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Northeastern Pennsylvania Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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Old 12-26-2008, 03:58 PM
 
Location: Ashley
201 posts, read 536,889 times
Reputation: 143

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I had a pleasant surprise when I arrived home. I opened my mailbox and there was a Christmas card. I assumed by the writing and pictures that it was from one of my niece or nephews since it was not sent by the post office. When I opened it, my heart almost stopped and I was shaking then I started to cry. Hubby didn't know what was going on. Inside was an OVERLY GENEROUS amount of money and it was from none other then our own Paul. Paul, I don't know how I could thank you enough. You are just too generous!! I wish we were home at the time but I was picking Mark up from dialysis and he did not have a good night. He recently started sleepwalking and this morning he had a dream that he was playing football and actually got up and tried to tackle the door frame. We had to run to his doctors house for a paper to have an x-ray done because his doctor could not get out of his driveway. Then right to the hospital we went. I had my chest x-ray and EKG done while I was there. That is why I could not get on the computer until now. I know how hard you work while you are going to school and I know how much you must be giving up to in order to give to others. We want to thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts. That will go right into the fund at the bank. More bills will be rolling in soon. I know you work on weekends at Lowe's in Edwardsville so before the surgery we will be popping in to personally thank you. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
Cheryl
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Old 12-26-2008, 04:21 PM
 
Location: Dallas, PA
1,418 posts, read 3,568,268 times
Reputation: 602
Wow, what a nice surprise that must have been!!! Paul, what a selfless and generous thing for you to do. Anybody should be so lucky to call you a friend
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Old 12-26-2008, 04:39 PM
 
2,760 posts, read 3,929,164 times
Reputation: 1977
That is totally awesome! Oh Paul
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Old 12-26-2008, 05:09 PM
 
Location: Sunshine N'Blue Skies
13,321 posts, read 22,579,086 times
Reputation: 11694
What a wonderful Santa........
We know we have a wonderful friend in Paul....Sincere and thoughtful.....
What a gift he is to us all, and especially Ashley........
I'm praying they move that date up, I really am.
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Old 12-26-2008, 06:31 PM
 
Location: Ashley
201 posts, read 536,889 times
Reputation: 143
I can not wait to meet him. I am sure he is working tonight but I can not make it out. I am working on a card and a little home made gift for him. I am amazed at his generosity and kindness. I just wish there was something more we could do. I guess the saying is true "there are angels among us". I hope God blesses him and his family as Paul has blessed us. We did not hear back from the doc. to see if Mark broke his collar bone. I hope not. This may end up pushing the surgery back. That would be our luck.
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Old 12-26-2008, 07:08 PM
 
Location: Boston
905 posts, read 2,391,698 times
Reputation: 461
That's the true meaning of Christmas...selfless giving and a warm feeling inside. There are still good people around, another forum I am on...a little holiday cheer has helped some people out.
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Old 12-26-2008, 10:21 PM
 
Location: Ashley
201 posts, read 536,889 times
Reputation: 143
I make my own greeting cards and one site I am on I asked for everyone to donate to a charity and we only did it for one year but I think I am going to look to do it on my own. I know it takes me a few hours for one card but I need to give some joy to some one one who is sick. Maybe I will do it for the dialysis patients. I have to give it some thought. I am only one person so I can not do much. If anyone else is interested, please let me know.
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Old 12-27-2008, 12:14 AM
 
Location: Marshall-Shadeland, Pittsburgh, PA
32,606 posts, read 77,274,241 times
Reputation: 19071
You're more than welcome, Cheryl! I've lost three people close to me over the past two weeks, and on top of my manic depression, loss of a romantic relationship, inability to find a job, etc., I just sort of "snapped" a bit and told myself that the best way to get out of my emotional doldrums would be to try to do kind things for other people so that their diminished suffering could help cheer me up just a bit. You and your husband have been through FAR too much lately, Cheryl, at such a young age. I looked up your last name on the county assessor's web site, found your address, and knew where to head to try to spread a bit of good faith and higher spirits your way.
I'm just glad the mail man didn't take it, thinking it was his tip! LOL!

I was also in nearby Hanover Township that day (Breslau, I think) dropping off a Christmas card and a $20 Lowe's gift card to a customer who phoned corporate to praise me for how helpful I was during a rather difficult ordeal she had to go through involving a fireplace. She phoned me at work this evening to thank me, and I told her that it was the least I could do, considering she was the FIRST person in my nearly four-year tenure at Lowe's to compliment my work ethic. By taking five minutes out of her busy schedule to commend me, I'll be getting a nicer raise in early-2009, and I let her know that in hopes that she realized just how effective that brief phone call truly was. How many of we shoppers just take good customer service for granted? I also loaned a co-worker $310 recently to help get him through some tough financial times, and I'll be at ANOTHER viewing tomorrow night for the tragic death of a young co-worker where I hope to bring some comfort to his grieving family. It's been a HORRIBLE 2008 for everyone I've spoken to, and we all need to stick together to help us bounce back up the hill into 2009.

One of the resolutions I forgot to post for 2009 will be to be more generous and chivalrous in how I view my life. I've been blessed. Am I as tall as I'd like to be? No. As muscular? No. As tan? No. As talented vocally or musically? No. Can I afford to drive the luxury sedans and SUVs so many in my town drive? No. Am I even the right sexual orientation that I'd like to be? Hell no! However, I have a roof over my head, a steady income at an employer that is bucking our recession very well, so many networks of friends that I can't keep up with my social activities, am in great health, and will soon have a degree in my hand that will (hopefully) be my ticket to a better life. I then see so much suffering and heartache around me, and it truly pains my heart (yes, I'm a tree-hugging liberal pansy, and I'm damn proud of it!)

You and Mark will continue to be in my prayers. Speaking of prayers, I cried myself to sleep Christmas Eve night thinking about how far apart I've drifted from my own faith. My family and I used to head to church weekly with no excuses (when I was young and burned my thumb on my mother's curling iron, they forced me to sit in the pew holding a box of frozen peas!) I used to read the Bible everyday, pray every night before bed, and bless myself when I got behind the wheel, hoping God would deliver me from harm with all of those crazy NEPA drivers out there! I miss the tight bond I used to have with God, and it has taken the intense emotional pain I and many others around me have faced this past year to snap me back into a reality check. I don't know if I'll return to my childhood church in Pittston, but I've always liked Peace Lutheran Church in North Scranton. I don't know if I'm finally coming out of my Pollyanna shell and am "maturing" or what, but I feel a very, very deep catharsis coming over me as of late. I feel like an entirely different person---like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.
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Old 12-27-2008, 12:30 AM
 
Location: Nicholson, Pa
99 posts, read 269,644 times
Reputation: 44
Christ ScranBarre... I started tearing a little. Im sure the good Lord has got a better 09 in store for you and Im sure for the people you tried to help make the end of 08 better for too!
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Old 12-27-2008, 12:54 AM
 
Location: Chicago
3,340 posts, read 9,655,809 times
Reputation: 1238
Paul you have an aura about you, something different then I've ever seen before, You are destined for great things, I can feel it, you just need to reach for it.
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