Bob

Bob came to our park last year and, because of his strangeness, had a hard time fitting in but this year a few people stepped up and made a place for him.

Personally, I just kept my distance rather than get involved with this quiet and unassuming man because he is rather strange. It was a good thing for him that a few kinder and more accommodating people took an interest in helping him adjust and I admire them for that.

He tried to volunteer for various jobs in the clubhouse but was tactfully shuffled along to clean-up duty where he began to shine. He seemed very happy to be of some service to the park residents and I have to admit it made him appear in a better light to us. He made a few more friends by attending church services, too.

Bob's appearance wasn't very good so a few of the ladies encouraged him by providing him with some new clothes and giving him a haircut. It warmed my heart to hear this story of their kindness but it also made me a little ashamed of myself because it doesn't seem to be in me to have offered this kind of help to him myself.

You know that moment in the Jack Nicholson movie, "As Good As It Gets", where he tells Helen Hunt that she makes him want to be a better man? Well, when I hear of kindnesses like those given to Bob, it makes me want to be a better person, too. I guess I'll be a work in progress until the day I die.

One of the perks of staying in this senior park and getting to know so many people is that I also get to come across a lot of angels, too. They don't think of themselves like that but they really are angels in the way they care for others. When we hear that there are angels among us, it's true. Some of them are friends of mine.