Oh the power of parents! Once when I was about eight years old I went grocery shopping with my parents. It was a Friday afternoon, the time when we usually stocked up for our weekend trip to the Lake of the Ozarks. But unlike normal shopping trips, my parents were purchasing very unusual items: towels, silverware, bed sheets, lots of canned goods, and even a toaster. I protested, “But Dad, we’ve already got this stuff!” Dad just smiled and commented, “You’ll see, son.”
From the store, instead of driving to the lake we drove directly to the town dump located on the edge of the Missouri River. Now I really felt bewildered! Dad pulled the car to a stop in front of a burned-out trailer home. It still smelt of fresh soot, and whips of smoke rose from where the bedroom used to be.
From a tent pitched next to the trailer emerged an elderly couple, looking exhausted and anxious. I recognized them. They were the people who ran the dump! I remembered the story, too, that my dad told me just that morning. These were the ruins of the couple’s home where my dad, a volunteer firefighter, had battled a blaze just the night before. Mom and Dad opened the car trunk and started unloading our gifts of food and other essentials. With tears in their eyes, the surprised couple eagerly received our gifts.
Herein was a beautiful gift for me, as well: a real life demonstration of commitment love. As I remember my father’s passing just three weeks ago I’m touched over how such formative moments during my childhood contributed to the concepts that grew into INMED today.