What's in an Obligation

Many years ago I took an obligation. Just like countless other men, over a span of centuries, most of whom are now totally forgotten I obligated myself to a fraternal organization.

I joined with a sense of seeking a connection with my roots and an understanding of my ancestors, as my grandfather, his father and grandfather had belonged I wanted to understand why. Yet, while not discouraging me from joining, my own father, whom I greatly admired was not a member, nor would he even discuss his reasons for not belonging. And, while some members have achieved great historical significance, the vast majority passes to the obscurity of history with little recognition.

I was further influenced to join by the fact that while there were great and famous men amongst it’s roster, there were also lot’s of local examples of its membership and all of whom I’d come in contact with were honest, honorable men, many of whom enjoyed positions of leadership within my small hometown.

Part of this obligation I took deals with coming to the aid of its worthy members, their widows and orphans, in times of need. Something we don’t tend to think about a lot now days, with the huge state safety nets having been spread so widely in an effort to make sure that our society’s less fortunate and truly needy are cared for. Yet, holes still exist providing opportunity to serve.

Now, if ever I could think of a “worthy” widow, it would be sister Alberta. She and her late husband Tom were among the first friends I met when I moved to this community over twenty years ago. Alberta epitomizes the hard work ethic our nation was built on. At eight-five, she only stopped working after a fall left her with a broken back and the inability to stand for any length of time. Yet, even now a couple of years later still she finds time to volunteer her services at the local hospital one day a week.

But, despite a lifetime of hard work and the best of planning Alberta finds herself now living on very limited income. She had become a patient of mine years before and the hearing aids she was trying to get by with when she came to see me recently were far beyond their useful life, and even if I was able to restore them to their original specifications, those were no longer appropriate for her needs. Now, she found herself struggling to pay even for what would be an ineffectual repair of her old gear, leaving her severely impaired, with all that implies.

One of the benefits of dealing with great companies is that they will, given the opportunity, generally rise to the occasion and help when you have someone who is going to fall through the cracks otherwise. GN ReSound is just such a company. When my inside representative heard Alberta’s story, not only did ReSound provide me with the equipment I needed to fill Alberta’s needs, they did so with a pair of their Flagship product line, allowing me to fit this “Worthy widow” with amongst the very best of what our industry has to offer.

When in earlier this week for her first check up, she had her old friend Pat, who was over visiting from England, with her and the differences were remarkable. Excepting some difficulty using her phone, she reported hearing great everywhere else. This was a huge improvement over what she had been struggling to get by with.

Knowing that she and Tom used to be seen regularly at our local Shrine on Fridays for happy hour and that she no longer drove at night, I asked if she and Pat would like to be our guests for a toddy, or two for the upcoming Friday? The light in her eyes answered before she could.

We picked Pat and her up at their apartment at the appointed hour last night and proceeded to have the best time I’ve had there in years. We all laughed so hard at times that our sides hurt. Not only was Alberta able to hear in a very complex sound environment, in short order, she’d caught the eye of Wes, an old widower friend and soon they had moved from our position at the bar, to a table across the room. There, amongst the live music and hubbub of a noisy happy hour, they caught up on old times.

When it was time to call it an evening and we saw them back to the front door of their complex, I knew from the continuing thanks and gratitude in Alberta’s eyes, that I had never been so well blessed and served as I had been by simply living up to that obligation I’d taken so many years before.