Late last week I received a text from my friend asking if I had read the paper. Turns out, his house caught fire while him and his daughter were asleep early in the AM. Praise god, they weren't hurt.
He has been a single father of a young girl for about 14 years now. He has done it alone. She has always come first, over and above all else. He has sacrificed relationships and companionship. He has given up a decent job of many years because they needed to switch him to the late shift. He is a little rough around the edges, maybe a bit old fashioned. A bachelor to the core trying to raise a teenage daughter alone.
When I first heard of the house fire I was kind of excited for them. They will have a new bathroom and kitchen for their modest home. That feeling quickly subsided once I was informed he had no insurance. Apparently he was denied insurance because he needed to upgrade some plumbing issues first, or something like that.
I was a little relieved when I saw the damages, it could have been a lot worse. The repairs needed to the house wont be easy but its manageable.
After my friend was done work last night I went over to his house just to be a friend, that's when I witnessed the true scope of the total damages. He is a mess. The stress of the situation has him beat down to the point he wants to just give up. He doesn't have the means to fix the house. His first real relationship in many years is in jeopardy. He just wants to be alone, he cant handle the complications of relationships right now. And the big one is the sense of failure he feels when it comes to providing a comfortable home for his daughter. My friend needs help, but he is to proud to ask for help. I am as well, but for my friend I will ask.
I don't know what to do aside from going over there and get dirty helping him get started.