LOVE THY NEIGHBOR

DALE

In 2006 when the chemotherapy I was taking caused sepsis it was a life-changing experience. I spent the better part of a month in a coma, most of that year completely paralyzed and bedridden for the next 2 1/2 years. and during this time of infirmity the man pictured above took care of all my household repair needs. Without being asked, he came across the street from his house to mine and every two weeks for over three years my neighbor Dale mode my lawn, did all the yard maintenance and kept my automobile running so that my wife could have transportation and our home would be maintained.

Dale and his family moved into the house across the street from us approximately one week after we moved into our house. Homeowners in the new subdivision seems to make friends much easier, then when moving into an already established neighborhood. I owe this man a debt of gratitude, so great, that if I live forever I could not repay it. On July 13, 2008 the temperature outside was a balmy 118°and wouldn't you know it? One of the infamous California rolling blackouts struck full force and left my house without power or air-conditioned. Having grown up in the sultry parts of North Carolina that heat and humidity don't really bother me.  But the mattress of my hospital bed requires a constant pressure air pump to be running all the time. Otherwise mattress collapses and laying on cold steel. Dale and his family own RV, and during the blackout they just moved into the RV. Quite surprisingly to me, Dale remembered my situation and ran200 foot extension cord for the generator of his RV to the motor of my air mattress.

During the four years of my infirmity, Dale has come to my rescue in similar fashion on many occasions. And while I hear people complain that they know of nobody who lives up to the Christian principles, I know just such a person. He lives across the street from me and his name is Dale. He is one of the less than a dozen people I address as brother.

Thanks bro!