101010 Redding, CA Re: Bill

October 10, 2010
Redding, California
Re: Bill

I’m often asked how we chose an RV park to stay at when we are someplace we’ve not been to before.
WE utilize an annual directory, the Internet and when we are really lucky, email from pen pals with suggestions.
AS we approached Redding, we did not have the advantage of valued recommendations.
The directories and Internet listings are like reviewing tourist brochures. They sometimes either glorify or misrepresent or omit certain aspects or conditions.
One condition that I hare a real problem with are parks that are terraced which have inclined roadways. The park we chose in Redding had this layout.

After maneuvering into our space, on exiting the Beast, I realized there was going to be a problem. As I circled around the space, trying to figure the easiest and safest way of overcoming the incline, I heard a voice shouting at me. Bill occupied a space nearby and when he saw me and my walker, decided he was going to assist me. After he hooked up all my support lines, he suggested that I change sites to one near by because it was wider and flatter and had more grass for Danny. The next day, bill knocked on our door to tell me that he had made arrangements with the office for me to switch sites and after relocating; he hooked the Beast up again.
Bill is 62 years old, gray haired and bearded , about 6 feet on a thin frame. He looks older than his stated age, smokes cigarettes and has an occasional cough. He admits to heart disease and respiratory distress and among other meds takes coumadin (a blood thinner), which he is concerned about.

He also revealed that he has a son who is in prison because of drugs and has assumed the responsibility of helping his daughter-in-law care for her 5 children, even though he is legally disabled and on a limited fixed income.

He was well informed and knowledgeable about politics and current events, so we spent some time each day sharing stories and expressing opinions on many topics.

I mentioned the fact that my scooter batteries were almost dead, and had found a scooter store in the next town south that I was going to stop at after leaving this park.

He gave me the name and address of a store nearby that sold all kinds of batteries … I called them and they verified they carried the kind I needed and the price was almost ½ of what the scooter store was charging – even free installation.

Bill is one of many characters I have met and will remember fondly.
A man with a good heart and positive attitude about life, regardless of the circumstances and roadblocks that could bring down and sometimes even destroy weaker people.

The day we left, I wanted to show my appreciation and compassion but knew he would refuse any outright assistance.

I had a baseball cap still in its package that said … DON’T FORGET MY SENIOR DISCOUNT.
I placed it in a plastic bag along with $40 in an envelope tucked inside with a note on the envelope “for your grandchildren”, and hoped he wouldn’t find it till I was miles away. I know he won’t spend a dime of it on himself.

I could not continue to travel without the kindness and assistance of strangers.
It's not often I get to respond with a random act of kindness. This time I did.