Your Last...

Your Last... I learned some upsetting news the other day about a man who helped me during a time of much trouble. Before I get into this I wanna make sure people know I'm not tryna make something out of nothing, create a story, be funny or anything of that nature...That being said this blog is about my Mechanic Angel....I know sounds a bit out there but bear with me. Mr.Larry aka my mechanic angel as some people who know me might remember me calling him, apparently passed months ago due to cancer. Who was this man to me, initially he was a phone call, a skilled mechanic, somebody I called when I needed work done on my car. A mere exchange of funds for some kind of service...That's what he was. His story meant nothing to me at the time his actions though appreciated weren’t of significance other than the task he was jokingly, my mechanic angel simply because he did a great work on my car every time I needed it. What is he now...well quite frankly he will be a constant reminder of what Life is like when you are a free person. Mr. Larry first did work on my car after my window was busted into about a year ago around this time. A friend of the family recommended him saying he was a skilled mechanic. Upon meeting him I thought nothing about him other than can he o the work, but as we created small talk to pass the time I realized that this guy had a story behind him. The way he interacted with me and my father let me know that not only was he good at what he did , but that he loved what he did. AS he worked on the window he searched my car looking for other things that might need mending, not to pocket more money but because he noticed this was my first car, nothing special but to me it was my everything and I could tell he knew this. He wanted to make sure every part of my champagne 97 camry was in working order and that I was satisfied with the vehicle and the work. All this initially made me nervous bcuz in my head I could tally up what this all would cost me, I've heard what a broken window can put you back, now multiply that by a college student and I knew I might have to ask the popz for a small loan...Expecting a 200 bill and a swift kick in the wallet I asked how much we looking at, Mr. Larry hadn’t given a price yet. He smiled and said whatever you want to give me is fine whatever ur able to come up with will do! me and my pops looked at him like “THIS SUCKER”… well I did but pops saw him as a blessing. point is it wasn’t the money that motivated him now do i know that at the time he knew he was battling cancer...naw, but either way u can pick up on a man’s spirit by how he goes about his work, u can also tell a lot about a man by the way he conducts his business...he could a spiked da price and i would a had to pay it and he woulda had a couple extra dollars n been about his day, but the seed he planted did more for the both of us by simply seeing my need extending a helping and generous hand and cutting the price for a broke college student. what that did was 1)make it easier for me to come back if need be, 2) tell others about his business so he'd get it all back any way 3) remove the uneasiness and uncertainty around him as an individual, i got to see the man, see his spirit, connect with him on a personal level...what's the point of it all??? In a day and age when the “me first” mentality clouds our mind and we all want to get rich or die tryin'...sometimes we gotta sit back and think "while I'm getting rich, what am i robbing from the people around me" it may not be money but it very well could be the opportunity to connect, establish community, establish friendships, assist a troubled or down trotten individual, the blinders of society make it so the as we get rich the community dies tryna save itself from itself.... not tryna get preachy but I do want to motivate you to conduct your self like your dayz are winding down. Like the end may be near, like you care about the human condition, enough to sacrifice something for something else to show itself. Sometimes it may be better to sacrifice “light green” to give hope, good nature, generosity and community the “green light”…Preciate you Mr. Larry