Been there..

You don’t know me.  We crossed paths earlier today.  As I think back on our brief encounter, I suspect that I likely talked right over your attempt to introduce yourself and I am sorry for that.  I unintentionally do that sort of thing much more often now that I am deaf.  I voided a basic deaf-person rule by not focusing on your face and expressions as you spoke.  (Note to self…be more respectful of those that are nice enough to engage you in conversation.)

But back to our encounter. My daughter asked for an unusual gift for her birthday, a concrete dog statue to use as a decoration in her backyard.   I have been looking in various places around town and around North Texas as I travel for work but so far, no luck.  This morning I received an email advertising the final day of an estate sale.  On a whim, I pulled up the pictures from the estate sale and there in picture number three was the exact item that my daughter had requested.  I jumped in my truck headed toward the sale.

On the way there, I thought about the possibility that the statue would still be available, the fact that all estate sales have a sign saying that you must load all purchases yourself, and the assumption that this particular statue likely weighed 150-200 pounds.  What would I do if it was still available?

I decided to worry about the ‘how’ after I had determined the ‘if’ answer.  Upon arrival, I found a large number of people at the sale.  Most were scouring the home for bargains, some were measuring furniture for suitability, and some like me were on a mission.  My dog statue was marked sold.  Likely a good thing because my statue weight estimate was probably low.  While there, I stopped and looked at a chest of drawers about the time that a young couple informed a worker that they would like to purchase that item.  Oh well…

I smiled at the couple as they made their way through the home, the young lady pointing out bargains to the young man.  The phrase, been there, done that crossed my mind.  Several rooms later, I was finished and headed for the door.  The checkout line was long and made for a crowded exit.  As I waited to maneuver through the throng, I noticed the young couple carrying a small dining table toward the door.  The seas parted and they somehow negotiated the crowd and the narrow doorway with their purchase.

As I descended the stairs to head toward ,my truck, I noticed the couple unsuccessfully attempting to load the table into a hatchback.  He was considering options (his face may have indicated a chainsaw) and she looked disappointed.  I mentioned this earlier… been there, done that.  My question: “Do you live close?”  A brightening young lady replied, “Yes, it’s only about 10 minutes.”

“Ok,” I said, “you can load the table in the back of my truck and I will drive it there for you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” I replied, “I haven’t done anything nice for anyone yet today.  You can be the first.”  I helped the man load his purchase in my truck.  He asked for my number so he could text me the delivery address.  That being done, I indicated that I would take the address in case I got lost but would follow the hatchback to their home. 

I hopped in the truck and looked in the rearview mirror to watch for the red hatchback to lead the way.  A couple of minutes later, I realized that the couple was now attempting to load a chest of drawers into the hatchback.  One text later, we loaded the chest of drawers into the back of my truck also.  Soon I was following on the ten-minute drive toward their home. 

I smiled to myself.  I thought back to many times that I have been summoned to a location to strongarm a paralyzed bargain into a vehicle that was not designed to transport said bargain.  Oh, those days when you would do anything to please that certain young woman…

As I followed , I noticed that the license plate was from the Dayton area in Ohio.  My mind raced into assumption mode.  A young couple buying basic home furnishings, temporarily ignoring the size availability of the vehicle, while driving a car with out-of-state plates.  

Soon I was backing into the indicated driveway.  A man not quite my age, but old enough to have similar experiences with me emerged from the garage.  He helped us offload the furniture and retreated into the garage. 

The young lady eased up next to the young man and passed something into his hand.  He stepped forward and said, “Here you go, this is for your time and trouble.” He extended his hand which clearly held some type of cash.

“Oh, no,” I said, “we’ve covered that.  This was my opportunity to do something nice for someone today.”

“Well, we would like to be able to show our thanks.”

“OK,” I replied, “look me up on mysilentpew.com and read my stories.  That will be a great repayment for me.” 

So to that young couple, if you pulled up my website, then you now know that you aren’t by any means the first to find bargains that can not be easily transported, that you are not the first man to feel disappointment in attempting to please a certain young woman despite your best efforts, and you now know that our happenstance encounter made the day of a deaf guy that had a chance to help a nice young couple. 

Thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories because as I have mentioned…done that!  And one more thing…Welcome to Texas!

Thanks for listening!

Your friend,

KBM

Kevin Medlin
mysilentpew.com