I guess I did a good thing

My neighbor comes over about a week ago and asked me if I could make a roller for some kind of elevator (for hay, feed, or something) for a farmer friend of his as one of the rollers was missing. He had told me a few days earlier this friend was dying of cancer and hospice was involved. My neighbor had removed another roller from the elevator to use as a template and even had a piece of raw stock to make another out of. My neighbor doesn't ask favors so I knew this was important to him. It only took me a bit to do the job, and I delivered it to my neighbor the same day. The friend died on Monday. I went to the calling hours tonight to pay my respects (I had never met the deceased). I shook hands with the son-in-law of the deceased and he introduced me to the widow as the guy that had made the part for the elevator. The widow's eyes moistened up and she told me that she was so grateful as that elevator was on her husband's mind so much towards the end. Getting that elevator was important to him. When he was told it was fixed he was so relieved, she told me. Funny thing was I was told later that he didn't even need the elevator; I suppose he wanted to get all his stuff in order before he died.

Small things mean so much some time....

Reply to
Dave Young
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Well done, Sir. I had a visit from the proverbial Little Old Lady a dozen years ago or so, right before Christmas. She brought me a plate of cookies because I had responded as an EMT when her husband had his heart attack. She went & got the run report & made cookies for everyone who had helped them that night. Pretty cool.

Reply to
Dave Hinz

Yup. Little thing to you, big thing to someone else.

Good Karma points!

Cheers Trevor jones

Reply to
Trevor Jones

Good story Dave. I'm sure you get a lot of unexpressed gratitude what with the anxiety that accompanies a lot of what you do as EMT. Let's hope you keep on having lots of little old ladies and cookies.

Resp,

Well done, Sir. I had a visit from the proverbial Little Old Lady a dozen years ago or so, right before Christmas. She brought me a plate of cookies because I had responded as an EMT when her husband had his heart attack. She went & got the run report & made cookies for everyone who had helped them that night. Pretty cool.

Reply to
Robert Swinney

That you did, Dave. Thanks for sharing.

Small things mean so much some time....

Reply to
Robert Swinney

the anxiety that

of little old ladies

Thanks, but after a dozen years, I'm burned out. Time for the young ambitious ones to take my place. I've become an old fart whose experience and advice is no longer valued, so, let the young ones make the same mistakes I did when I was young and ambitious.

Wasn't doing it for kudos though. But thank you. Seriously, it was a combination of altruistic motivation and adrenaline junkie. Once the adrenaline factor wore out and I realized that 90% of people who need an ambulance need one because they've done something astonishingly stupid, my motivation kind of melted away. A decade of that is long enough, a dozen years, for me, more than enough. My BS thresshold just isn't high enough to put up with the politics.

Sorry to unload on ya...

Dave

Reply to
Dave Hinz

No guessing. You did a good thing.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

Good on ya Dave. I want to be just like you when I grow up.

--Winston

Reply to
Winston

I guess you did.

I think we should, when we can. You're setting a good example, leading from in front. Good on ya!

Reply to
Don Foreman

Little chance of THAT! ...growing up, I mean.

Reply to
Tom Gardner

Cool! On jobs like that it seems there is less of a chance for things to go wrong.

Reply to
Tom Gardner

But Dave when you came to the aide of someone that was just a victim of anothers irresponsible actions you were truely doing good works.

Wes

Reply to
Wes

(Snort)

--Winston

Reply to
Winston

So you're ignoring how smoothly I glided from adolescence into senility?

--Winston

Reply to
Winston

I want to be just like him IF I grow up.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

SteveB wrote: (...)

Steve, that made into my 'newsgroup wisdom' file. Thanks!

--Winston

Reply to
Winston

Reply to
SteveB

Amazing, all the simple things that mean so much. You did good.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I can well imagine. One friend of mine is typical. I wonder some times why I associate wtih him. I keep hoping for better. He's second or third generation welfare, been smoking since his early days. Now, at 48 he's had a heart attack. He's been living on welfare for all his life. Only worked a couple part time jobs, and those unreported. He got a taxpayer paid ride to the hospital, several days of taxpayer paid medical care, and sent home with an assortment of taxpayer paid medicines. He resolved to take better care of his health, so he takes his pills, gave up salt (though he does put a bunch of salt on his food when I'm around) and continues to smoke a couple packs a day. I wonder how much more of my money the government will spend on keeping him alive?

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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