of town to see my grands for a FULL week. I can't wait to see them in person.
Brie wears her attitude on her sleeve!
Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 4 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.
Buzz around, see what you think, then click on these links for a peek into some other homes:
Baking In A Tornado https://www.BakingInATornado.
Never Ever Give Up Hope https://batteredhope.blogspot.
Menopausal Mother http://www.menopausalmom.com/
Wandering Web Designer https://wanderingwebdesigner.