Tony E...

The door bell rang 60 seconds ago and there stood a man with Gatorade in hand. He said only one thing, "You're in our thoughts and prayers." And with that he handed me a case of Gatorade.

He is our neighbor and friend. Tony Esseman. If I spelled it wrong please forgive me. The kind act will never be forgotten. I swear. This sweet guy has delivered doughnuts, Gatorade, and smiles on several occasions. The funny thing is he never wants any praise or thank you. He says stop it when I start my speeches. He is a good friend.

Tony's father passed in away in the last year. It was from a sudden heart attack that no one saw coming. When we got the news I was devastated. Truly because Tony is such a nice person. It bothered me that he would have to feel hurt. No kidding. I hurt because he was hurting. I managed to get the courage to call him.

I looked at the number and started dialing. Before I got to the last digit I hung up. Sometime later I redialed only to put the phone down because I wasn't sure if you say condolences before sympathy's, and I'd make sure my speech was really good before I called again. The speech would be great, when I make the call.

I never made the call because I didn't know what to say. The bottom line is, I didn't call because I was scared and didn't want to deal with it. Eight months later he is at my door and doesn't worry if he says the right thing or anything at all. His actions and silence says it all!