Generosity and persistence are my brother, Tom’s, virtues for which I am thankful. I’m celebrating my 60th
birthday with 60 days of gratitude for people in my life. Enjoy! Please comment with your own stories, and feel free to read previous and subsequent essays.
Today’s gratitude goes to my brother Tom for his =&0=&. What I’ve noticed about Tom is that he insists on making sure that people have what they need. He goes out of his way to help people. He did that for me when I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. My trip started close to San Diego where he lives. Tom, and his wife, Mary, invited me and my hiking partner to stay at their house for our last few days of preparation. Tom opened his workshop to create a special mailing tube to send our food canister when we needed it.
=&1=& for the ADZPCTKO, which is the abbreviation for Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off, the 4-day camping gathering for PCT hikers. His support didn’t end there, either! He went out of his way at least four other times to support us on our long journey.
Tom and Mary came all the way from =&2=& to bring us our change of gear as we left the desert and entered the Sierra Nevada Mountains. For me, it was the closest we could come to “going home” while still being on the trail. They brought the comforts of a resupply at home out to us in the wild – our gear, sumptuous and ample food, and family.
There were other times that I remember Tom being a generous provider. During the family’s visit to Idaho for our niece, Naomi’s, memorial, Tom coordinated and supplied a meal for all of us.
He traveled to Ohio to build a 25-ft ramp for my dad to get out into the back yard during his long degeneration.
And he gave my son, David a leg up by hosting him and giving him a job in his own construction company for three months. It was hard work for David and gave him a taste for figuring out what to do in his own life. It meant other things to him as well. When I oicjed him up at the train station at the end of his journey he said, “Well, I’m not afraid of life anymore and I appreciate my parents”. That was a pretty insightful statement from a twenty-year-old
I believe =&3=&had early roots as well. I may have this wrong, but wasn’t it Tom who secretly harbored a neighborhood waif, Papine, in our laundry room closet?
I love seeing pictures of Tom’s current recipient of his compassion and generosity. That’s =&4=&, who he pampers and enjoys as only a grandpa can!
Thanks, Tom, for your generosity and compassion. You made my walk through California comfortable and safe!
