Early service call

S Ebels

The temp isn't too bad by Michigan standards, -2*, nice and calm, but still, folks get a bit antsy when the furnace won't light. So the phone rang at 4:45AM this morning and an older sounding voice said Merry Christmas. I returned the greeting doing my best to sound halfway awake. He invited me over to look at his no heat situation and I accepted the invitation. Not a big deal, just a crudded up pressure switch line on a 90% gas furnace.
As I was packing up, he said "I'll never forget where I was 60 years ago today." I could hear a story coming and stopped to listen to him. (You can learn a lot from old folks if you just listen). He related how he and his platoon spent Christmas day pinned down in their foxholes during the War. He was in one of the worst areas of fighting during the Battle of the Bulge and he told how most of his platoon was wiped out. "28 days we didn't get out of our boots or clothes, take a bath or even have much decent to eat other than cold, frozen stuff in cans. I got my million dollar wound on the 15th of January. That took me off the front line and shortly after that my platoon was all killed or captured. I thank God to this day for that hit in the shoulder." (I noticed his left arm didn't work too well.)
I could see he was a man of faith from things in the house so I asked him if he ever thought about why some were taken and some were spared. He said, " You know, I'm not smart enough to figure that out. I don't think anyone is, but I do know this. God answers prayer for the sake of that little baby that we celebrate on Christmas Day. I prayed that I could go home and I got to go home. Not all in one piece but, I got to go home. He answered my prayer, just not quite in the way I had asked it." We talked a little more and I left for another no-heater that had come in via the cell phone.

As I was driving down the road I was thinking about what he said............ I won't elaborate any more on it because, hey, this is a heating oriented web-site.

Let's just say you can learn a lot from old folks if you just listen.

Merry Christmas

George_15

You are a good man for helping out an old guy with no heat so early on this day! Merry Christmas

toearly_2

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,141954,00.html

This might be worthy of printing and sending to your customer.

David

John R. Hall

Steve

Very nice story -- thanks for sharing. Here's wishing a Merry Christmas to my "up North" friends.

steve gates

I love theold guys. The olderI get the harder it is to find them. go figure.

At least my call was handle over the phone. Two weeks ago he was upset, today it's merry christmas, go figure.