Growing Up!

There are two significant people in my life who are elderly and frail, two who I am afraid well not be in my life much longer. One of these people is my next-door neighbor. I have written about him in the past, a World War II Navy veteran who has lived a quiet life independent and unassuming. I have been his neighbor for over 20 years and I believe we have bonded in a weird kind of way that neighbors do. He has picked me up off the street and I have visited him in the hospital after he was struck by a car and died twice being resuscitated twice. This last event happening earlier this summer or spring. He went to rehabilitation and is now home. He will be 90 in a couple months and he is getting around okay. He no longer drives his big blue truck but continues to work his garden, mow his yard and wonder why people do what they do. I think he's basically shy he suffers me when I go to visit him. We talked for hours, he seems interested, but I think many times there are other things he would rather be doing than sitting in the sun talking to me.

I think I am guilty overusing our friendship. My neighbor is too kind to refuse me help when I need it such was the case this last week. It took me a while to find my broad belt sander. But thanks to Dianne, I did find the sander and drug it out to my little workstation outside by garage. A year or so ago, last time I used this belt sander I broke the belt and had yet to replace that belt. If I were able-bodied changing Sanding belt take five minutes maybe an hour if you counted having to go to Lowe's to purchase a new belt but it be a straightforward task. For me however that five minutes could be two or three weeks. In this case at least a week. I actually did have the four-inch wide 36 inch belt on my work table. I didn't remember how to switch the belt out are put the belt on the drums. It took me at least two days of hard-core Internet searching before I found the owners manual which didn't really help a lot except point me in the right direction. I finally did find the bolt, hex bolt, but needed to be loosened so I would be able to slide the belt on to the rollers are drums. Having done this I found to Sanding belt would not stay on the drums. Every time I tested the sender by turning it on quickly enough the Sanding belt would “walk off” the driver drums. Exasperation I went over to my neighbors and while visiting with him yesterday in the shade of his garage I mentioned I was having this problem and eventually he got around to volunteering his help and seeing what could be done. I was really concerned he would not even be able to walk over to my house but he did and the afternoon sun outside by garage we tweaked and pushed and one way or at another got the belt sander running. I figured he could do it, could figure it out, I don't know how I knew he could. He has a knack for tools but he says he did not do anything and it was I who figured out the issue. I cannot accept that as I struggled with that sander for a day and a half before getting my neighbor. Even it was just his presence, his tool karma, that solved the problem he made the difference. We wandered back to his house and visited a longer. I took my leave and headed back to the garage. He hobbled off to his little workshop at the end of his garage.

I don't know what I'm going to do when these two older folks leave and they are going to leave. I think it'll be just the next step in my life. I think it's growing me up.