We had an elderly neighbor. A nice old fellow named Herb.
He was always very friendly to all of us. Especially to my son, Logan.
He had difficulty getting around. That didn't stop him, on multiple occassions, from showing up at Logan's baseball games. He'd shuffle up and sit down and watch the game.
I always wondered how he knew when the games were, but Logan would tell us later that Herb had asked when the game was, and Logan would tell him.
A remarkable exchange between a 6 year old and a man in his 80s. A person at the start of their lives and a person at the end.
Another neighbor used to clear Herb's driveway. His name was Bahl Bhat (like "Ball bat" he would tell me), and he was a professor at a local college. He passed away, unexpectedly, and at a relatively young age. After that, I took on the duty, myself, though I have to admit, I didn't always do the most thorough job.
Herb was sort of a marvel. We'd see him go out for a walk, dragging an oxygen bottle. He could hardly shuffle most of the time.
But no matter what, he always greeted you with a smile and a hearty greeting.
I'm embarassed to think of all the times when I was bearing the stress of my job or my business, where the best I could manage was a halfhearted wave in return.
I think this may hit my son sorta hard. He lost a great-grandmother this past year. However, he saw her only once a year, at best.
Herb was somebody he saw every day when the weather was nice. Every holiday, Herb would give Logan a little bag of candy. I remember even when Logan was too small to walk, after I built the swingset, Herb would walk over and talk to us when I'd take Logan out for a swing.
He was literally involved in Logan's life from the very beginning, to a greater degree than even Logan's own grandparents.
He had a yard man, Lee, who was the one who broke the news to me. He couldn't get through it without crying.
I miss Herb already. I would try now and then to knock on his door when we were having a picnic or party to see if he wanted to come over, but he seldom answered. He was very hard of hearing and I think he rested a lot.
I wish I could have done a lot more for him. It still stands out to me that he gave his word to a six year old boy that he'd come see him play baseball, and with great physical difficulty, that's exactly what he did on several occasions last year, to the surprise of both me and Logan's mother.
The baseball parks around here are massive. If you're lucky, it's only a quarter mile walk from your car to the baseball diamond, and this process frequently involves logging a lot of miles while you try to find which one, out of a dozen or so, the game is at. Had to be double hard for him to find them since he didn't know the other kids and parents like we did.
Just this past week, I was thinking I needed to get more involved when Herb wanted to see Logan by driving Herb to the game and helping him get around. I would have done that last year, but as I said, out of the blue, a few times, he'd just show up. After he did it the first time, I figured he probably fulfilled his obligation to Logan and that'd be the end of it. But he surprised us by showing up again to another game.
So often, folks will make half-hearted committments that they never intend to keep, especially to kids.
It never came as a surprise to Logan, though. With a smile, he'd just say, "Herb said he was going to come see me play today".
That whole exchange impresses me. First, that Logan knew when and where his games were to the point that he could relay this information to Herb. Second, that Herb took it on faith that a six year old was relaying accurate information to him, and didn't even bother to double check it with the kids' parents.
It was a little boy giving his word to an old man. And an old man giving his word in return. And both accepting each other at face value. And neither one disappointing the other.
If only the whole world could work like that.
We'll miss you, Herb.
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