Frequently we meet people who seem to be a friend before we actually meet them. David is like that. A dyed in the wool bachelor, he answered an ad we had put in the Pittsburgh Press for a roommate. We were low on finances and decided to rent the extra room we had. It opened to a hallway and was quite private and would not intrude on our space. David answered the ad. He was the only person that did. We met and Joy and I were satisfied that David would fit in. Jakey, our cat, took to David right away.

We seldom saw David as he went in and out. His room was close to the stairs that led down and out to the street. Occasionally David would join us for dinner. He especially loved the leg of lamb that I cooked as well as the egg plant lasagna. I would invite him in advance to join us, and it got so that he would anticipate a home cooked meal. "Beats cold dogs," he would say. He would grab a hot dog from the fridge every once in awhile for a quick snack. And whenever he joined us at the table he would always insist on paying for it. No matter how I would forcefully express that it was free he would still put some money on the table.

Several months after "our phantom roommate" was all settled for a long stay, I had gotten word that the position I had applied for in Kauai was mine! WOW! We were going back to Hawaii! We managed to get Jakey hooked up with Dennis, a friend who loved him just as much as we did. And then we had to see about David. He finally arranged to move in with another guy in Pittsburgh. He still owed us money for back rent which we never expected to get.

About a year after our move to Kauai we received a letter from David with a check in it! What a surprise! He had actually tracked us down, remembering Joy’s sister’s name in Cincinnati, just to pay off his debt. It was a partial payment, but he continued to send a check regularly until he paid in full.

A couple of years later Joy and I found ourselves in Tucson and in a situation where we had to move from our house quite suddenly. We had no idea where we were going but we felt sure we would be guided. We hadn’t heard from David for a few years, but the day we were moving he called. We told him that we were going to California. He was still in Pittsburgh and said he was thinking of moving. Just when we were at our wit’s end about managing to come up with the finances involved in moving, David sent us several thousand dollars for our agreement that we would find a place that was suitable for all of us! He appeared to help us when we moved to Long Beach!

We are making our last payment to David this month. And we thank God for sending him to us when we needed His help. David knows that we consider him our angel, but he just shrugs and gets a cold dog out of the fridge!

(c) Ray Hart