MY 90 YEAR OLD NEIGHBOR

 Lew turned 90 last December and lost his wife almost five years ago.   He lives at the end of the road, about two miles up the hill from me.   Some times he will drive to my house with a surplus of apples or figs from trees in his yard.   Other times we will meet on the gravel road we all share and talk for a few minutes.   Sometimes I will call him or leave a message to see how he is doing.  His hearing is not good, so it is necessary to talk loud.   Our usual conversation is about how each of us are doing, how is our water supply holding up, and to call each other if we need help.    Over the years we have helped each other with tree removals and working on the road.   He has a Kubota tractor and has helped me with pulling trees out of the woods or moving gravel to patch up a mud hole on the driveway or the main road.   In turn, I have cut trees on his place and loaned him some cables to move trees on his place.   

During the big snow storm in the winter of 2019 he was snowed in for over a week with no power, until a neighbor with a small bull dozer opened his road.  During that time he survived on box cereal, and put on extra clothing to stay warm.   Lew was a Navy corpsman during the Korean War and has a license plate on his car indicating a handicap.   I don't know what his handicap is and have never asked.   I do know he has made many trips to the Roseburg VA and a few to Portland.   At 90 he still drives, goes grocery shopping once a week and is always willing to help.