Whenever I can, I like to write about the good people I meet in my life, there are a lot of them around me. Whenever I lose hope about the future of humans, I think of the good people in my life – Kelly from the Bog, the Mansion aides, the rescue carpenter Jay Bridge, our friend Alfreda, my students in the Writing Workshop, and Charlie, the mechanic who works at Rushinski Automotive.

I will admit that mechanics are mystics and sorcerers to me, they know things I will never know and can’t understand. Charlie is forever trying to explain to me what a strut hose line is, and he never quits on me, even though I never know what he is talking about.

And he doesn’t even know I’m Dyslexic, although he does know I’m crazy.

I trust him completely. I got new license plates yesterday – the old ones  literately peeled right off of the plate. I could not unscrew the screws that tie the plates to the car, so I ended up visiting Charlie, who, gracious as ever, came out to help me.

One of the screws had broken off, part as stuck deep inside of the hole. I would have trade-in the car before fixing that, Charlie got a drill and a thin bit, and just obliterated the screw somehow. He put the plates on in seconds.

He wouldn’t take any money for it. I feel fortunate to know Charlie, he is helping me maintain my car and keep it for years.  He has a dry sense of humor, the kind we both share and we can always get one another to laugh.

We both are outsiders, I think, we don’t swim with all of the other fish.

Charlie is as honest as he is competent, I often ask him about repairs and he often tells me I don’t need them. He just won’t do dumb things I ask him to do.

Good people are important, I think they are the threat of life, the connections we humans have to one another. They don’t fight about the left or the right, they are happy to help, they don’t argue about politics, they are not resentful of others, they work hard and are bounded, they deserve to get paid for their work, and they often have loyal followers.

I spent $3,000 on new struts and brakes this year, and as Charlie promised, the rides as good as  new. Keeping a car this long is very new to me, and very appealing.

The car is important to me, I got it in 2011, the year after Maria and I got married, and my plan is to keep it for another 10 years. The day of my getting new cars every couple of years are over.

Good people need recognition in our world, I think, they never seem to make the news unless they pull somebody out of a burning building. Good people carry out small acts of great kindness every day.

I don’t ever want to forget how important they are in my life. Gratitude is the balm and potion I use to keep me balance You can think about the bad guys, or you can think about the good guys.

Charlie is a good guy, I love taking portraits of good people, the truth shines in their eyes.