Tuesday, October 6, 2009

An Interesting Encounter...

I don't usually just post to say I'm doing something..because if I'm gonna say something I want to have pics to prove what I'm doing was fun but last night's late night visitor deserves a post on here. It is 10:15 pm and Chris and I had just finished sharpening 12 pencils...with a knife...oh yeah because the Dollar Tree didn't have pencil sharpeners....oh yes we're THAT cheap these days :) Anyway, so the doorbell rings and with a very disapproving look we both turn to the door wondering who on earth could be here at this hour...so I open the door,with Chris directly behind me with a machete..you just never know this late, right?? (Just kidding) and there sounds about a 20 year old guy with no hands (from elbow down) and one prosthetic leg (the other leg was intact and normal) and the first thing he says is "Please don't be scared, and was this a bad time??" Well if you must know, yes 10 o'clock at night is NEVER a good time to start soliciting (no matter the cause) but just for the record I never said that...we said that it was fine and listened to his story about how he and about 40 other "disabled" persons were traveling with a company named "Editor and Chief in Review Inc." and what they were trying to accomplish was getting prosthetic arms for themselves if they could raise enough "points." How do they get these points, you might ask?? Well the age ol' magazine subscription, that's how. Anyway, so we continue to listen while perusing the magazines offered and then he asked if we had any questions...so we ask how much a few of them are and here's where the incredible part started...he retrieved a huge booklet from his back pocket, (reminder:no hands just elbow up) bent down on my concrete porch stairs (which is when I noticed the missing leg) and began to look through his book to find the prices we had asked, and while looking for that asked up if he could send us a survey in the mail from his company asking how he was with us..respectful,rude, etc. We said sure and then he began to WRITE our names,address,etc. (Forgot to mention before that on one arm he had a very malformed little finger, and that he used that and his chin to write all these things) but the amazing thing to me was that his handwriting was SO much better than mine!! Anyway, we invited him in to at least use our table to press on to finish what he was writing...We decided to help him out as much as we could, maybe partly out of pity and partly because they actually had a magazine that I love...so then he continues writing even more things about our order and before he left I just had to ask (big mouth me!!) if this was an accident later in his life or what and he told me he was born like this and that he was 19....probably sensing my disbelief, as I certainly haven't been around that many seriously disabled people, I probably didn't hide my expression very well, he said: "You just gotta keep on keeping on, don't let anything keep you down." Now the point of this whole NOVEL I've written here that probably everybody other than my mom dropped out half a page ago is that we have SO very much to be grateful for and yet SO many of us take for granted our bodies (no matter what shape they come in) and many other things for that matter...so my and your thought for today is to try and have a better attitude on life. We have so many things to be ABLE to take for granted and I sure have a loving Father in Heaven to think for that!! End of Novel!! ;)

4 comments:

Dianna said...

What a great story. I can not believe that man could write. Really, 10 at night? What was he thinking. It is so easy to forget the many blessing we have and then we see something like that and get the over whelming feeling of gratefulness. Ya'll are such softies :) I act tough but when it comes down to it I cave.

Clarissa Grover said...

Ruth... that is the craziest, but sweetest story. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad nothing terrifying happened. I don't think I would answered the door that late. What a blessing you did.

Mom Erwin said...

I am glad you were all safe too. Just make sure the check you gave him (if that is what you did) was not altered - we have heard of that happening sometimes. I agree with you that we are very blessed and we don't want to be suspicious of people but we do have to protect ourselves also. We send our love.

Krazy Fam said...

Ruth, where is your email address??? I have been trying to find how to reply to you personally.

I haven't heard from you in months and didn't have your blog address when we changed our computer out. Never say that you aren't "anybody!!!" That is so wrong!

The pumpkin place is the Cox Farms Market on 123 in Vienna. They have a website. It is just the market, not the big Halloween festival place. It is a really nice market....good fruits and veggies too. :)