As life in rural, bucolic texas countryside goes it is rather seldom one sees ones neighbors, however should something arise that one needs help with the neighbors are always happy to help.
such was the case yesterday. the previous day, my housemate awakened to a flat tire on his truck. he was not able to locate all the necessary pieces of the jack to raise it up to take the flat tire off and put on the spare. he couldn't even locate the jack crank to lower the spare tire from under the back of the truck. and so i ran him to work and home no problem.
he tried again the following morning in 38 degree cold and wind. he was having even less success than the day before. i had had enough of the vain efforts and drove the few hundred yards around the corner to the neighbors. all i knew is that they owned some sort of truck repair and fabrication outfit. i figured surely they could help with a jack and some tools.
this was before eight o'clock in the morning so no one was in their office building. i then went to the main house. i knocked on the door and heard a woman yell "Come 'n". okay i thought. she will arrive at the door shortly and waited. then she yelled even louder the same thing "COME 'N!".
well shit. most of the time i need a translator to understand this southern texas drawl and i didn't know if she was yelling "Comin'" as in she would be to the door or if she was yelling "come IN". not knowing what she was saying i didn't want to barge into a stranger's home uninvited.
the woman who answered the door was a woman in her 70s, with short white hair and glasses and took my arm and pulled me into the house. then she looked at me and said "Who are you and what'd ya want?". i was a bit taken aback by the unceremonious greeting. i introduced myself and pleasantly explained that i was her neighbor and my housemate had a flat truck tire and did not have the tools to remedy the situation.
she yelled out "Willie! come meet our neighbor!" and shortly 70-something willie emerged walking very slowly, a rail thin old man that had spent his life working sun up to sun down fixing other people's trucks and cars. the man was unplussed about this stranger in his home requiring assistance.
i followed him out to his shop where we encountered his grandson, young will. together they gathered up assorted jacks and tools and willie dispatched young will around the corner to help out.
young will happily located the correct tools and asked my housemate why he didn't get out the jack crank. housemate explained that there wasn't one. young will said - are you sure? look under the hood. and lo and behold - there was the jack crank that not only raised the jack, but also lowered the spare tire from under the truck and within 10 minutes the truck had been jacked up, flat tire taken off, spare tire put on and it was that simple.
in this brief period of time i learned that young will was 40, divorced from a woman 10 years his senior, had a heart attack 9 months prior where they discovered through blood work that he had testicular cancer and had his left ball removed. early in the fall he moved back to his grandparents ranch to recover and also to look after them and help them manage the place.
my housemate has some social phobia and simply will not seek out help or initiate contact with strangers for anything. he was amazed that i would simply show up at some strangers house and ask for help and end up making some new friends in the neighborhood. willie and young will were more than happy to help and didn't ask for a cent of payment in return. they were simply happy to help a neighbor in need. so after work i returned to the ranch and dropped off a case of beer and a pack of marlboros for young will. you would have thought i gave the guy a winning lottery ticket he was so pleased with his windfall. lol.
so this is how to came to meet the neighbors one cold, autumn morning.
such was the case yesterday. the previous day, my housemate awakened to a flat tire on his truck. he was not able to locate all the necessary pieces of the jack to raise it up to take the flat tire off and put on the spare. he couldn't even locate the jack crank to lower the spare tire from under the back of the truck. and so i ran him to work and home no problem.
he tried again the following morning in 38 degree cold and wind. he was having even less success than the day before. i had had enough of the vain efforts and drove the few hundred yards around the corner to the neighbors. all i knew is that they owned some sort of truck repair and fabrication outfit. i figured surely they could help with a jack and some tools.
this was before eight o'clock in the morning so no one was in their office building. i then went to the main house. i knocked on the door and heard a woman yell "Come 'n". okay i thought. she will arrive at the door shortly and waited. then she yelled even louder the same thing "COME 'N!".
well shit. most of the time i need a translator to understand this southern texas drawl and i didn't know if she was yelling "Comin'" as in she would be to the door or if she was yelling "come IN". not knowing what she was saying i didn't want to barge into a stranger's home uninvited.
the woman who answered the door was a woman in her 70s, with short white hair and glasses and took my arm and pulled me into the house. then she looked at me and said "Who are you and what'd ya want?". i was a bit taken aback by the unceremonious greeting. i introduced myself and pleasantly explained that i was her neighbor and my housemate had a flat truck tire and did not have the tools to remedy the situation.
she yelled out "Willie! come meet our neighbor!" and shortly 70-something willie emerged walking very slowly, a rail thin old man that had spent his life working sun up to sun down fixing other people's trucks and cars. the man was unplussed about this stranger in his home requiring assistance.
i followed him out to his shop where we encountered his grandson, young will. together they gathered up assorted jacks and tools and willie dispatched young will around the corner to help out.
young will happily located the correct tools and asked my housemate why he didn't get out the jack crank. housemate explained that there wasn't one. young will said - are you sure? look under the hood. and lo and behold - there was the jack crank that not only raised the jack, but also lowered the spare tire from under the truck and within 10 minutes the truck had been jacked up, flat tire taken off, spare tire put on and it was that simple.
in this brief period of time i learned that young will was 40, divorced from a woman 10 years his senior, had a heart attack 9 months prior where they discovered through blood work that he had testicular cancer and had his left ball removed. early in the fall he moved back to his grandparents ranch to recover and also to look after them and help them manage the place.
my housemate has some social phobia and simply will not seek out help or initiate contact with strangers for anything. he was amazed that i would simply show up at some strangers house and ask for help and end up making some new friends in the neighborhood. willie and young will were more than happy to help and didn't ask for a cent of payment in return. they were simply happy to help a neighbor in need. so after work i returned to the ranch and dropped off a case of beer and a pack of marlboros for young will. you would have thought i gave the guy a winning lottery ticket he was so pleased with his windfall. lol.
so this is how to came to meet the neighbors one cold, autumn morning.
