The Christmas season may be over, but Scott Newport’s latest guest post will put you in the holiday spirit again. This story about an old school atmosphere at a Home Depot big box store is a winner!
Ol’ School
It’s not too many times you walk to the checkout line in a big box store that a clerk blurts out, “Hey! Wait, I’ll take care of that.” But that’s just what happened to me yesterday. This clerk hurried up to the sliding window of the heated booth in the garden section and waved us on.
Christmas Eve Magic
I know it was Christmas Eve and all but to have the assistant store manager do the same thing as we were about to check out was like a scene out of a well written ol’ school Christmas story. He didn’t say anything; he just lifted his hand and waved for me to put away my wallet. The young cashier winked back.
As my son Noah and I walked out of the store with a small Christmas tree and a stocking big enough to hold a handful of fruit and a couple of toys fit for a child’s pocket, I wondered whether anyone would get in trouble for not charging us.
Pretty Cool
I said. “That was pretty cool, eh Noah?”
He nodded as we got into my 1995 Ford work van and headed for the cemetery.
“Hey Dad, I know where Evan is buried because of the big tree over there.”
As I looked around I saw a row of towering, leafless maple trees lining the meandering road and wondered why Noah thought one was different than the others. I soon forgot as I spotted my landmark, the faded, orange- painted stake marking a new grave. Even with four inches of snow, it still stood out.
Home Depot Family
You see my other son Evan died just over a year ago, on the day after Thanksgiving. He was seven years old and had struggled with a terminal condition from birth. Over the years the guys and girls at my local Home Depot have followed my family’s story. They have cried with me on many occasions. They celebrated when they heard the University of Michigan named an award after Evan. Many of them came to the funeral and viewing.
I know the corporate part of Home Depot has a tendency to promote lowest prices and specials for the professional guys. But at the Home Depot I go to, it has another part. Remember the old time hardware stores where you and your dad would walk across creaking wood floors. Occasionally you would request an item and the owner would crawl up into an attic to retrieve it. Or at the local coffee shop where price didn’t matter, the laughter was priceless. That is what my store is like.
I just wanted you to know the impact Bill, the assistant manager, and Bonnie, one of the paint ladies, had on my family on Christmas Eve of this year. But I also want to thank all the familiar faces including; Dave, Steve, Curtis, Berry, John, Jay and his wife, Brian, Yang, Kirk, Pat, Mike, Kathy, Cindy, Dave, Kevin, Greg, Rae, John, Jeremy, Ralph, Paul, Bob, Brian, Ben, John Scott Hank, Frank, Bob, Dean, Frazier, Dan, Nick, Ann, Laurie, Scott, Doug, Chris and Terry, Vivian, Deb, Sandy, Bob, and of course the Big Cheese, Marty.
(By the way I saw Marty actually hoisting Christmas trees into peoples’ cars a couple of weeks back in the freezing cold. When I told one lady he was the head honcho she thought I meant head parking lot guy. Just another fun story told while drinking coffee at the Troy Home Depot Pro desk.)
One Step Further
Scott took his story one step further and mailed it to Home Depot’s Customer Care department. They told Scott they’re sending it on to the corporate offices. Amazing how one kind deed leads to another, isn’t it?
If you have a story about unexpected generosity toward your family, would you share it in the comment box? If you can, take it one step further, like Scott did, and pass it on to the powers that be. Maybe it will inspire someone else to further kindness, too.
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