The day after Hick rescued the old lady, Wallet Man came up to him in the lunchroom and said, "We really appreciate all the things you do. Even things most people don't know about." Which was a nice VALidation for Hick. He was pleased.
Two days later, Hick was up to his Do-Gooding again. Wednesday evening, he said:
"There's this old man who usually eats lunch at the Senior Center. He don't live there, but he's there most days. I ain't seen him for about a week. And the last time I saw him, he didn't look too good. I'm kinda worried about him. I know he's in the VFW with The Veteran. So I called to ask him about the guy.
The Veteran said he'd check. Everyone he asked said they hadn't seen the guy, and that he'd missed several VFW events recently that he normally goes to. The Veteran was able to get Old Man's address and phone number from the VFW. He tried to call, but there was no answer. He said he'd go by his apartment, and if nobody was there, he'd call the police for a welfare check.
When he got there, the Old Man came to the door. He said he'd been in the hospital."
"I don't want to say GOOD, because he's been in the hospital. But it IS kind of good news, considering how it could have turned out."
"Yeah. I'm glad the Old Man is okay."
I hate to think that it took a WHOLE WEEK for people to be concerned. But you can't just go jumping to conclusions every time somebody changes their routine. Though the "how to murder your wife" shows I've been watching lately say otherwise...
Aww, Hick! I agree, I think I would be really sad if it took a week for anyone to wonder where I was :(
ReplyDeleteI guess maybe they thought he might have skipped a day. Then another. And finally got around to worrying about him. I'm glad he's okay.
DeleteHick is an angel. May be some dirt on his wings but . . . he's an angel.
ReplyDeleteI wish he'd quit leaving that dirt on top of the paper towel roll when he holds it to tear one off. I guess angel-ing is not a white-collar job!
DeleteI'm glad he is okay too. Probably just didn't occur to him to et people know. I hear and read stories her on the TV news and in the paper about people being found dead in their homes or apartments and sometimes they've been dead for weeks and only get found because someone smells something off. It's really sad that no one has missed them or checked on them.
ReplyDeleteThey might be missed, but people are afraid to get involved.
DeleteOne of my co-workers and I who both lived alone at the time would tell each other that we would check on each other if we did not show up for work, just in case. Now that I live alone again and am retired I do wonder if I suddenly died how long would it be before someone checked on me.
ReplyDeleteWe had a teacher who didn't show up for work. The principal went to check on him, and found he had suffered a medical incident.
DeleteIt would be nice if you could have someone to check in with every day. Just a "Good morning" or "Good night" kind of thing. I used to call my mom every day.