Allen McClosekey has lived his entire life in Galveston, Indiana. He is now 89 years of age. He has had one job, that of a grave digger at the local cemetery. He has had that job since he was 19. He doesn’t want to retire because he is afraid that someone else will not do the job as well. He is a quiet unassuming man. He was married to one woman and has 3 children. His passion in life is helping people. He routinely performs odd jobs for people and for the city – paint this, fix that, move this… He does it out of the kindness of his heart. How do we know this to be true? He doesn’t provide a bill for his services. At the completion of the job he frequently says, “I’ll bill you later,” or “I’ll catch up with you later.”  Later never comes.

Joe’s Perspective: The man who always gave of himself and asked for nothing in return was given a surprise party just to celebrate the character of Allen McCloskey.  The place was packed. The speeches were long. The people of Galveston could not thank him enough. One man tried to put his life in perspective: “Allen has figured out what life is all about. It’s not the money that makes him happy. Allen has figured out where ‘enough’ is at.” In other words, he found purpose in helping others and in being a decent human being. He gets fulfillment from the appreciation of others. No payment necessary.  Allen, that is a job well done and a life well lived.

Your Turn: It’s not a question that I pondered until I was about 40, so I don’t expect profound answers, but think on it for a minute. What provides you with purpose and meaning in this life?