It's been awhile...



  

This video is a must see! WARNING get a box of Kleenex, you'll need them.

   Been sorta out of it with finding out a best friend lost his life in Iraq about 3 weeks ago. Funny how a Blog can suddenly take a back seat to life. This young man was a dear friend of our family. I remember a day when he was about 8 and came knocking on my front door, "Sir, I am trying to find work cause my momma just lost her job and I gotta take care of her." I ask him "Son what kind of work can you do?" He looked at me with a mist in his eyes and said "Anything I have too. Cause I am the man of our home and my Momma needs me to take care of her." At this time I really didn't know the family very well. So I told him "If you come back tomorrow I'll see what I can find for you to do." That young man was on my door step at 8 am sharp. I gave him a rake and told him my back yard needed the leaves raked up. He never once ask how much was I going to pay, I guess his need for work was weighing heavily on his mind. The wife made him breakfast after about 20 minutes into his job, He was a very polite young man, and quickly ate and asked if he could get back to raking leaves. He had that back yard raked up and was putting the leaves in a garbage can in about an hour and a half. When he was done he came and asked if there was anything else he could do? I said not today.

   "So son, what do you figure your time was worth on this job?" He thought a minute and sort of unsure said "Would $5.00 be too much to ask?" I asked if he felt that 1 and 1/2 hours work for $5.00 would be a fair man wage? He seemed to be unsure of what I was asking. So I told him that if I paid him $5.00 for the job it would only work out to be $3.33 and hour. I asked him "Don't you think I should pay a man a fair days wage for a fair days work?" He thought a minute and said that it seemed fair I should. So I told him that if he was willing I needed a young man that could do a few things around my house on occasions, and would he be willing to take on that job? I told him I would pay $8.00 an hour on the condition that I spoke with his mother and felt that she had no problems with him working for me.

   He said he would ask her that evening. Next morning at 8 AM sharp both he and his mother were at our door. I welcomed them both in and we shared a cup of coffee (he had a glass of milk, I wasn't about to start corrupting the boy this early in our relationship), LOL. That came much later. I asked him if he was willing to start working today? He had a huge smile and said "Yes Sir! Just tell me what you want done?" Said "My truck could use a wash." Go out and get the hose ready." This gave his Mother and I a chance to chat. I made sure she understood that he came to me looking for a job at 8 years old. She seems a bit embarrassed, I told her don't be he is doing a what a young man is supposed to do. I promised her I would not allow him to get hurt, dirty yes, injured or hurt no. Seems the father had cut out early in his life and he was all his mother had. Her and my wife took a strong liking to each other and that was that.

   Over the many years Tom "worked" for me, we had some very long talks about life, most of them over a fishing pole and a can of worms on a lake side. I tried to give him direction and love, he was like a grandson to me. And his mother was like the daughter I never had. We had them down to our house on a weekly basis for a nice meal on Saturdays or Sundays. Lots of good talk. I still remember the day Tom came over and told me he was going to have to stop "working" for me. I said "can you tell me why your going to quit on me?" We both kinda smiled and laughed about "Well Pops, your not the best wage payer I have worked for." And then he said "And I think I have decided I am going to join the Army, they will train me, give me money to go to school on. Moms got a really good job thanks to your wife and you were pulling a few strings. That was 3 years ago,  I received a phone call on the 2nd of August that Tom had been killed while on patrol in some area of Iraq. His Mother requested that I please say a few words about Tom and mines relationship at his wake and eulogy. I also met two of Toms buddies who were pawl bearers at his funeral.

The tears still flow freely... I am sorry but I shall end this now maybe later I can see a little clearer.

God bless our service men and women.

If you know one or meet one, Why don't you shake there hands and say "THANK YOU, for your service to our country!"