by Dr. Grant Scarborough
He was three hours early for his appointment. I hate when that happens. What does he expect, to get worked in early and then make the people who had earlier appointments wait? I don’t think so. But of course he was. There was a gap in the schedule so he slid right in. Rude, but that is how people are nowadays. Just rude.
A middle-aged, small African American man stood up as I walked in the room. He gave me a firm handshake. What’s this guy’s angle? I thought. Does he want drugs? He looked me straight in the eye and talked with confidence as I made small talk. “Where do you work?” I asked. “Popeye’s.” Well, to be honest, I do like Popeye’s chicken. I asked him if he worked at the one by my house. “No, the one on the other side of town.”
As he tells me his tale, I liked him all the more. To be honest, there is not enough good guys’ stories out there – and if you are hiring, you’d better listen up. I will tell it how he told me…
“I interviewed at the one by your house sir. But they had no openings. They told me the one on the other side of town had one. So I immediately walked there in my suit. It was August, mid – 90’s temperature. So when I showed up, I was sweating so bad all my clothes were wet. The manager said it looks like I really wanted to work and asked if I could get started today. I was getting up to start working when he said, ‘no – tomorrow is fine.’ So I walked home, excited about having a job. I have now been there a year. I live about 3-4 miles away. I walk there every morning and walk home at night and have not missed a day the entire year. I leave the house about three hours early so I do not have to walk too fast to be sweating when I arrive at work. Yesterday, they offered me a job promotion. I’m going to take it.”
As I sat back and listened, I was amazed. He walked through rain, sleet, snow, and never missed a day. He spent 3-4 hours a day just walking – I have never wanted a job that bad before. He showed up early every day. His commitment was amazing.
I thanked him for his story and I walked out of the room. I smiled, mumbled something like, “I need to get you a bike.” We laughed. I went into the next room… but something seemed to bother me.
I quickly got up and walked back to see him. “Sir, how did you get here today?” He looked down at his feet, “I walked, of course.” I knew he lived at least four miles away. I knew he got there at eight, for his 11 o’clock appointment. I also knew he was leaving the office and walking to Popeye’s to work. And then I sensed the real problem – it was me that was rude. It was me that thought I knew a person and his motives before walking in a door. It was me thinking I knew the man before meeting the man. It was simply me.
He showed up three hours early out of respect. He left earlier than he needed for his 11 o’clock appointment in case he ran into trouble while walking. He showed me responsibility, courage, and maturity. Oh, to meet more men like this gentlemen. Men like him could change the world.