Mac is my hero and my cobbler

Mac is the man who has fixed my shoes for the past 15 years or so. Well In my case its a big deal since a surgery has left my left leg significantly shorted by about 3/4th of an inch. My doctor and physical therapist have suggested that I change my lift to give my legs more stability and better evenness. Ok, so already he is my hero for helping me with my shoes. I look forward to our chats when I enter the door. I secretly hope no one is in there to look forward to another one of his stories of his 82 year old life. He is one of five brothers. The youngest of five who served in WWII. His brother was in a Fighter/bomber pilot with three successful tours. The third tour was quite rough. Mac was in the navy but never had to be in combat. His labour of love was a WWII memorial in Hamilton, MA for all the men and women who served and lived in Hamilton. It took 5 years but its completed and its beautiful. On the other side there will be Vietnam and Korean war veterans. I sat and listened as he went through each name on the memorial list most of them no longer living. He stopped and tell me stories about some of his friends. One family had 5 children go to war and she was a widow. Fortunately 4 of the 5 came home.

The other proud accomplishment that I learned about today was the pool that he and some of his friends built for the children of Hamilton. All of the children receive swimming lessons. "If I have save one life then it was worth it." I am sure he has saved more than one life. I listen some more. His first wife was ill the last few years of her life of anorexia. His second wife is feisty he says and smiles. September is Mac's 82nd birthday. He has touched my life and is on a short list of people who have helped me manage this thing called Cerebral Palsy.

I left smiling. I began thinking about Mac the fire chief for 40 years. His entire life has been about service, working hard and giving back to those in need. I get the feeling he isn't even aware of most of what he has done. I miss his beautiful dog, She was a joy to pet as I walked into the shop. I make sure to not bring her up since the last time I made that mistake he was visibly choked up. This is how it will be for me when Owen goes. This is how it will be when Mac leaves this earth to party with his family and friends.