Don is still completely self-sufficient, cooks, drives, lives in his own home, and takes care of all of his own needs quite well. His biggest problem is being steady on his feet. Even though Don owns a cane, he keeps it in the car, which doesn’t help him move about his house, and he’s taken some falls that luckily haven’t been serious.
His daughter and I have bugged him a bit on getting another cane, for the house, but he doesn’t feel inspired to get one. He had a difficult enough time admitting to himself that he wasn’t the man he was at 87, or even 90, and getting even one cane was yet another thing he’d have to surrender to growing very old.
My brother-in-law bought him a cell phone last year – it sits in the charger, not in Don’s pocket when he leaves the house, as it was primarily intended to be used. He more or less forgets about it, but a part of me thinks he purposefully ignores it – after all, why would he need it just to run to another doctor’s appointment, or to the store for some groceries? This despite living in northern Vermont, where ice and snow are the rule for about half the year.
Don has had a very blessed life – I know that, because he has told me, and he’s a man incapable of telling a lie about how much he’s loved all 92+ years he’s spent among those of us lucky enough to have known him. I know that the latter is true as well, because I attended a 90th birthday party for Don where 120+ people stopped by to wish him well – some folks from thousands of miles away, and some from merely hundreds of miles.
There are some of you that know Don, so I don’t have to say much more than I have, as you all know the why and how of the love we have for him. However, to those that don’t know the man, this story may tell you a little bit about the man, and why he is so loved.
A couple of weeks ago my wife’s brother, his wife, and his father-in-law (Deane) drove up from New York for a visit. The 86-year old Deane and Don have been great friends for something like 65 years. The fact that Deane’s daughter and Don’s son were married a little over a year ago has been one of those amazing stories for the families.
We all had a great weekend together, but after Deane and company departed back to New York, Don noticed that Deane had forgotten to pack his Schick razor!
From Don’s perspective, there was only one thing to do. Don put the razor in a small box and drove to the post office. It was December 13, easily one of the busiest days of the year. Don doesn’t have ‘handicap license plates’ because he feels that there are others that need those parking spots a lot more than he does. Because of that, he had to park some distance from the door, but managed to navigate his way through the snow and ice -- his cane in one hand, and the Schick razor in the other.
Don said there were only about 50 people on line when he got there, and he doesn’t think it took more than 40 minutes to mail off Deane’s razor.
I don’t know how much it cost Don to mail that razor to New York, and I can’t state with certainty how much that specific Schick razor cost. A quick Google of the ‘top of the line’ Schick Quattro Titanium (sounds like a hot sports car, doesn’t it?) shows a price range of $4 to $16. For argument’s sake, let’s say the razor cost $10, and it cost $5 to mail it.
My question is how many people would do something like this in 15-degree weather, through snow and ice, and wait on line for 40 minutes to mail a friend his razor?
How many young, able-bodied people would do this on April 13, or August 13, when there is no one on line at the post office?
A $10 razor -- what would you have done?
I was incredulous when I heard this story from him, and I know I embarrassed him when I said to him "God love you Don, you are an amazing guy."
I need to add that Don said he was pleased to note how friendly and nice all the postal workers are these days.
I wanted to ask, "Why wouldn’t they be friendly and nice, to a Prince among men?"
Merry Christmas!
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