My father-in-law passed away suddenly last November. He was an avid fisherman.
Today, my mother-in-law held a garage sale at her house and she had a lot of dad’s fishing gear for sale. A potential customer said to my husband, in a casual way, “Someone is giving up fishing”. My husband replied, “My dad passed away, so . . .”
The man, who was in his 40s, said, “I’m sorry” and my husband responded, “What can you do?”.
The man covered the few steps between them quickly, extending a hand to shake, while seamlessly pulling my husband to him in a man hug, saying “You can do this”.
I was the only witness to this exchange, and I feel blessed to have seen it, and grateful to this stranger. I could speculate what caused this man to reach out, both literally and figuratively, but that somehow sullies the moment.
For it was pure. It was profound. And amidst a long driveway full of items for sale, it was priceless.
