A DIFFERENT KIND OF GIFT

ACTUALLY, THE BEST KIND OF GIFT...
AS YOU can see, I have been posting with pictures of things I call “Gifts” – little surprises, butterflies, flowers, little moments that have stopped me in my tracks and made me smile and wonder at the beauty of it all. Well, on Wednesday, I got another gift, and it was a gift of the best kind. A gift that hugs! On my companion blog, http://onley-spots.blogspot.com/ , you can see the entire story. I won’t bore you with the whole thing here. What I will tell you is I got a phone call from our “Station Master” – otherwise known as the President of our tiny corporation “Society for the Preservation of the Onley Train Station” telling me that our local electric co-op was arriving to put in a new pole and hook us up for electricity. We had a volunteer, Tom Gonzalez do the prep work, install the big breaker box and meter box and outside connection wiring. Tom does the wiring for Habitat for Humanity around here… (Isn’t it great that there are so many wonderful people out there? We just have not met them all yet!) Anyway, I digress as usual. So I grabbed my camera, hopped in the van, and drove the half mile to the old train station. The guys were getting their trucks in position, and one guy was already in the bucket ready to go up to prepare the wires on the building for connection. I got off a few shots from the ground, then climbed the steps which another volunteer had fixed and attached to the building (Thanks Pat Morrison, Station Master) and prepared to get a closer shot of the guy clipping the wires. First shot taken, he looked down at me and called me by name! “Hey, how are you?” he asked. So we spoke a few more words to each other as my brain furiously worked to recognize any of the face – and there was not much of that I could see as it was in shadow, he was wearing sunglasses, a hard hat, and I had a feeling that I taught him YEARS ago… I strained to see the name on his jacket, but I could not see it for the bucket and his gear. He reminded me that I had taught him his freshman year in high school and he mentioned another student… my mind went racing back – what was that, 20 years ago? 25? I have lost track of who and when as well as names. I guess that happens if you teach long enough. So when I thought he was not looking, I quietly asked his boss what his name was. Virgil! It was Virgil! I taught only one kid named Virgil, and I will never forget him, but that was a few years ago. Sadly I do not remember any of his art work, but I do remember his personality. Here on the shore, Virgil was what people call “a mess.” Now if you are from away, just hang on tight. Being called “a mess,” especially when accompanied with a smile and a loving tone of voice is a compliment. It denotes someone who has a great sense of humor, is guaranteed to make you smile just by walking in the room, is probably trustworthy, and a lot of fun. He is the kind of kid that is just plain lovable without even trying to be. It is funny how kids expect you to remember them even after 30 years, they’ve grown a beard, lost their hair, gained 100 lbs, have grandchildren… not that that describes Virgil – just sayin’… they expect you to remember them even if they were only in the 2nd grade when you had them. I have no idea if Virgil has any hair or not – he was wearing a hardhat. He does have a beard – and it was a very bright sunny day, I think I was the only one who did not have sunglasses on. I have never gotten the hang of taking a picture thru sunglasses… anyway, Virgil got us all connected. Well, not by himself, of course, he had a delightful crew working with him. Truly, they were a nice bunch of guys. And today, we have electricity! But the best part of all, when he finally had his feet on the ground, I got the BEST hug I have had in a long while. In fact, I got several hugs. Maybe he was as happy to see me as I was to see him!