I Finally Turned Around
I did it last week.
I walked up to the man I had waved at for the last 5 years (at least) and said “hi, I’m Marty”. It took me a while, but I finally did it. For years I had been driving by his house and like a good neighbor from about 5 houses down I would beep and wave and he would always beep and wave back with a big smile on his face. So one time a few weeks ago I drove by and waved and he waved back, and this time, after I’d driven by, I decided to turn around and pull into his driveway and say hello. I did that, but when I pulled in, he was nowhere to be found.
So last week I had a second opportunity. I had driven to get lunch, and was on my way back to the office, when I saw him again. the man knows how to take care of his lawn. It is always immaculate and perfect. Like he’s a barber of his lawn or something. So I drove by and waved, and then thought about turning around again. “But my lunch will get cold” I tell myself. “Who cares? It’s just food”, my other shoulder quipped. I hit the brakes and turned around.
He was there and we talked. For the first time in over 5 years of waving and 10 years of “relative” neighboring I stopped, got out of my car, and said hi to the man.
His name is Bob and he’s been retired for 25 years, living here in Massachusetts. He used to work in masonry and brick laying, loves his wife, has grown kids, and smiles at me because he thinks I look like his son. We talked for about 20 minutes, then his wife called him in, and I drove back to the office, smiling that I met a new friend that day.
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Isn’t that amazing? How we get stuck in our own little world? “I’m too busy” “It’s too cold” “I have enough friends”…
But that person you stop and introduce yourself to may need to know you or You may need to know them.
It’s all about relationships – let’s not be complacent with the ones we have.
Good Job Marty!
That’s a nice story…
Does he live in the house with the circular driveway on the other side of the street heading toward Worcester? Because I used to play softball with that mans son and you do look like him.
Marty, love this post. This is exactly what life should be all about. We’re all in the thing called life together, and it would be a shame to miss any opportunity to make a new acqauintance, establish a new friendship, or at least make someone’s day a little better. I hope this experience spurs you to do this more often!
Its such an American thing to be in our bubbles. We’re all guilty of it. You know, when you walk by someone on the street and say “what’s up?” and they keep walking by and say “what’s up?” What? That doesn’t make any sense haha. If you did that in other countries, people would be very offended.
Pleasantries are a way of life around here, but as Christians we should learn to take advantage of this phenomenon and use it as a bridge to actually talk to people on a deeper level. How different would the Church be if we paid attention to the small things like this?
Thanks for posting this Marty. I think its a good story to get everyone thinking.