Rainbow Dave

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3 NIV

Many centuries ago, myself and a friend of mine decided to leave Kansas City for Hays, America. We did not know one person there. We had no money. We had no plan. We did not really even have a dream in mind. We had not thought far enough ahead to have a dream. We had action unsubstantiated by any rhyme or reason.

I remember looking for a job. Without any connections I ended up seeing an ad for the Rainbow Truck Wash. That’s a pretty fancy name, so I applied. We got paid to wash semi’s from all over the country. Semi drivers who have their life savings invested in a business on wheels were quite discerning. Picky, you might say.

Most of them were cattle trailers covered with the stuff that comes out of cows. I don’t mean steaks. It was a nasty job. Picture us coming back from a shift to Wiest Hall, the dorm on campus, covered in the smell of money. One night a bus came in. They told us it was the tour bus for James Brown, the Godfather of Soul. I doubt that it was true, but it was more fun to think that it was. We sang James Brown songs while we worked. You had to be there.

The owner of this establishment even offered us the chance for advancement. Instead of being on the clock waiting for a truck to come in, we could be “on call” in our own homes. This gave us the opportunity to stay available without getting paid for it. Like a boss. What a sweet deal. He also talked us into helping him on construction jobs. You guessed it, he called it Rainbow Builders.

We were given two options, show up at the location of a concrete job on a Saturday at an absurd time or show up even earlier to the donut shop in town. That first day we assumed that a night of stupidity would not make the day of pouring concrete worse. We hit the job site without having been home from the previous night’s festivities. I wore tennis shoes. Dave laughed at two things, the thought of me thinking I was ready and at the knowledge of what was about to unfold.

He kindly loaned me some appropriate footwear. But he couldn’t save me from a parade of cement trucks we saw that day. We poured a lumber yard. It’s still there. I recall the day every time I drive by it. He still reminds anyone who will listen. He did a lot of cool jobs around town and I got to help. I was devoid of skill but strong and willing. He put me to work.

Even though I sometimes fuss about my spot in the universe, I think that I am exactly where I was meant to be doing exactly what I was put on this earth to do. For me to end up here I had to have help along the way. To view this help as random ignores the clearly beautiful design of the Master. Dave may not know it, but he was part of that design. Those jobs kept me in college. Those jobs bought food and paid the bills. Without him, I am in a much different place, and I do not like the sound of that place. I owe him.

Years later when it came time for my wife and I to remodel our house I only made one phone call. He was still cranking out work and I couldn’t think of a better person to do the job. It was during this project I realized his age. He was out working college kids and could have retired based on his age and that was 15 years ago. He is still outworking people half his age.

I still cross paths with him. He inspects houses and I have clients who use him. I have told more than one that I love him, but if they start swapping stories with him, we will be there for 8 hours.

If you are wondering what the point of the story is, I don’t have anything specific other than this: when I started writing it was so people in my life would know things I wanted to tell them long after either me or my brain leaves. I think about that in terms of our children and their children. It is more unusual for me to think about it in terms of someone who is older than me or who exists just outside of my primary field of vision. I have learned that random people and events are usually not random at all.

Who has made an impact in your life? Do you tell them? I think we should do that more.

Who are you impacting? Don’t underestimate any interaction. Paying someone to wash manure off a truck may keep them around so they can meet the Joy of their Life.

Challenge: All too often I think about impact on a person as being a spiritual experience. Helping a person find their Savior is a great ambition. However, most of our interactions are more ordinary, seemingly unsubstantiated without rhyme or reason, but designed by the Master. I just want to say thanks Dave.

Rick Claiborn