Call me "Blue"

The author of the post was Cindy Allen.

This afternoon I visited Almon Funeral Home to pay my respects to a sweet friend that passed away suddenly Friday morning. As I was waiting in the long line I notice a gentleman walking at a steady pace up the hall and around all the people in line. The look on his face was a look of confusion, pure grief and sadness. As I moved more toward the front of the line to greet the family and view the body, the gentleman had already made his way to the casket and was just standing there with tears streaming down his face. He soon became overtaken with emotion and had to take a seat at the head of the casket. My heart was about to explode watching him. I didn't know for sure who he was or his connection to Susan, but what was evident was his enormous grief. I couldn't stand there in line any longer, I had to somehow comfort him. I walked over and asked his name and he said "Ronald" but Ms. Susan calls me "Blue". I immediately remembered her stories of Ronald and soon remembered that he is a mentally handicapped gentleman that Susan had been helping for many years. She would pay Ronald to rake leaves, mow the lawn, paint spindles on the porch, pressure wash or just any little odd job to help Ronald out. As I asked more & more questions he became comfortable with me and he went into detail about all the things that Susan would do for him so that he could have the little things in life that most of us take for granted. I had to ask how he got the nickname "Blue" and he said "because that's my favorite color and Ms. Susan even bought me a blue bicycle". I noticed his clothing and every single stich of clothes this man had on was blue, even his watch was blue. You know, Ronald (Blue) has touched my heart today and it made me really think about a lot of things in life. I pray I can touch someone's life the way Susan touched his. I pray I can leave a mark on someone as powerful as the mark she has left on him and so many others. Today, I made a promise to Blue and to myself that I will pick up where Susan left off and continue to help Blue through life. I know Susan would be proud. This is just one story of a single person Susan touched in life. She had a heart of gold and will be greatly missed by so many.

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