[Extra]Ordinary People

In 1972, after working on a shrimp boat out of Marathon on the Florida Keys, I landed a job washing dishes in a Marathon restaraunt. Bothered by the waste of all the uneaten food I scraped into the garbage, I asked owner if I could offer it to the poor people in Marathon area? He admitted the waste bothered him too, but it was policy not to give food away because of possible lawsuits. I told owner it seems so inhumane to be able to give uneaten food to dogs and cats out back of restaraunt, but can’t give it to poor people. Then I conceived of an idea, and convinced owner we could avoid any lawsuits by giving the food to poor people to feed their pets! I spread the word and nightly I’d take uneaten food in boxes down to dock back of restaraunt to distribute to gathered poor people for their pets. One night after distributed food, I was approached by, met a mentally challenged young man who introduced himself as “Dumbee.” His first words to me were “You know people say they know Jesus, but one don’t know Jesus, He just knows folks by the good deeds they do for other folks.. so Jim, Jesus knows you cause food you give poor, and I have something to give you for helping poor!” Dumbee explained he had found my gift while working at his job of cleaning up storm-damaged dwellings along the shore. What he brought me next day was the item, the unknown device pictured. He had said with that big smile of his “Now Jim, most folks see some tool, but I know you see what I see…it’s Christ on cross!” I knew by his pure joy of this gift, Dumbee was a true Christian!

A week later, I spotted Dumbee near back of the restaraunt with three other workman in two pickup trucks cleaning up a storm-destroyed building and boathouse. Dumbee came over to me and explained how he and other pickup truck loader were having “contest” where first loader to load his truck and unload it at the dump site, the other loader had to buy him lunch. Then in an absolute conviction he was going to win, Dumbee triumphantly yelled “HAMBURGER!” I followed Dumbee over to work site and immediately saw it was a setup, a ruse to get Dumbee to buy other loader lunch with his small, hard earned wages! With another yell of “HAMBURGER!” to the mocking, sly laughter of other workers, Dumbee went to work as other loader tossed into his truck all the lightest pieces of debris. Dumbee started to load his truck with heavy, water-soaked mattress and box springs. The smirks, laughter and remark of “Retard” by other driver and loader, suddenly filled me with anger toward these “normal” scoundrels taking advantage of honest, hard-working Dumbee!

My mind, heart were appalled by the image of those coldhearted, unethical men easily unloading their light debris-filled truck at dump site, before Dumbee could unload all the heavy material in his truck and have to buy the other bastard lunch! I didn’t want to confront the other men, challenging their deceit in front of Dumbee, so as they pulled away with their light load… I ran to my car to follow them to the dump to confront them before Dumbee arrived. But at the dump site, I was stopped from following their truck into unloading area with only a car. I parked and walked back to site, but just as I was approaching the two men smoking and laughing as unloader had nearly all the short load of light debris out of their truck, I heard Dumbee’s yell of “HAMBURGER!” as his truck wheeled into the dump site. Though their truck was not yet completely free of debris, the smoking unloader was in no hurry, knowing it would take awhile before Dumbee could unload his heavy debris-laden truck. I stood in utter frustration at having missed my opportunity to confront those two heartless schemers, as Dumbee jumped from his truck and ran excitedly to its rear, threw down the tailgate and pulling a rope out to stretch it to a tree and tie it off. All of us perplexed, until Dumbee told his driver to pull away… and the rope tied to the mattress and box springs at the bottom of the load pulled everything out of the truck at once, leaving truck bed COMPLETELY EMPTY! Dumbee jumped up and down, as he revolved in a circle, shouting “HAMBURGER!”

I will never forget the joy of Dumbee as he excitedly began listing what he wanted on his hamburger to the other losing unloader who with the other two men was standing in silent, jaw-dropping shock of what they had just witnessed!