Coincidence?

 I met an Angel.  His name was Randy. 

I decided it was time to get the mildew off the sides of a storage shed at my parents’ property.  The property, however, is located about 300 feet from their house.  Originally this lot was a rental property with a small white farmhouse located there.  The house was probably built in the early 1900’s and sat on the corner of the street and the main thoroughfare. Since purchased in the early 1980’s it had been a great home for renters and family members alike.  Unfortunately, in 2016, the TDOT decided to widen the road beside the property and forced us to relinquish the property, and the house was torn down.  Their road design included a large sewer line going through the remaining property which precluded us from rebuilding.  All that remains is a white 8’ x 10’ white storage building with aluminum siding.  This shed is the subject of my story. 
I am home to bring in the New Year, 2023, in TN visiting my parents who now reside at an assisted living facility.  The white shed at the end of their street is covered in mildew.  I decide to clean it since the weather is mild.  I get a collection of Clorox cleaner, an old string mop and an old sponge mop.  The one thing I am missing is water.  There is no water source at the property.  I spray the siding with Clorox cleaner, and it seems to melt away the mildew.  The mop wipes it off like a champ.  In due time, however, the mop was too soiled, and I switched to the sponge mop.  I could loosen the crude, but really needed to rinse it.  I came to the house and got a bucket of hot water.  This worked well, but in no time the water was black and ineffective for rinsing. 
Hmmm.  I really needed a water source.  That is when I looked across the road at a construction site and saw a tanker truck.  I had my eye on it for quite some time.  Could it be that I could ask the driver to help me?  As I had made up my mind to cross the highway to ask, the tanker backed out and headed toward me.  I waved my hands above my head to get his attention and he saw me!  He turned his right turn into a u-turn and pulled up beside me, rolling down his window.  The driver was a pleasant man about my age with a gray beard.  He had water and agreed to spray down the building for me.  It was a Sunday morning on New Year’s Day!  He was actually working for a portable potty company, and he had been cleaning the one at the job site across the street.  He backed his truck in and uncoiled the hose.  He proceeded to spray away all the green gunk I had loosened up.  I was thinking to myself.  I’m going to pay this man.  I had a $100 bill in my wallet that had been a Christmas gift, but that was all the cash I had on me.  I had already decided to give it to him for his kindness.  He finished and I thanked him and said I’m going to pay you.  He said oh no you’re not.  This was nothing and I won’t take any pay.  I asked him who he worked for and what was his name.  I met an Angel.  His name was Randy.
Beginning the new year with a random act of kindness that I want to pay forward.

Tammy Harvey
01/01/2023