The Heart of a Soldier

When most people drive past a person standing on the side of the road holding a sign they ignore them and keep driving. Maybe the driver feels pity for them. Maybe they scoff at them because they think the person is just looking for hand out. “They can work just like I do” is a comment often heard. Not everyone reacts the same way. There are exceptional people in the world that do exceptional things.
Rick was driving down the road after leaving his job at the National Guard Armory. He was thinking how uncomfortable his uniform was in this miserable heat. He had the air conditioner blasting as fast as it could. The weatherman had said it would be almost one hundred degrees with a miserable level of humidity. Was he ever right. It was mid afternoon when the sun is its hottest.
…Samantha woke from a restless sleep in the uncomfortable seat of the van. She felt hot and the wind didn’t relieve the smothering humidity. Joey, 7 years old, is restless in the back seat. “Mommie, I’m hungry.” Sam looks over at Matt, the driver, who has a worried look on his face. “Sam, I don’t think we’re going to make it much further. The tank is on E.”
Matt takes the next exit off the interstate and makes it to a church parking lot. He begins to contemplate the chain of events that led him to this point. As the heat beats down on him and his wife and child wait expectantly for him to solve the problem he remembers…
The job sounded promising. His boss had told him that they needed laborers for a construction site that his company was setting up in Tennessee. They were building offices near a mall. Matt knew that the job he was on now was coming to a close so he thought it would be a good idea to leave Florida for a while and try something new. Maybe see those mountains he’d always heard about. It would be good to be in a new place with Sam and Joey and to have a fresh start.
They’d started out with money to drive up and stay in a cheap motel long enough to get a couple of paychecks and start renting somewhere. But that all ran out when the van’s carburetor went out somewhere near Atlanta. Matt had to pay a mechanic to do all the work. He didn’t have any of the right tools with him. He couldn’t believe how stupid he’d been to forget them.
Matt had driven to the job site and found out that construction had been delayed for a month due to some zoning issues. His options were limited. He knew he’d have to rely on the kindness of strangers. So here they were. Out of gas and praying for a way to get home. Matt knew that he wasn’t going to leave Sam and Joey alone in an unfamiliar place. They started walking.
The nearest intersection was a short distance away. It seemed like miles because of the pressing heat. Matt had made a sign with an ink pen he’d found in the van and a discarded piece of cardboard. His sign said, “Need Gas.” They’d been standing there for three and a half hours, sweating and miserable. All they had to show for their first experience at begging had been that a little lady had stretched a single dollar out to them from inside of her air conditioned Cadillac. The possibility of sleeping in the van with no food was looking like it might become reality. Matt said a prayer asking God to send help.
Sam wished more than anything that she was back in Florida. The little two-room apartment they rented there wasn’t much but it was home. She was hungry too and it’s not easy telling a seven year old that he has to wait a little longer for dinner.
Just as hope was fading away they saw him. The man was in a truck and wearing army camouflage. He had circled around twice. Rick had almost kept driving when he saw the man standing on the side of the road with the sign. He’d made up his mind to stop when he saw the little boy. Rick’s own grandson was five years old and it tore at his heart to see a kid out on the side of the road in this miserable heat. He circled around the block to get back to them and pulled up beside them.
“Hey Buddy, what do you need?” Rick asked. Matt could feel the cool air blasting out of the truck and told the stranger in a crisp army uniform that he needed some gas money. Matt introduced himself and explained that they he and his family were stranded on their way back home to Florida. Matt told Rick that his van was back in a church parking lot a couple of blocks over. Rick said, “Hop in the back, the little guy can sit inside with me if he wants to.”
When everyone was settled in Rick drove them over to the van. Once there, Matt and Sam got into the van and thankfully it started. It sputtered all the way to the gas station. On the way Rick asked Joey his name and how old he was. Joey told him and then asked Rick if he was a soldier. Rick told him that he was then said that it was really hot outside. Joey said, “But it feels really good in here.” Rick said, “Yeah it sure does. Are you hungry?” Joey said, “Yes.” Rick told him that when they got to the gas station he could go in and pick out whatever he wanted to eat and Rick would pay for it. Joey smiled and asked if he could get something for his mommy and daddy too. Rick said that he sure could.
When they got to the gas station Rick paid for a full tank of gas for the van and the food and drinks Joey picked out. Matt thanked Rick sincerely and shook his hand. Matt didn’t know how to tell the soldier how much his generous heart meant to him. Rick waved goodbye to them and wished them a safe trip. Rick thought about them the rest of the day. He didn’t sleep that night either for worrying about them. He prayed for them. It wasn’t the first time he’d helped strangers and wouldn’t be his last. Being deployed to a foreign nation for your country amounts to helping millions of strangers that you’ll never meet.
My dad, Rick, is the most generous man I know. My entire life I have watched him set an example of this. He has always given his time, anything he had, or been willing to do a favor whenever asked. Not many people are like my dad. A generous heart such as he has is a rare and wonderful thing. He has more friends than could ever be counted who appreciate and love him. His family is more proud than I know how to say to have him. Daddy, I love you.