Charlie
Posted by Chaplain Campbell. Filed in Life Lessons, Stories |
Charlie was a man with big, burly hands, broad shoulders, and a mystifying face. His white, wavy hair served as a backdrop to his thick, dark eyebrows hovering over large, expressive dark eyes. He was the kind of man you wouldn’t forget meeting.
It was no surprise that Charlie, who worked as a tourist bus driver in Alaska, held the honor of receiving the most tips from his patrons during the summer season. His humor, often predictable and of the ‘groaner’ genre, found redemption in his still thick Central European accent. Charlie was from Hungary, fleeing the country when the Communists took control in 1956. According to him, he hid behind a tree on his childhood farm and threw a rock at Communist soldiers, hitting one on the helmet, and then ducked behind the tree to avoid the following machine gun fire. He said he had done the same thing, with the same rock, with Nazi soldiers in World War II. Thankfully, he escaped.
He made his way to the USA where he married, worked as a fisherman, a dairyman, and then in semi-retirement as a tourist bus driver in the summer and an air crew bus driver in the winter. Later yet, sporting a full white beard, he played Santa Claus at the local Nordstrom store, entertaining loads of the city’s children on his lap at Christmas time, once even making national TV news.
You couldn’t help becoming entranced by this expressive man who loved to joke and overwhelmed you with his expressive face, wide gestures, and accent. When asked where he came from, with his obvious European accent, he would respond, ‘I am frrrrom Ohio’ to gales of laughter!
But there was something else about Charlie that stood out - he loved the USA! Strong political opinions and being a self-described news junkie only set the stage for this man’s genuine love of his country. It wasn’t an over statement to say that Charlie loved America. He prayed for America’s leaders.
And he shared the prosperity of our country. I vividly remember a Thanksgiving dinner at his house being seated opposite a couple from Hungary whom Charlie had only recently met. They spoke no English, Charlie being the interpreter. The man worked in a Hungarian factory making aircraft machine guns. Yet Charlie, anxious to show his fondness for his new country, invited these guests by finding Hungarian names of their relatives in the local phone book, leading to the American Thanksgiving invitation.
Enthusiasm. Gratitude. Sharing. These are qualities we must develop more fully to truly appreciate our great nation. Young Pastor Timothy was admonished by the Apostle Paul to pray ‘for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may live a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.’
Let’s do it!
Charlie would like that!
Tags: charlie, story, thanksgiving
