When life hands you repairs... make friends

How do you smile through the difficult times in your life? Be so passionate about what you’re doing that no matter where you are, you take the time to have conversations with other human beings around you and you invite them to participate in your life. Whether it’s through a brief smile, a handshake, a hug, a conversation, or in my case, the @beautifulstrength_org portrait project.

Yesterday Atticus needed a new front right steering tire. (And possibly a a much larger repair.. but we will start here). I found a tire shop that could handle the bus and could get me in the same day. I drove Atticus over to Cruz Tires in Banning, CA. I pulled the bus in and Edgar came over to pull the tire off and put on the new one. We didn’t speak the same language, but were able to communicate via smiles and gestures. I watched in awe as he handled that tire with ease, and about peed my pants when he lit some liquid on fire and it crawled up the side of my tire. I wasn’t sure if that was suppose to happen or if that was an accident. He must have seen the overly concerned look on my face because he began laughing and saying “it’s ok”… over and over. And then he did it again; this time I recorded it.

While Edgar was changing out my tire, I got into a conversation with another mechanic, Danny. I learned about his commitment to providing for his family and how he traveled wherever Peterbuilt sent him to maintain his career and advance in the company. Even when it took him to places where he was a minority and people treated him differently. He was smart, highly capable, and a lead mechanic, but often people wouldn’t trust him or treated him inferior when all he wanted to do was work and help others. We talked about how he lived in Nebraska and how outcast he felt being hispanic in a majority white area and how different he felt. He said it was really frustrating but he still worked with a smile everyday.

Edgar is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico and though his English is about equivalent to my Spanish, we still were able to communicate. Happiness communicates even when language may not.Treat everyone with kindness, respect, and appreciation…. Even on the days that you cry and feel like your world is caving in.