We dont know how lucky we are

Old Fred sure got that one right. Hey we all have hassles & from our own personal perspectives, our own problems are always far more pressing than anyone elses. Every once in a while though reality rears its ugly head and shows us that in reality our own problems fade. One of the freight contracts the company I work for involves the distribution roughly once a month of a pallet of Solutions & associated hardware needed for those folk unfortunate enough to have disfunctional kidneys & needing dialysis. Over the years, I have gotten to know most of them & their stories. Some are very sad, like the young 21 year old currently waiting for a kidney transplant, to the guy who has no one but himself to blame because of a dissolute life style involving the consumption of large quantities of alcohol.

There is one couple , however, who occupy a very soft spot within my heart. They are comparatively elderly, in their 70's I believe, & just absolutely wonderful. Every time I delivered to them I was given either a lovely fresh scone or a piece of home grown fruit. They moved to the particular area they are in to avail themselves of a relaxed lifestyle & do a bit of fishing. Then it all turned to custard. She suffered renal failure & he developed progressive emphysemia. Still nothing was too much trouble. There is a small reserve next to their house & they managed to keep it looking tidy & well planted. When we delivered, he was always waiting at the front with his ride on mower with a small trailor to load the cartons on to to take as far as the back door. You dont mind doing a bit extra for people with heart like that.

Even though I am not permanently on that particular run any more, I have still kept my eye on the freight going through the depot looking for shipments heading their way. I haven't seen any in a while now. Today, as happens once in a while, I had occasion to do that run. Its Ed's run now, but as we need an extra truck for Auckland most evenings now, Ed does two nights a week on that & I do the other 2. I like to do Monday & Wednesday so that I can watch Dr Who. Anyway, today was Ed's day for Auckland, so I did the Waihi run. As there was a delivery down the road where my friends live, I decided to drop in to say gidday & catch up. I was extremely saddened to find out that they had separated & gone their own ways, with him on his own in the house & her resident in Hamilton. I could see the hurt in his eyes as he told me. I would have liked to gone inside with him & sat down for a cuppa & a yarn, but unfortunately I still had a fair bit of freight to kick off, So had to go.

I came home to a lovely meal & a loving wife. As I sat there , I reflected on how I would cope if, perish the thought, I ever happened to lose Herself for any reason. Not terribly well I would suspect.