Mr. Fix-It

Me: *snapping pictures of T working on the lawnmower*

T: “What, you gonna put that in the newsletter or something?”

Me: “Maybe! Only if you want me to. I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

T: *Hesitates, staring intently at the mower* Well get a good shot, you know. Don’t get one of me looking stupid. *laughs*

Me: *snaps picture*

He doesn’t want me to use his name, so I’ll just call him T. I don’t know T’s full story, and if I did, I wouldn’t share it. He’s a very secretive individual, and doesn’t like people to be in his business, so I’m trying to respect that but also capture what a unique individual he is. He typically keeps to himself, unless he’s joking around with someone. He won’t join in the circle for meals, but will sit down to eat and strike up conversation with whoever he’s next to.

There is a mechanic inside of T that we have had the pleasure of witnessing come out in full force very recently.

For those of you who don’t know, there has been an old, rusty, yellow truck sitting in the driveway of our office for some time now. We finally decided that the smartest decision would be to just sell it. We didn’t know to who, or when, but we agreed that it was time for it to go. As soon as T heard about this opportunity, he was all over it. “Shoot, let me fix that thing up! I mean, it needs some work, but lemme get my hands on it,” he would say, smiling from ear to ear. We all sort of went “Sure, yeah, okay T,” thinking that he wouldn’t follow-through with the immense amounts of work that needed to be done on the vehicle. But sure enough, about a week after he said he would, T showed up with the money, and the truck was his.

This road warrior of a Ford F150 has definitely seen better days, but that isn’t stopping T one bit. He told me that he’d grown up around mechanics; his dad taught him when he was young, and he’s been learning about and working on cars for as long as he can remember. And you can tell. This man has invested time, energy, and finances to beef up this ol’ baby. So far, he’s got it running again, test-driven it around the Roses parking lot, and painted some under-the-hood parts a bright, flashy blue. Almost every day, if you come up to the office, you’ll catch T bumping some country music, eyes glowing and grin on his face, putting in all of his time outside of his job to make this vehicle his own.

The truck isn’t the only thing he’s fixing, though. He’s fixed Eric’s lawnmower at home, and spent Tuesday Work Day testing and repairing two of our three lawn mowers down at the building. Watching T work has been fascinating, exciting, and truly inspiring.

From a distance, you wouldn’t think that anything would get T going. His mellow, monotone speech implies a complacency to most things and people. But the way his soul lights up when he’s hard at work, the way his hands move with ease across the engine and the corroborator, show just how passionate he can be.

If you ever want to see what someone’s heart looks like, get them to do something they truly love. You’ll probably see a side of them that you’ve never seen before – a beautiful, ambitious, joyous side that lies deep within all of us.