Listening to Jim

Listening to Jim

JIM WAS AN OLD WAR VETERAN and liked his profanity.

How you can Listen

Born into a middle class family with too many children, Jim grew into a sour, salty old man.

When I was fourteen, Jim hired me to do some work at his steel yard. No self-respecting steelworker would be seen doing the work I was asked to. I was known as “kid”. “Kid! Scrub the #&%@ washroom!” “Kid! Make sure the &#%* trucks are unloaded!”

My favourite job was to load a thousand gallons of water onto Jim’s truck and then drain it down a hole in Jim’s front yard whenever his well ran dry.

Looking back, I see the day Jim taught me to haul water as pivotal in my life.

We would drive north forever and come to a stop next to the road at an abandoned industrial wasteland.

Jim parked his car under an old oak tree at the edge of the gravel, and we got out of the truck together. “C’mere, Kid! I’m going to teach you how to haul &#@* water.”

Walking behind a pile of junk at the edge of the gravel, Jim emerged with a gigantic canvas hose, which he strapped to the opening of our homemade water tank.

He then turned a hidden valve within the junk pile. I watched in amazement as gloriously bright, clean water began gushing into our tank.

On the drive home, Jim swerved into the right lane as though passing an invisible car. Being only a “kid,” I knew better than to question Jim’s driving, but curiosity got the best of me.

“Look behind us,” Jim said. “You see that big branch hanging over the road? Well, that branch is dead and is going to break one day.” As I turned to quietly stare down the road in front of me, Jim added, “And I don’t want to be under it when it does.”

Noticing that Jim was completely serious, I answered him as solemnly as I knew how. “Thanks for pointing that out, Jim, I’ll try to remember it.”

Jim turned to me as though he’d seen me for the first time. “Kid, every living person has something he can teach you. Always find out what it is and let him teach it to you. Folks are happy to teach you valuable things if you’ll only let ‘em.”

After a long silence, Jim spoke again. “Kid, if you can find even one true friend in your life, you’ll have done better than most…but you’ll never find a true friend unless you’re willing to be one.”

We rode the remainder of the ride in silence, but I understood.

Jim has shared his secret fear of the old branch breaking. I didn’t laugh but quietly listened, and a valve had opened.

The day Jim taught me to haul water, I learned that beneath even the shabbiest gravel parking lot, one can find a wealth of hidden treasure.

- Martin

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