By Dixon Bledsoe
Thanksgiving is almost here and there are many things to be thankful for including my wife and family and the love and support they give me. Thankful, also, that my mother is now here instead of San Antonio so my stress meter has taken a nosedive. And my business partner, Lisa Santana, is a calm harbor in an often beautiful but sometimes stormy sea.
We live in a special place where people like James Dooley calmly saves the life of a visiting London businessman before going back to his Pad Thai. Heimlich Maneuver training proved useful for James, co-owner of Larsen Flynn insurance last month. Londoner George Kean, Ph.D. was the lucky and grateful beneficiary. As the lifesaver stated, “Dr. Kean took me to lunch the next day to thank me. We had soup.” Way to go, J.D.
This is a town where a stranger unexpectedly cleaned Becky Ludden’s gutters on a rainy Halloween night and didn’t even leave his name. Halloween was a terrible torrential typhoon. A man was taking his son on the hunt for candy while his wife waited in the car. When Becky opened the door and handed out treats, the gentleman noticed her gutters were plugged and spewing buckets of water on unsuspecting passersby. He told her if she had a ladder, he would clean out her gutters. She retrieved one, thankful “for the kindness of strangers,” and he unclogged the gutter. He and his son left to further fight the elements all in the name of Candy Corn. As Becky says, “He couldn’t have known how perfect his timing was since I could never have climbed a ladder given some recent medical issues. My son Trevor said it perfectly – “What is so cool is he didn’t even mention his name or look for thanks.” Thanks, Mr. No-Name. What a gift.
Natasha Rowland, administrator of the Silver Falls Volleyball club, is thankful to an anonymous man who heard some kids wanted to play but didn’t have the money. Going on to Silverton Connections via Facebook, she advertised the club, which gives kids an early start on the skills necessary to be competitive in high school. Many parents responded, but some were unable to pay. In steps the gentleman who wanted to donate toward club fees, saying, “I am fortunate enough to be able to help. I would like my support to go directly to the athlete.” And it did. Natasha thanked him a dozen times. He added, “To not help is not an option.” No recognition or thanks needed. I don’t know this guy, but I like him.
It did my heart good to see the marching band in its gorgeous new uniforms at the Foxes’ football game against Dallas. The band played Gimme Some Lovin’ and the Silverton Fight song, and the performance was impeccable. Their formations were tight, the music great, and just seeing the fruition of their hard work and the generous nature of a community that contributed $37,000 to purchase new uniforms and some instruments made me extremely proud. This town should be thankful that Frank Petrick, the director, made it happen and that we now have a marching band that is darn good and looks even better. Thanks to Bob Knoedel for his help with the kids. Special thanks to the drum major, who is my multi-talented niece, Ally Schmidt, a senior who, in uniform for the first and perhaps last time, lead her music makers like a pro. Gotta love Carson Ortega, a cool young man who made that cow bell sizzle but is probably a bit too young to remember a Saturday Night Live skit and understand my need for more cowbells. What struck me most, even beyond a 28-0 rout of our arch rival Dallas, catapulting the Foxes into the playoffs, were the faces of the kids. Pure joy, pure pride, and their moment to shine.
That they did.
