“Inspiration is very polite,” says Mary Pipher. “She knocks softly and goes away if you don’t answer.”Sometimes she tiptoes in when we least expect her to. If we’re paying attention, she brings a gift.
I didn’t expect her to come dressed as a handyman.
As the new decade was arriving, I moved into a wonderful apartment in Minneapolis which was my home for almost six years. From time to time, I would see Lee, the resident handyman, in the halls and noticed that he always seemed to be smiling.
One day, I had a testy dishwasher and Lee showed up to fix it. As he was setting things up, I asked him if he worked exclusively for our property manager.
He spun around and said, “No! I have my own business.” He opened his jacket and showed me his t-shirt which bore the name and logo of his company.
“So how long have you worked for yourself?” I asked. For the next several minutes, I was captivated as he told my his story.
Lee had been studying veterinary medicine when his wife died tragically in a boating accident. Since he had two young children, he found it too difficult to be a full-time student and care for them so he quit school, not sure about what he would do next.
A friend , who owned a small apartment building, offered to give them a place to live in exchange for doing handyman work. “That was the last apartment I lived in,” Lee recalled.
Before long, he bought a rundown house, moved in, fixed it up and sold it for a nice profit. Then he did it again. And again.
Along the way, he decided to learn about investing and put some of his profits into the stock market. He discovered he was good at that, too. As all of this was happening, he continued to grow his plumbing/handyman business.
“Until two years ago,I didn’t even have a listed telephone number,” he laughed. “I guess I could retire, but why should I? I just love driving around in my truck with all my tools.
“And I get to learn new things all the time. That thing I just did to your dishwasher? I’ve never done that before.” He was beaming as he made this confession.
That little conversation with someone who was so obviously joyful about being self-employed kept me going all day. And I’m willing to bet that my genuine curiosity about Lee’s life made his day better, too.
Come to think of it, that conversation happened eight years ago and I’ve never forgotten it.
Are you living a story that will inspire a stranger who bothers to ask?
This story put a smile on my face :0) It is so inspiring to find people who truly enjoy what they do and are so positive. This man’s story could have ended up very sad, but I’m glad he was able to take a tragic situation and turn it into something so positive for his life (and his childrens’, I’m sure).
We frequently make assumptions about people’s lives based on their trade and if we take the time and express curiosity, we are often surprised by delightful stories like this. Thanks for sharing that inspiring story, Barbara.