Personal Detour Showed Workers' Kindness

Thursday, June 26, 2008

 

 

Imagine this – and laugh. I know I did. I’m tooling along in my new, all terrain power chair headed toward the Southwestern Public Library in Grove City. It’s a perfect weather day for Ohio – cool and sunny.

 

As I close in on the final leg of my trip, I see Kokosing Construction trucks. The last sidewalk before the library is closed off. I make a quick decision to detour through the grass and potentially roll down the curb or some such alternative.

 

The ground is exceedingly bumpy and I know I was laughing. Several construction workers turned their sights to this “older” lady bouncing across the field in a powered wheelchair headed who knows where. I’m watching them, too, wondering what they must think. One man holds up his hand as if to tell me to stop while two others head my way post haste.

 

I did stop just short of what was a tall curb – there was no way I would attempt to move down this curb because surely I would roll over. Not a pretty thought.

 

By now the men are standing right next to me saying, “We can lift you down. Is that chair heavy?” Now these men appear strong but I know my chair alone weighs 400 pounds and I refuse to tell you my weight. So naturally I said with a low chuckle, “You don’t want to lift this baby! It’s very heavy.”

 

I suggested I go back across the field and ride up the street while one of the men directed any traffic. As I said this, the men were in action doing something. They had a plan and as if by osmosis they knew, with no words, to start piling bricks inside the cut out for the sidewalk ramp.

 

Joe Sellers, Lead Safety Specialist from Fredericktown, told me to go back to the sidewalk and they were building a temporary ramp for me. I double checked that the sidewalk was dry and I was assured it was safe. I am far past the age to want to leave an impression in wet cement.

 

So back I rolled – bumpity-bumpity – across the field. (Laughing yet?) Down the new sidewalk I rolled. It felt smooth as silk after the rough ground. I smiled as the men finished the makeshift ramp and down I went thanking them the whole time.

 

I asked Joe where the men were from and if any lived in Grove City. He told me Jeff Vickers lives in Wellston and Ruben Cano in Columbus. I thank him again and he stopped me to say, “Community relations is very important to this company.”

 

He explained saying they work in the neighborhoods, where people live and work, and they do everything they can to be the least disruptive during construction. Such as what you did for me and quickly building a ramp for my chair? Yes. I commended them again and was on my way telling them, with a big smile, I would go home a different route. Joe just chuckled.

 

The next week, I was out again in my power chair but this time I was walking my dogs. Well, Snert, my dachshund sat in my lap as I walked our golden retriever. He likes to feel tall and see everything plus he is almost 13. We rolled around in the neighborhoods taking in another good weather day.

 

A familiar orange construction machine came into sight on a side street. I slowed down and looked hard to see if I recognized any of the workers, but was too far away to be certain. But what I saw confirmed what Joe told me about community caring. One of the workers, who could have been Joe, was talking with a woman who lived in a house on the construction street. I could tell it was friendly exchange by the body language.

 

The entire street appeared to be under construction and certainly was adding dust, noise and inconvenience to the people living there – even though the work was necessary. But this company took the time to ease the pain by having someone like Joe available to watch out for the citizens affected.

 

I found myself smiling as we rolled onward and back toward home.

 

Liz Thompson

Former SNP reporter and author of newly released book, Day by Day, The Chronicles of a Hard of Hearing Reporter published by Gallaudet University Press. www.daybydaybook.com.