Generosity

As my California departure date approached I became the recipient of numerous acts of generosity. Acts of generosity so pure and lovely that it brought me to tears.

I did not have a lot of money (I still don’t) when I was getting ready to embark on my trip. I had not received any sort of income in over a month and the funds in my bank account were slowly diminishing. I was not totally sure about employment once I arrived in Harrisburg. Katie and her roommates were generous with the time and effort that they put into looking for a job for me even while I was still in Santa Barbara. Katie’s roommate Des worked some magic to set me up at a book warehouse where she used to work. But even that was not 100% and the amount of hours was ambivalent. So, that goes to say, I was trying to be very frugal with the money that I had because I was not sure exactly how much money I would spend driving across the country and I wasn’t sure how much money, if any, I’d be making once I got there.

My plan was to drive as far as I could and, not wanting to shell out the $50 to spend a night in a motel, sleep in my car in a parking lot or something. However, I’m not sure how much sleep I actually would have gotten considering that my car was absolutely packed full of my stuff and I hardly had enough room to drive nonetheless try to sleep. Knowing the danger and potential harm in this scenario, Joe, a dear friend of mine, and his wife Becca, gave me money to spend at a motel so that I would not have to sleep in my car in a parking lot. They had even looked up the exact halfway point between Santa Barbara, CA and Letcher, SD (where my parents live), which turned out to be Grand Junction, CO. Then they looked up a cheap motel in Grand Junction and wrote the directions to it on the back of the envelope. That kind of generosity is magnificent and inspirational. Thank you so much.

Another dear friend of mine, Ryan, helped me move my stuff from the apartment into my car as I was packing up. I know that was very hard for us both. He also bought me a six-pack of my favorite Gatorades (the Glacier Ice flavor) for the road. And to top it off, he surprised me with a gift card to spend on gas that he wrapped in a note. I opened the note and found the gift card while I was alone in a cheap motel in CO after my first day of driving, that kind of generosity is disarming. Thank you Ry.

Yet another dear friend of mine, Evan, went out a bought me a gift before we had to say goodbye to each other. He knew that I was a California boy and that Pennsylvania’s seasons aren’t as mild as they are in good old Cali. My wardrobe was not exactly winterized. So he got me something very practical: a nice, warm, soft, fleece pullover, which I now try to wear anytime I have the excuse to. That kind of generosity is exceptionally considerate. Thanks Mijo.

It doesn’t end there. I ran out of contact lenses and was in need of more. Drew and Ryan went to Sears with me and paid for six months worth of contact lenses for me (it was a collective gift from my roommates: Drew, Ryan, Tom, Evan, and Cody). And when Sears said they couldn’t ship them to me in Pennsylvania, Ryan picked them up from Sears and mailed them to me himself. Once again, wow. That kind of generosity is amazing.

Upon arriving in Harrisburg I was yet still the recipient of more, overwhelming generosity. I expected to move into an empty room in my apartment and I would need to find a mattress to sleep on as well as other furnishings. What I found though, was a room already fully furnished for me: there was a bed all made up in the corner, complete with box spring, mattress, sheets, comforter, and pillow. There was a fan and one of those circular, “incubator chairs.” There was a dresser with a lamp and a picture of Katie and me on it. There was a stand in the corner with an ivy plant in a pot on it. There was a nightstand next to the bed with a bowl of Reese’s Sticks (my favorite candy) and two VHS tapes: Kindergarten Cop and Star Wars II. And last but certainly not least, there was a poster of Clay Aiken on the wall. All this was done in secret by my wonderful girlfriend Katie. And John-Michael my roommate who also aided in this process, moved into the other bedroom so that I could have the larger one. Wow. That kind of generosity is unbelievable.

I was also the recipient of numerous people’s generous time and prayer. Thank you. Tom, thanks for the homemade Bananas Foster the night before I left. Nate and Reid, thank you for your prayers. To the PC team, thanks for making one of my last nights in Santa Barbara such a fun and memorable one. Cody, thanks for the blessings and encouragement as I got into my car to leave. Dad, thanks for the money for the tolls, the gas, and the lodging. Benji, thanks for the chips and salsa, the comfy couch, and for sharing that game we both know and love (even though the teams that were playing were the teams I know and hate). Alana, thanks for the note. Thank you to anyone that I may have forgotten to mention. Forgive me, I am a horrible person.

I found it difficult to be the recipient of so much generosity. The pride in me wanted to deny that I needed help and put up the façade that I could do it on my own. But my friend Joe reminded me saying, “Craig, we are in a position to give right now, and you are in a position to receive.” So each gift I humbly and graciously accepted. I can only hope that I can someday give with the amazing, disarming, unbelievable type of generosity that I was the recipient of.

With your generosity you have sheltered me, given me food and drink, propelled my journey, given me sight, encouraged my soul, warmed my heart, and made me realize that I am a very fortunate man. Thank you.