In Face of Personal Loss, Local Man Focuses on Community Taffie Pounders
After Hurricane Ike I got out the next day to take pictures of the destruction that was left behind. I was amazed at Mother Nature’s power and feeling very grateful that my children and I were totally unharmed. Then I saw Mr. Jarrell’s service station. My heart totally broke. This is a business I like to frequent because he is a full service station, but most of all because he is always so interested in my children as well as myself. He always checks my oil and cleans my window, but most of all he seems personally concerned about others. He loves children. He will always ask if he can get my girls candy or gum. And he smiles. When I drive in, as soon as he sees the girls he gets a huge smile. I love that.
While talking to him after the hurricane, I asked how he would be able to rebuild. He told me about how sick he felt when he saw his station and then immediately a local business man from CC’s pizza stopped to help, and others quickly followed. He told me “You know Taffie, I have a lot of good friends in this town.” I really like how he saw something so positive out of such personal devastation. He told me his new business plan. He plans to just clear off the debris and make use of the new space as additional parking. I asked what I could do to help. He smiled even bigger because he was looking at my manicured nails. Then I explained I had two boys who could help and we both laughed.
He said he could use the help. The next thing I asked was if I could help him with FEMA. Make a small business application etc….. He smiled again and told me he would rather just clear it on his own. Mr. Jarrell does not have a lot of faith in government programs, and he is also very independent. This is the spirit and essence of a small business owner in America.
You may ask why I am writing this story and why should I care? Well that would be a long answer, and I would not have enough time to explain it all. But a few reasons would be that I admire his spirit and positive outlook as well as I like his full service station. The other would be to get volunteers to help him clear off the debris. The third and larger reason would be that our country was founded by people like Mr. Jarrell and small businesses are so important to our economy. We all understand the effects of our current financial crisis. This could be a way for you to help in a small way that effects the big picture.
If you would like to help Mr. Jarrell I encourage you to pitch in and help. I read a quote last week, and I will leave you with this.
“There is no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone’s life.” – Sister Mary Rose McGeady
Taffie Pounders is a Successful Real Estate Agent and Photographer
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