On April 5th 1982, a day that changed my grandfather’s life forever, he became a sober member of society. This means that he recognized the he had a drinking problem and came to terms with that problem. Even before that day he has always tried to help other people, but that is a very special day for him because he has never had a drink of alcohol since then. He attends AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings and helps people at the meetings overcome the evils of drinking. He makes himself always available to people in the meetings so he can help them to not have that drink of alcohol that they want to have and know they should not have. When someone is an alcoholic they loose control of their life to that bottle of liquor. My grandfather knows how bad this can be and how it can hurt you so he tries hard to help those people not take that drink. As a member of AA my grandfather visits prisons, Hospitals, detoxification centers and rehabilitation centers to talk to people that are trying to quite drinking alcohol and offer them hope and encouragement. My grandfather is always happy to see someone kick the drinking habit.
My grandfather, Dave Kelley passed out June 16, 1995 as the result of a stroke. The stroke happened because he had high blood pressure and blocked arteries. After his stroke he couldn’t stand up, his jaw was tightened, and he couldn’t talk. It affected the right side of his brain, which made the left side of the body partially paralyzed. He needed to regenerate his brain cells. He did this and is now able to use his left side but it isn’t as strong as it used to be. He needed to relearn his speech, how to walk and how to use his left hand again. While he was in therapy, he couldn’t hold anything tightly in his left hand. He needed months of therapy to get his strength back. While he was in the Hospital he heard about a group named ‘The Marine Corps League” this is a group of ex-marines that help other veterans. When he heard how they helped people he wanted to join in and help also.
I think he is a Good Samaritan because even though he suffered through this terrible condition, he still went on caring for other people. Five days a week he goes to the VA Hospitals to visit with people less fortunate than himself to try to brighten up their lives. Some of the people he visits with have fought in World War 2 and some of them have fought in the Vietnam War. Many of these people have lost arms and legs fighting in those wars. He was a U.S. marine in World War 2 himself and he knows first hand the horrors that these people have gone through.
As a member of the Marine Corps League, he does all kinds of things like helping to organize fundraisers to get money for the disabled veterans. The money he helps to raise is used to have celebrations to commemorate the lives of these people because he does not want anyone to forget the sacrifices that they made for all of us. My Grandfather and the other members of the Marine Corps League also use the money they raise to take the veterans out of the hospitals on outings like baseball games, parks, fishing trips and casino trips to get the veterans out of their hospital beds and back into the world. My Grandfather even helped the Marine Corps League raise enough money to buy a $42,000.00 wheelchair accessible van, so the disabled veterans would have a way to get out of the hospitals to enjoy the outings. One day they even had a belly dancer come to the hospital to do a show for the veterans, my grandfather was quoted in the News Journal after the belly dancer performed as saying “ it was the first time they (the veterans) had moved in a week, it was beautiful.”
All of these things I have just told you show me how special my grandfather really is. He does all of these things for one reason, to make other people feel good about them selves. I am so proud to have a grandfather that is a real Good Samaritan and I hope I can help other people at least half as much as he does.
