Christmas Giving

Last weekend, one of our door locks failed.  A key was stuck in the cylinder.  It’s a commercial lock with a unique key set and it failed on a Saturday.

A  call went out to the adjutant.  “What do we do?”  Ouch!

We checked the door and there was no identifiable easy solution.  We have worked on lock sets before, but a commercial lock and cylinder is a special case.  With no one readily available to guard the unlocked door for two days and two nights, your adjutant got frantic.

He searched Google for a local locksmith that worked on commercial locks.  Right near the top was a local company operating as On the Double Locksmith in Durham.  There was an 800 number, but we called the local number.  It answered on the second ring and “David” listened to our problem and said he could come over.

He was at the post in about 20 minutes, identified the problem, and gave us an estimate for repair.  Then he quickly fixed it by freeing the key and  adjusting loose parts.

So what does this have to do with Christmas Giving?  Well, David headed to his truck with my credit card in hand and asked a question.  “So what is this post? Do you help veterans?” David asked.  I shared what the American Legion is about and David looked at me and said, “Then this repair is on me to help the veterans.”

I asked David if he was a veteran (always the recruiter) and he told me that he was, but for another country, Israel.  His father, however, served in the U.S. Army.  We chatted some more and I shared with David our work with Holocaust survivors at the Chapel Hill Holocaust Speakers Bureau and our Dachau ash cake burial ceremony participation. We bonded emotionally and I remembered those who shared these events with me; Robert Patton and Ed Gill.  It was our Christmas Blessing.

As Pete Jaeger once reminded me, “When searching for help for veterans, you go where they (you) eat.”  That means that where we shop and dine is a good starting point for seeking help for the post.  In this case, let’s flip that coin and remember to thank those in our town that help us in so many ways.  Let us give back to those who bless us.

So, if you are locked out of your car, office, home, or business, On the Double Locksmith should be first on your list.  Call them at 919-828-8866, we did!

A very Merry Christmas to you all and a very “Happy Hanukka” to David and his father.