The other morning I was sewing lemur tails in the basement of the theater. Since summer is a convenient period for maintenance workers to paint, and repair, and change filters, there were several men who kept traipsing through the costume room. Sometimes we chatted. Other times they seemed focused on the problem at hand. 

 

I asked one how many buildings he is in charge of. 

 

"All of them." He smiled. 

 

There are a slew of them on campus, maybe ten, and each of them requires heat, and water, and fire safety.

 

"So I guess you have seen a lot. Power outages, storms, flooding, tornado watches... and you just handle it?"

 

"Yep. I show up every day and do what needs to be done. I've been at it for fifteen years. And somewhere else before that."

 

Recently I had asked him to replace the bulbs in one of the more remote costume rooms, and he had accomplished it the same day. I thanked him. 

 

I thought about my reaction when something goes awry at our house. Like the circuit breakers tripping. I get nervous. If the lights go out, I escalate. But here was a person who chooses to address those problems head on. What's more, he is probably unknown to most of the students and faculty. He improves our lives anonymously. 

 

It would be impossible for me to list all of the people who have showed up for Benjamin over the past twenty one years. Yet that does not lessen my gratitude. On the contrary it magnifies it. The woman who is spending a bunch of time with him these days has experience. She has weathered the effects of people whose emotional weather includes anger, paranoia, fear, and anxiety. One of the things that endears her to me, is that she stays with it. Even if people in her care lash out, or behave erratically, she doesn't bolt. Today Ben was getting keyed up about the thunder. She talked him through it, and took him out for a chocolate covered banana. 

 

It is astonishing, really. Those quiet souls who keep appearing even when the comfortable thing would be to stay home, or steer clear of trouble. And to think I don't even know who most of them are.