March 9,2005.
This day will never be forgotten for me and my family. It will go down like
9-11-01
April 19,1995– Oklahoma City bombing,
June 6 — D-day,
December 7 — Pearl Harbor Day.
For this day was like a bomb dropped on our lives but with hope at the end of the day.
This particular Wednesday morning I had an MRI of my liver showing clearly numerous tumors of various sizes. Just the day before I had received the news of my colon caner knowing it was at least Stage 2 but with the images of the MRI it was now Stage 4.
As we drove back to Prestonsburg, from Pikeville, Kentucky, all of us were very quiet. We needed a pick-me-up but the idea of eating in a restaurant crowded with people was out of the question. Thinking of my good friend Jerry Bishop, I told Julie to stop at his store, “The Men’s Corner” so I could buy a colorful new tie.
Jerry greeted us as I suspected with all the familiarity of a good friend giving us great words of enouragement and hope. After finding a tie Jerry declared, “This would look good on you.” He picked up another item and repeated his statement subsequently asking me what I needed. In my state of mind I hardly knew what to say, but it had been 10 years or more since I had purchased a navy blazer.
Before I could say “44 regular” Jerry is slipping a coat on me with pants to match. He continued to find ties, a belt, a warm up suit, beautiful shirts while always saying this would look good on me. I knew Jerry was a great salesman and encourager but I noticed Julie was giving me a signal to stop. In my mind I only came in for a tie. After being measured for the pant length, I went to the counter to pay. I knew I did not have enough money to cover all these clothes having less than a tenth in my wallet. As I struggled with words on how to cover the cost, but Jerry said,”These are free, these are your hope clothes.”
Walking out of the store and in to the bright sunshine, we realized we were with a 21st century Barnabus . A day darkened by insurmountable odds to a turned in to a day filled with hope.
Contact Jerry Bishop at The Men’s Corner to get Hope Clothes.
The Men’s Corner
4559 N Mayo Trail
Pikeville, Kentucky 41501
606-433-1707