A Glimpse of Grandpa Cox

I know I mentioned this on facebook yesterday but there wasn't room to write the whole story so I would like to share this with you. Thursday we got a truck in from Canada to load and the trucker came into the office very agitated and upset with his co driver saying how dumb he was and he had left his (the drivers) US customs papers at the border. Now he had to have them faxed to us - but he seem mad at the world. Our forklift driver came in and said that the co driver was a young man and said he didn't want to go any further with the driver -he had been abusing him for a week and he couldn't take it any longer. Brian and I kept talking about it as we watched the driver jerk the kid around and yell at him. When the truck got loaded the driver came in with the young man and again told him in front of all of us how stupid he was. When they left Brian said "Poor kid, I wish I could help him" I said " Brian there must be something we can do" I went back to work and in a few minutes I looked out the window and saw Brian with the driver and the young man with his bags. The driver was ranting and raving but Brian was just standing there calmly listening and then talking. This went on for an hour. Finally Brian came in and said" Well, the boy is here, now what do we do with him." The boy hadn't eaten since the day before so Brian took him to get something to eat. Then Brian told me the story. Brian had went to the boy and asked him if he was ok and if he wanted to go with the trucker. He said no he was not ok and he did not want to go with him. The trucker asked him to leave them alone so they could leave and Brian told the trucker that the boy didn't want to go with him and was not going. The trucker said he had to go with him or he wouldn't take the load. Brian told him he would get the forklift and unload the truck but the boy was not going with him. The trucker denied abusing the boy but the boy told Brian later that he had hit him several times and screamed at him constantly. He also told him that the trucker had left his own customes papers at the border and couldn't figure out why he was blaming him. The boy - who looked 16 - but was actually 30 - is an African refuge going to pharmacy school in Canada. It was his spring break and the trucker had offered him 250 dollars to help him drive the truck. But found himself in a terrible situation with this trucker. He told Brian he had been praying all night for someone to help him get away from this guy. He had no money and no one to help. Brian, it turns out, was the answer to his prayers. Well to make a long story longer, Ed came and we got on the computer and found out how much it would cost to buy a bus ticket for him to get back to Toronto Canada. We all pooled our money to get him a ticket and have a little extra for food. Brian called Roni to explain the situation and she said yes bring him home for the night. The bus didn't leave until 2:30 am so they fed him and with Tyson's help showed him the town. He seemed to be really religious and was a very humble and greatful young man. He thanked Brian over and over for helping him and I do think Brian has made a life long friend. He has a cell phone and has been texting Brian as he travels home on his bus. That day as I watched Brian stand firm and bold for that young man I saw my dad. He reminded me so much of him. Dad was always quiet and a bit timid but he always stood up for the underdog, and had a soft heart for everyone. I will never forget what happened that day. And it touched a Mother's heart to know that her son would stand his ground for what he knew was right. All of my children have given me cause to be proud. And this was just one of those times.