Recently I got to meet a gem of a man named Edward Grady from Ennis, Texas. He is the father of 12 kids. Six are grown and six live at home. To make ends meet raising all of those kids he picks up scrap metal and sells it. Edward’s work ethic, punctuality and kindness are remarkable. Of course, there is a story about how I met him and I will gladly pass it along.
When you have several acres, you tend to accumulate stuff. After over 25 years we had accumulated quite a lot of stuff and eventually you have to do something with all of that accumulated stuff.
There used to be a man that frequented our neighborhood in an old pickup that would pick up anything that he could sell for scrap metal. Old appliances, junk lawnmowers, just about anything so long as it was metal. When I finally decided to get rid of the junk at our pecan orchard, I put out an inquiry in our neighborhood to see if the man who picked up junk was still around. One of our neighbors replied with a phone number. I immediately tried to call the man but never got a call back. I don’t know what became of him but he provided a very useful service for our community.
For my next step I took a picture of the big pile of junk I needed hauled away and I posted it on FaceBook Marketplace and asked if anyone hauled away junk. I got several responses to my ad but one person said, “Just tell me when and where and I will be right over.” Edward said he was coming from Ennis and I told him that directions were pretty easy: Just go to Ferris, take Malloy Bridge Road and it will become FM 740 and take you straight into Forney.
Ed got here exactly when he said he would and told me how grateful he was because he needed to earn money to buy Christmas for his twelve kids. He already had some stuff on his trailer and I noticed a beautiful coffee table base. Ed said: if you want it you can have it. I took it but I gave him $20 for it. He loaded up as much as he could and promised to be back the next day to load the rest including two broken brush hogs. He promptly returned the next day and I intended to help him load the mowers with my tractor but it wouldn’t start. Undeterred he got the heavy mowers loaded, the first with my help and the second by himself. I couldn’t help but think that Archimedes who said “Give me a place to stand and I will move the world,” would have been proud.
While he was working the most remarkable thing happened. I had sold a huge metal water tank to someone and they showed up to pick it up. Edward stopped what he was doing to help load the tank onto their truck. While I was scrounging around to find something to tie it down, Edward retrieved a ratchet strap out of his truck and gave it to them. I realized I was witnessing the heart of a very good man.
I’m sure there a several of you reading this that have scrap metal that you need to get rid of. If so, call Mr. Edward Grady at (214)772-3740 and be ready to meet a remarkable man. Remember one of my favorite scriptures: “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it.” Hebrews 13:2
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