LindaC781
Proud Member
But they needed you, and showed up at your door??
And they really needed YOUR personal intervention??
Would you?
We've done this now twice in our lives. The first time was when I was about 15 years old...
One day, my sister (who was very popular in school - was a member of the Student Council etc) brought a 16-year-old young man to meet my parents. His name was Herb Shucher, and was in need of a good home. You see, Herb, his brother Arthur (15 years old) and his father Herb Shucher Sr. (you may have run across his name once or twice before - he was the manager for Jim Reeves in Nashville in the 1950's) lived together in an apartment across town from us. Herb Sr. was dying of cancer. Herb Jr.'s mother was in no way able to take care of her two boys. Herb Sr. came up North to get good medical treatment for h is cancer. Our town is close to Boston, so he moved up here to see if he be successfully treated. Apparently, the man waited too long... By the time he came up to our town, the cancer ravaged his body so much that to obtain remission was impossible. Herb Jr. and Arthur were frightened. Without their father, their future was uncertain. They needed a place to stay.
So, here comes my sister, bless her heart. She was always doing these types of things. Whether it be rescueing a bird with a damaged wing back to health, or taking a younger child under her wing, to working with needy adults in the Walter E. Fernald School, she was always there to help...she's still like that. Anyway, she suggested to Herb that he stay with our family in our house, while his younger brother Arthur go to another family in town. So, we took Herb in.
Musical talent was not foresaken with both Herb and Arthur. Herb was an EXTREMELY talented drummer. He was a member of our high school marching band. Arthur, his brother, was a very good alto saxophone player. In fact, BOTH brothers were in our high school concert and marching bands. My father was band director back then.
It was fun having Herb live with us!! He was like the big brother I never had. One time, I stayed up to watch New Year's Rocking Eve on TV. I was 10 years older than my baby brother, and had to babysit many times on New Year's Eve. My parents would go out and work New Years - they were (and still are) musicians. My mother played the drums, and my father played keyboards and any other instrument he got his hands on..
So, I sat there watching Dick Clark herald in the year 1976 - Chicago was featured that year. The next thing I know, Herb shows up and sits down next to me to keep me company. We had a lot of good conversations back then - about his drums, about life, about what the future may hold, you name it. I treasured those times for so long.
Anyway, time went by and both my sister and I finally graduated High School. My sister went on to music college, and I started a pre-med/biology program at a university. Then, years went by, and the memory of Herb and his brother Arthur became a distant blur. Their memory became like a blot on the landscape that gets smaller the further you traveled away from it. We would go camping and do other things...we were very busy back then. All of a sudden, the memory of Herb came flooding back to me. I wondered where he was, how he was doing and whatever happened to him? So I asked my Dad about it. He said "You don't know? Herb landed a job working with none other than Randy Travis in Nashville - he's his drummer!" I thought "Good Lord!! I KNEW that kid was good!! Wow!! Good for him - I wonder if he remembers us - remembers me?"
Years continued to go by and we continued to live our lives....until one day, Herb contacted me through the Classmates.com site! I had registered there because I was curious as to what all of my other classmates ended up doing after graduation. Actually I contacted Herb first. I sent him a nice email, asking him if he remembered us. His response? He said he never forgot the kindness we bestowed on him and his brother all of those years ago!!
Well, that year we met back up with Herb. He and the band were in town - Randy was playing the Shriners Auditorium in the next town over, and reserved tickets for the family!! When he saw us, he got kinda weepy....he was so proud to have us back in his life again - he introduced us to his whole tour band!! It was great!! He still calls my mother "Mom". He's married now, with one child. It must have been very difficult those years growing up...but I am glad I contacted him and he's back in our lives, in one way or another...
My mother even got a set of rims from him custom-made!! He was a sweetheart back then, and he still is one. He and his wife and child are truly blessings...
And now. My sister took in a little boy (18 years old - little to me). He was living in a tent in the back of a school. He was born crack-addicted, and has a very lousy childhood up to this point. He was physically and sexually abused as a child. When my sister intervened (she taught him from grade 1 to 4 - she's a music teacher), he was ready to commit suicide.
If you had a chance would you take in a stranger if they really really needed it?
And they really needed YOUR personal intervention??
Would you?
We've done this now twice in our lives. The first time was when I was about 15 years old...
One day, my sister (who was very popular in school - was a member of the Student Council etc) brought a 16-year-old young man to meet my parents. His name was Herb Shucher, and was in need of a good home. You see, Herb, his brother Arthur (15 years old) and his father Herb Shucher Sr. (you may have run across his name once or twice before - he was the manager for Jim Reeves in Nashville in the 1950's) lived together in an apartment across town from us. Herb Sr. was dying of cancer. Herb Jr.'s mother was in no way able to take care of her two boys. Herb Sr. came up North to get good medical treatment for h is cancer. Our town is close to Boston, so he moved up here to see if he be successfully treated. Apparently, the man waited too long... By the time he came up to our town, the cancer ravaged his body so much that to obtain remission was impossible. Herb Jr. and Arthur were frightened. Without their father, their future was uncertain. They needed a place to stay.
So, here comes my sister, bless her heart. She was always doing these types of things. Whether it be rescueing a bird with a damaged wing back to health, or taking a younger child under her wing, to working with needy adults in the Walter E. Fernald School, she was always there to help...she's still like that. Anyway, she suggested to Herb that he stay with our family in our house, while his younger brother Arthur go to another family in town. So, we took Herb in.
Musical talent was not foresaken with both Herb and Arthur. Herb was an EXTREMELY talented drummer. He was a member of our high school marching band. Arthur, his brother, was a very good alto saxophone player. In fact, BOTH brothers were in our high school concert and marching bands. My father was band director back then.
It was fun having Herb live with us!! He was like the big brother I never had. One time, I stayed up to watch New Year's Rocking Eve on TV. I was 10 years older than my baby brother, and had to babysit many times on New Year's Eve. My parents would go out and work New Years - they were (and still are) musicians. My mother played the drums, and my father played keyboards and any other instrument he got his hands on..
So, I sat there watching Dick Clark herald in the year 1976 - Chicago was featured that year. The next thing I know, Herb shows up and sits down next to me to keep me company. We had a lot of good conversations back then - about his drums, about life, about what the future may hold, you name it. I treasured those times for so long.
Anyway, time went by and both my sister and I finally graduated High School. My sister went on to music college, and I started a pre-med/biology program at a university. Then, years went by, and the memory of Herb and his brother Arthur became a distant blur. Their memory became like a blot on the landscape that gets smaller the further you traveled away from it. We would go camping and do other things...we were very busy back then. All of a sudden, the memory of Herb came flooding back to me. I wondered where he was, how he was doing and whatever happened to him? So I asked my Dad about it. He said "You don't know? Herb landed a job working with none other than Randy Travis in Nashville - he's his drummer!" I thought "Good Lord!! I KNEW that kid was good!! Wow!! Good for him - I wonder if he remembers us - remembers me?"
Years continued to go by and we continued to live our lives....until one day, Herb contacted me through the Classmates.com site! I had registered there because I was curious as to what all of my other classmates ended up doing after graduation. Actually I contacted Herb first. I sent him a nice email, asking him if he remembered us. His response? He said he never forgot the kindness we bestowed on him and his brother all of those years ago!!
Well, that year we met back up with Herb. He and the band were in town - Randy was playing the Shriners Auditorium in the next town over, and reserved tickets for the family!! When he saw us, he got kinda weepy....he was so proud to have us back in his life again - he introduced us to his whole tour band!! It was great!! He still calls my mother "Mom". He's married now, with one child. It must have been very difficult those years growing up...but I am glad I contacted him and he's back in our lives, in one way or another...
My mother even got a set of rims from him custom-made!! He was a sweetheart back then, and he still is one. He and his wife and child are truly blessings...
And now. My sister took in a little boy (18 years old - little to me). He was living in a tent in the back of a school. He was born crack-addicted, and has a very lousy childhood up to this point. He was physically and sexually abused as a child. When my sister intervened (she taught him from grade 1 to 4 - she's a music teacher), he was ready to commit suicide.
If you had a chance would you take in a stranger if they really really needed it?
salm 37...