Dave and his wife used to just walk the streets of Akron side by side day by day all year long. However, his wife passed away last year...leaving Dave alone and confused. The one person who understood him and showed him unconditional love was gone. Not many people wanted much to do with him simply because he was a little strange. I must admit, I was probably one of them. So when Dave walked into the office, I just let my uncle deal with him.
But it turns out that Dave shows up quite frequently at the funeral home. My uncle buried his wife when she died so Dave turned to him for consolation. Now over a year later, Uncle P.J. never has turned him away. He still shows up almost every day and is welcomed inside. Now my uncle is going through A LOT of personal issues in his own life right now and is majorly stressed out with what life has thrown at him. However, the patience and compassion he shows to Dave is almost overwhelming. As I watched them interact on Monday, I couldn't help but think that this was a perfect example of love. He at times put Dave to work by sending him on errands to the post office or having him vacuum the floors, but most of the time I was there on Monday my uncle just carried on a conversation with Dave as he went about his own 'to do' list....not once telling him he had to leave.
Dave after awhile introduced himself to me (which made me feel extremely guilty for kind of ignoring him to begin with). He then went on to tell me how grateful he was for my uncle and how he would be lost without him. It turns out Dave might not be as crazy as the rest of Akron thinks...and maybe he is just in desperate need of a friend. I can relate. I like Dave.
And my admiration for my uncle increased greatly as he illustrated to me this perfect example of love.
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