It was a sunny late Friday afternoon that I received a call from one of our partner agencies. They told me they had a 79 year old man in their lobby who had come from Eastern Washington with nothing but his belongings strapped to his back. He needed some place to stay and was looking for his brother, whom he had last laid eyes on in Belfair, almost two years ago. I tried to make arrangements for him at the local motel but they were fully booked.
After the strike out in lodging the department, I drove down to meet the man face to face , to tell him the bad news about the only motel in Belfair being booked to capacity. While I was driving to meet him a million thoughts and questions were running through my mind. Why did this person show up today with nothing but a backpack? How many prisons are in Eastern Washington? Did he just get released or did he escape? If so, was he dangerous? What if the person he was looking for was really not his brother but a witness at his last trial and he was coming to settle the score? Then before I could run a whole True Crimes episode in my head I decided to take a deep breath and just go meet the man.
The person I walked up to was a well dressed, clean, strong man of 79 years. He took the news of no room at the inn in stride and asked for a ride to the bus station. On the way to the bus station I got to know this traveler a little better. There was no nefarious reason for his trip to Belfair. The honest answer was he was just a man looking to find his younger brother. He had no cell phone, used no modern technology and had spent the last few years living on a mountain top with a friend.
I was trying to figure out a way to help him find his brother and I asked if he minded if I did a little research and use social media to help him find his kin. He was agreeable and said he would come by The HUB or call me one way or another in the next few days. So The HUB posted all the information we had and the amazing HUB staff put the internet to work to find his younger brother.
We found an address on one of my favorite sites, Washington Digital Archives. This site is a wealth of information that I have used in the past looking for my family tree information. So I had GREAT NEWS when he came to check in on our results. I handed the physical address to the traveler and he was delighted and said he could not wait to see his brother. I volunteered to drive him there but he was unable to go immediately because he had picked up a small side job since I last visited with him. It was only going to take a few days to complete but he wanted to finish what he had committed to. I told him I was headed to that same town later that day. Did he mind if I stopped by the address and see if this was indeed his brother's residence and get a valid phone number if I could. He readily said "YES , you would do that for me?"
So I was excited when I pulled up to the door and knocked. A nice lady answered and took one look at me and my daughter; who was tagging along to hear the outcome of the story. As she quickly sized us up and said” NO THANK YOU, whatever you are selling we do not want any.” As she started to shut the door, I quickly called her by name and she said “yes?” I asked “Is this your husband's name?’ She then fully opened the door looking me over closely trying to decide if this was going to be one of those Maury Povich moments or how did we fit into her life picture?
I quickly explained the reason for my visits when her husband came to the door. The smile of delight and joy that I saw on his face made every single step until this moment worthwhile. The younger brother was able to fill in some of the gaps in the story. His older brother is developmentally disabled, illiterate and unable to use technology , although extremely capable in other areas like surviving at the top of a mountain. The pieces of the puzzle all came together quickly, the way he had barely glanced at the address I handed him, the way when I asked how to spell his brothers name he stumbled over the letters and let me fill in the blanks with a nod. No crazy serial killer or escaped prisoner here . Just one man seeking his family despite all the obstacles that were in his way.
The brothers are now reunited! I am so happy that on that late Friday afternoon I didn’t just clock out and shut the door on this man. Sometimes it pays to stop and listen and do all the good that you can, by all the means that you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, for as long as you can. (John Wesley)
Beth Gizzi
Executive Director
The HUB Center for Seniors
360-275-0535 thehubcenterforseniors@gmail.com
HUBHappenings.org
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