A Bushel full of wisdom shared from a dear friend

Ray was the same age as Killer.  He was a retired police officer from Beech Grove. He had to retire as he had had several heart attacks.  His first one was as a teenage boy.  He was a "ray" of hope.  He came over to see what I needed done on a Saturday.  I had a list, first things first, I wanted the cabinet built and the oven microwave installed.  He quoted me a price and I could hardly believe it.  It was so inexpensive!  Within a week, he called, he'd be there on Saturday to install the new cabinet.  

Before

He brought this cabinet in and it was flawless.  It matched the old cupboards almost to perfection.  By the end of the day, I had this beautiful cupboard just as I had designed and envisioned.

He asked me if there was any thing else I needed to have done.  I showed him my list and he wanted to know if I wanted to hire him, "Twenty dollars a  hour for a pretty lady like you."

I couldn't beat that considering I had been paying seventy five and not getting this quality of work.  He installed the counter, put in a new sink and

After

faucet. My list was endless.  We'd go out and sit on the deck, him with coffee and me with my Pepsi and just talk about our lives.  He had three children and several grandchildren.  He'd been married to his wife forever.  They had a craft business that  kept him busy, but he loved doing odd jobs, having just finished working for a heart doctor for several years remodeling their home and recovering from carpal tunnel syndrome, when his son called to tell him about this woman who needed his help.

Every Saturday he'd come to my house early.  I still wasn't eating much and he

Living room before I moved in

noticed. Breakfast was delivered and he insisted that I eat.  He started working at the house during the week when I was at the office.  I'd come home to find a meal in the refrigerator from some where he had gone to pick it up for me and always a flower, a single one in a glass, nothing special, but so thoughtful.

He told  me I was too pretty to be sad. He loved to see me smile and laugh but he didn't see it often. I came home one day from work, it was the first time he had seen me dressed up and he was surprised at how beautiful I really was.

Living room after

"Cindy Marie, are you telling me  that Chappy left this?  The man is a fool girl, just a fool. Some day, you be patient and you'll find a man who will take care of you like you should be taken care of.  You have my word on that."

"Ray, there is no man out there that I suspect will fill those shoes.  My mom has always said, "same bullshit, different face" and I'm beginning to believe her."

"Have patience, girl, he's out there."  He spoke to me as if I were his daughter. He treated me as if I were a Queen. Nothing was out of reach for his Cindy Marie.  We worked side by side doing these projects.  He was amazed at how much I already knew about home improvement. And in awe of the ideas I had and how well thought out I had them. We worked well together knocking this list off.

Back yard - before

When he'd knock one list off, I'd have another and no matter how I wanted it, he figured it out.  I  designed the deck and patio, he built it.  I designed the shed, he said it was impossible, he and I built it.  I wanted doors on my shed that were different.  I drew them up, he figured out how to build it.  He built me a pergola for my backyard. Free of charge, he thought  it would look nice.

The first summer I was in the house, I had thirty yards of top soil delivered to fill in the back yard where the land was low and water collected.  I moved the first twenty by wheel barrow.  Ray would be at the house, knocking off the list I had and I was hauling dirt.

Back yard - after

He came by the next Saturday with a gift.  He bought me a riding lawn mower and gave me a trailer that he had built and no longer needed.  It was too much, but he said he bought himself a new one and this was his old one.  He hated seeing me work so hard.  I loved my tractor and trailer.  It used to take me most of the day to mow the yard with my push lawn mower and now I could have it done in half of the time.

There is  farm land behind my home.  I cut a path through the brush and laid a trail of used lumber so that my wheelbarrow did not get stuck in the mud and I hauled out boulders and rocks to build a rock wall.  I wonder how I managed to get them free from the dirt, let a lone in the wheelbarrow and back through the thick of it. I had twenty yards of mulch delivered and I hauled that in my new trailer.  I planted tons of new bushes with the hope that one day I'd have a masterpiece to admire from my deck.

Back of house - before

Back of house - after

Ray became a regular at my house. He was there every night for the most part when I came home to tell me what he had done and say goodnight and there most of the weekend helping me get my house perfect to call it my  home.  He always brought me surprises.  He knew all kinds of people and would come across deals and thought of me.  He thought I needed a gas grill, so he bought me a little one that was just big enough for me.  I preferred charcoal, but he thought I needed this.  He always had something to brighten my day.  Even if it were just a kind word.  We were building the shed in the spring of 2003, my parents were visiting and they just thought Ray was a gift from heaven for me.

Just keeps getting better

He was working in the heat and I could sense he was getting tired.  I had him sit down and brought him a cold cloth and some water.  We were sitting out on the glider under the pergola he had built for me, "Cindy Marie, do you think it is possible to love two women at the same time?"

"I don't know, Ray, but I have loved two men at the same time. I guess it could be, but its not always right."

"Cindy Marie, I  think I've fallen in love with you."

"Ray, I think you've had too much sun.  Now let's get back to work." While I noticed all the kind gestures, I didn't notice the man who delivered them. The moment passed, he continued to work for me through the summer of 2003 when the list was done and nothing else needed to be checked off.  I have wonderful memories of that man.  Wonderful memories and a bushel full of wisdom that he shared with me.