treevet
Branched out member
- Location
- Cincinnati, Ohio
Just found out from my main groundman that Smitty, my part time groundie just died this morning. He just got out of prison after 20 years, early last summer and my main guy Scott had given him some side work with him as they live nearby each other, which is about 25 miles from me. I began to use him occasionally to bust up firewood and would take him out on some jobs if we had to have a third guy.
He was about 45, always upbeat and could work as hard as the hardest working guy I have ever had in my 46 years. He had just called me yesterday to check work status and bust my chops about the Bengals as he was a Bengals hater (Browns fan).
He lived a hard life like so many do. He had no D license related to his incarceration I am sure. He rode a mountain bike with a 80 cc assist motor on it. He had been hit on his bike by trucks 2 times in the last couple of weeks. He had a huge welt and scrapes on one side of his rib cage from one and the same on the other side from the other.
Scott ran him all over town to do various necessaries. Work on getting his license, do odd jobs, get food etc etc. Most recently he drove him 20 miles to work each way prior to coming in to my job and also took him to appointments to a lawyer to litigate against the truck (a state vehicle) that struck and threw him the second time. The first time, the tractor trailer stopped and went over to him and saw that he was down, then sped off without even checking his well being.
People out there are living some real hard lives. He lived with a real old lady that let him have a room in a trailer for 50 bucks a week but I am sure he felt real uncomfortable there.
Not sure if he had a drug relapse although he showed NO signs of intoxication all the times he worked for me be it 100 degree humid days on the shadeless splitting pile, or on the jobs...or when ever. He busted ass and we laughed and kidded thru all of it.
Just saying, maybe appreciate people a little more whenever you can and maybe it could make a difference. My GM is like a saint and did some time himself so he feels compelled to help I suppose. But maybe NOTHING can be done were one a slave to a highly addictive substance.
Cold dark dank depressing winter, holidays, no family, few friends...some tough stuff and hard realities. Maybe easier on the inside where you just go thru the motions and have captive relationships. But Just showing them a little warmth can go a long way, if not in perpetuity but maybe just for the moment...in my opinion for what it is worth. This is very sad.
He was about 45, always upbeat and could work as hard as the hardest working guy I have ever had in my 46 years. He had just called me yesterday to check work status and bust my chops about the Bengals as he was a Bengals hater (Browns fan).
He lived a hard life like so many do. He had no D license related to his incarceration I am sure. He rode a mountain bike with a 80 cc assist motor on it. He had been hit on his bike by trucks 2 times in the last couple of weeks. He had a huge welt and scrapes on one side of his rib cage from one and the same on the other side from the other.
Scott ran him all over town to do various necessaries. Work on getting his license, do odd jobs, get food etc etc. Most recently he drove him 20 miles to work each way prior to coming in to my job and also took him to appointments to a lawyer to litigate against the truck (a state vehicle) that struck and threw him the second time. The first time, the tractor trailer stopped and went over to him and saw that he was down, then sped off without even checking his well being.
People out there are living some real hard lives. He lived with a real old lady that let him have a room in a trailer for 50 bucks a week but I am sure he felt real uncomfortable there.
Not sure if he had a drug relapse although he showed NO signs of intoxication all the times he worked for me be it 100 degree humid days on the shadeless splitting pile, or on the jobs...or when ever. He busted ass and we laughed and kidded thru all of it.
Just saying, maybe appreciate people a little more whenever you can and maybe it could make a difference. My GM is like a saint and did some time himself so he feels compelled to help I suppose. But maybe NOTHING can be done were one a slave to a highly addictive substance.
Cold dark dank depressing winter, holidays, no family, few friends...some tough stuff and hard realities. Maybe easier on the inside where you just go thru the motions and have captive relationships. But Just showing them a little warmth can go a long way, if not in perpetuity but maybe just for the moment...in my opinion for what it is worth. This is very sad.
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