We all have some kind of attachment to the place where we spend 8 hours on a daily basis. No matter how much we dislike our jobs, there's at least one good thing about it, be it the co-workers or the wages or the work itself. Some people love their jobs more than anything. After all, it gives them the opportunity to connect more with people and stay occupied all the time.
One such person worked as a UPS driver. He liked his simple routine where he delivered packages to the same faces every other day. But things started to appear odd to him when one of the customers he used to see every day suddenly disappeared.
Todd Holland, a Navy veteran and father of three has a keen eye for details. That's the thing about the military training, no matter how long ago one underwent the training, it'll affect their perspective forever. The people who have been the part of military training at any point of time tend to be more cautious as well as concerned when compared to the civilians. Same was the case with the Todd.
Even after retiring from the Navy, Todd Holland had no plans of living a laid back life. For him, an ideal life meant where he continues working. Therefore, he chose to apply for work in the days he should ideally chill. After all, everyone's definition of "ideal" is different. Todd's wife and kids were also supportive of his decision. Now, all that was left was finding his type of job.
25 years ago, Todd applied for the post of a UPS driver in the Ashe County area, North Carolina. When he got the job and started the work, he also started to like what he does. Years passed and Todd never thought of quitting. He had a simple role of delivering the packages home to home.
Yes, this job was completely different from his previous work in the Navy but he liked it anyway. Now at age 55, he was one of the most reliable workers of the company. Over the last 25 years, Todd was neither late nor irregular when it came to his duty. Todd has set an example for the other dedicated employees of the firm.
Not all the people were aware that the ex-U.S. Navy seal drop parcels at the doorstep every day. But Todd knew everyone in the area. Also, he became a familiar face for the locales. His work gave him the chance to make many friends in every area of the county. He was not just delivering packages but happiness too. You see, he was now a reputed personality in the locality. He knew each of his package's recipients' names and they knew his.
Todd had been delivering parcels to an 88-year-old man from the very beginning of his job as a UPS driver. The man usually used to be in his front yard or in the porch when Todd used to pass by his home. Both of them used to smile and wave at each other. This old man was Todd's all-time favorite person to deal with. But one day the weird thing happened.
The old man lived with a rottweiler who seemed to be his only friend. Many times Todd too used to play with him while having a conversation with the elderly man. The pair always lived quietly without disturbing anyone. Despite being friendly, the man and his dog rarely mingled with the neighbors.
It was Friday morning when Todd passed by the area, he found everything as usual but his favorite person's home. The old man was neither in the front yard nor in the porch. This was very unlikely to happen. In fact, it never happened in the past 25 years. Todd grew anxious about what could be the reason behind his friend's absence.
Todd had a package to deliver to him and instead of leaving the package there, he thought of trying to deliver it to his fellow acquaintance in person. Todd rang the bell but no one answered. This was strange as Todd knew that his friend wasn't an outgoing person and chose to relax and stay at home all the time apart from his early morning walk to the nearby park.
Assuming no one was home and everything was fine. He decided to deliver him the parcel at the end of the day or the next day by his own hands. This way, he will also be able to check on his friend and if he was doing fine or not. Todd drove further to deliver the rest of the packages he was assigned for the day.
Although Todd moved ahead with his work, the thought of the old man was always in the back of his mind. He was giving himself convincing reasons behind the man's absence. He must have been out to meet his relatives or he must be inside. Todd was well aware that the man has been living alone for several years.
Todd had a valid reason to worry. He knew his friend was living all by himself from the past couple of years. Also, he never saw many people visiting him. He couldn't help but think of all the possible situations. So, he decided that after finishing his work, he'll head back to the old man's home and check up on him.
Todd reached at his old mate's place at the hour of dusk. Again no one answered the doorbell. That's when the UPS delivery driver thought that he was just being paranoid. He didn't know everything about the man and he too might have occasional plans. He shrugged off all the doubts and left the package at his doorstep.
On his way back home, Todd kept on thinking about how life changes after retirement and how glad he was that he never decided to stay at home but work as long as his body allows him. When his beautiful wife welcomed him inside, he forgot all his worries. Until the following Tuesday, the terrifying reality stood in front of him.
On Monday, Todd wasn't assigned any delivery in the old man's locality. The day passed away quickly without even a thought of the old man. Well, that's how Mondays are: busy, and stressful. But Tuesday brought the awful realization with it.
Monday was over within a blink of eyes and Tuesday too seemed fully occupied. When Todd was going through the lengthy list of deliveries, he noticed the name of the elderly person. Todd thought this will be great as now he can be assured that there was nothing wrong with the man.
This man's name was at the end of the list which meant Todd will only get to see him when he make all the deliveries mentioned on the top as he had to work as per the sequence. Todd was quite certain that the negative feelings he had on last Friday were only because he was too tired and there will be nothing wrong with the man. But was that it?
After delivering all the packages mentioned above, Todd was finally heading towards his friend's driveway. He pulled his truck and unfastened his seatbelt to take out the parcel from the back of the truck. As this was his second last delivery for the day, he easily located the cardboard box in his friend's name and walked towards the porch.
Unexpectedly, Todd's friend wasn't on the door to greet him. All of his doubts popped back up. Todd was trying to calm himself unless he is sure of what really was the matter. He thought maybe the man wasn't well and was taking rest in his bed. But there was one more troubling thing that caught Todd's sight...
Out of disappointment, Todd looked down and noticed the weird part. The package he dropped outside on last Friday was still lying there untouched. He rang the bell and again there wasn't any answer. He didn't notice the worse part yet.
Todd tried to look inside through the windows but he could see no one. In fact, he noticed the TV was left on. Todd started to knock at the door and shouted the man's name as loudly as he could, sadly, there was no response from the other side. By this moment, Todd started to panic, however, he knew it was time to act.
After a minute of wait, Todd finally turned the doorknob and to his surprise, the door was unlocked. All his fears were now overtaking his positive assumptions. If no one answered the doorbell then why wasn't the door locked? If the door wasn't locked then who was inside? Why did the person didn't answer?
Todd could have called the police and stayed out of the matter. But he knew it was the matter of someone's security and he couldn't wait for anyone. His gut feeling was to run away but he walked inside the house anyway. He could hear a loud barking sound. It was definitely, his old man's dog. It was uncommon that a man who loved his dog so much left him in the backyard for more than 4 days!
The Rottweiler was barking from the backyard. Todd shouted, “Hello?” There was no answer and all he could he was the white doors in the dark area. As he didn't see anyone, he kept on walking ahead and soon he noticed what he was praying all this time not to be the case.
Todd saw an outline on the floor in the hallway. It was his friend lying on the floor. The UPS driver stood there in shock he didn't even know if the man was alive or not. Todd blamed himself for not following his gut feeling the last Friday.
Todd's heart was buried under the heavy stone of guilt. He knew there was nothing he could have done to turn back the time but he did what he could. He was trained long ago and accordingly, he kneeled down to check the elderly man's pulse by touching his neck gently.
Todd took a breath of relief when he found the man was still breathing. The man slightly started to speak and his first words were, “I love you.” Todd immediately called 911 and the man held his hands. The help arrived but before the man was wheeled away the 88-year-old man uttered the horrifying truth of the past weekend in front of Todd and the paramedics.
The elderly man told the paramedics that he had been unable to get up from the past 7 days! He lived alone and all his efforts to get up went in vain. He cried at the top of his voice but no one came for his rescue. The paramedics were in disbelief after hearing his story. They told Todd that had he not reached for help, his friend wouldn't have survived that night.
The help arrived and the within a couple of days the 88-year-old man recovered and was said to be in a stable condition. Even though everyone thanked him, Todd was left with one biggest regret of all time.
"I started beating on the door, hollering his name, calling the house again. I tried the door and it was unlocked, so I opened the door and stuck my head in. That’s when I saw him, laying in the floor…I just wish I could have found him Friday," recalled Todd with tears in his eyes. But his friend had a different view of the tragic incident.
"A close friend of mine said it was just not in God’s will to find him Friday, that God has got a plan for everything and it was his plan for me to find him yesterday,” explained Todd. But can anyone else read signs as Todd did? Because accidents like this one take place every day and this can happen to anyone we know.
“If you deliver to people — and a lot of people that we deliver to, especially in these rural areas, us, the FedEx man and the mailman might be the only people they see during the week,” explained Todd. He tries to spread awareness about the necessity of being alert all the time.
“I made it a point to tell the guys at work this morning. I told them if you realize and get a gut feeling that something is wrong, check it out. It probably is,” claimed the Navy Veteran. he further added, “Everyone is busy, but we have to stay aware when something doesn’t seem right.”
“There is no reason this man should be alive today — he’s the miracle,” said Todd who found a new goal in his life. He tries to talk to every new employee in his company about the seriousness of the moments like he had. And on top of everything, if humans won't show humanity towards each other than who else will?
When the 88-year-old was taken in the ambulance, he said to one of the paramedics about Todd: “That’s a true friend.” This made Todd think twice and value his friendship more than ever. He even began a "buddy system" that will help friends like this 88-year-old in the future. Our today's hero didn't forget the Rottweiler as he found him a foster home until his hooman recovered completely and head back home.