Both of my daughters took some track-racing lessons this summer at the local velodrome. I was there twice a day on Mondays and Wednesdays for a few weeks. I saw an older man in a motorized scooter there often. I just assumed he had a grandchild that was also involved in the lessons. He looked a bit 'rough around the edges' and you could tell that life had not been easy on him. I would usually just smile and say a kind word to him in passing. I often offered to let him have a spot in the shade where I had found a reprieve from the hot summer sun, but he usually declined.
One day I said something more than just a kind word. Something that started him talking. It wasn't at all easy to understand him. He had a hard time speaking his words clearly because of his Parkinson's, but for some reason God has gifted me with the ability to understand people that others often can't. I have to listen very closely and sometimes read between the lines, when I miss a word or two. Maybe it's because I just love to hear people's stories and so I am able to give my undivided attention to what they are saying.
So he began talking and sharing his story. He lives at the nursing home close to the velodrome. He doesn't know anyone who is in the biking program, but he wants to get out and frequently visits the track to watch the races. Sometimes he comes out several times a day. He has to cut through a neighbors yard to get there and mentioned that they don't like it very much. He talked about his wife dying on Father's Day of this year. He talked of a son also dying a few months earlier. He shared that he had Parkinson's and just three years prior had to go into the nursing home for care because he no longer could care for himself.
He had pictures in the front basket of his scooter and quickly got them out with his very shaky hands to show them to me. They were mostly pictures of family and the wooden lawn ornaments that he crafted and sold - even still he has someone do the wood work for him and bring the pieces in for him to paint & assemble. He talked about each picture as I looked through them one by one. This man did not let the grass grow under his feet. Even in his physical condition - he is out and about. He refuses to let the circumstances of his life or any shyness over his condition to keep him down.
As I talked with Nick he inspired me. He showed me by his simple stubbornness to not let life weigh him down that life is what we make out of it. You know the old saying - "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." Well Nick is definitely a lemonade maker. His stubborn Pennsylvania Dutch heritage has served him well. He probably frustrates the people at the nursing home who are trying to look out for him - I have a feeling he can be quite non-compliant. He noticed when some of his special T-shirts went missing after laundry day and had them track down who was stealing them (yes - someone was actually stealing and selling the T-shirts because they were old car shirts that have some value to them.) He was scolded for taking his scooter across the busy highway just out front of the home, but he wasn't deterred from doing it again. At his age and in his condition, he is still taking risks and pushing the boundaries. I love it!
I really enjoyed getting to hear Nick's story. He led a very full and active life and did many interesting things - like drag racing (back in the day when they had it at Dorney Park) and restoring an old "Woody" car for a friend. I'm so glad that I took the time to stop and listen to him that day. I only hope that if one day I am old and confined to a scooter, I will have the same kind of spunk and stubbornness to be a lemonade maker like Nick.
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