Neal's Secret

Neal’s Secret

            Our son Neal has become very successful in his life but it has not always been that way.  I think he has been happy most of the time, though.  So as I was remembering events in my life that brings a smile into my heart I thought of a time and event that I think may be worth sharing.  And it is about Neal.

            There was a time when Neal was wondering how he was ever going to make ends meet.  Sort of like all of us, isn’t it? He had become an electrical journeyman but times were still hard.  So he asked questions.  He watched all of the construction workers as they did things and would ask them to show him how they would do them.  Then he would practice doing each one of them alone.  He was rapidly beginning to learn all of the trades to the point that today he has his own building company.  But this story is one that happened during his learning days when he was broke all of the time:

            Linda and I visited Neal and his family and took them to dinner.  He sat with us but said very little. It was if he had his mind on something.  And after dinner he asked me if I would mind going with him to see something.  I had no idea what he was up to but curiosity got the best of me so off we went. He took me to a place that was one that I find difficult to describe.  It was a place that sold junk I think.  It was a large room that had stuff everywhere, most of which I did not recognize. Neal explained that the things there were things used in building.  I thought I knew about such things but there were not many things there that made any kind of impression on me.  But I went with him around the room as he pointed out several articles that were of interest to him.  Then he began to smile as if he had just made the discovery of a lifetime.  He was standing in front of a large shelf that had a lot of junk on it. He then got down on his knees and began to pull boxes out from the bottom of the shelf.  After a few boxes were out he picked up one and showed it to me.  I had never seen him so excited.  The box was filled with several hundred small pieces of what may have been electronic pieces or parts.  His excitement grew as he looked at me and said, “All they want for this is five dollars. I found this box this afternoon and when I learned how little they wanted for it I knew right away they were not aware of what they had here.  So I hid it down there with all that other stuff.”

            I asked him why he just didn’t buy it when he first found it.  He looked at me with a yearning I hadn’t seen in him since he was a small child. He sort of tucked his head and almost mumbled, “I don’t have five dollars. And I was hoping maybe you would consider loaning me the money.”

            I do not have the words to tell you how sad I felt at that moment.  My son needed a very small amount and was hesitant to ask for it.  Big boys don’t cry for help you know.

            I obviously bought that whatever box and we went home.  Neal sang all the way.  When we got back to the rest of the family Neal finally told the whole story.  “That box has all the parts I need to build a complete security system for my house so my family will be safer. The people at the store didn’t know what it was.  So tomorrow I will have a safer house for my family.”

            He did build it.  And it worked.  Now I know that such a story may not impress anyone else but for me it is a memory that I will cherish as long as I live. 

            And this was the son who told me I would be disappointed in him because he didn’t want to go to college.