There are many misconceptions of being nice around the country. I’ve lived in all the major regions in the nation and have visited every corner and every state. It’s true. After my first deployment to combat in 2003, I realized I had not experienced all parts of the country I was fighting for. I endeavored to remedy that shortcoming.
Anyway, I digress. I met Guy and Carol Roy through Melissa Roy (who I just wrote about as the toughest women I know). They were visiting Melissa in 2005 and I was throwing a dinner party the same day. Me being me, I invited Melissa’s parents and extended family over to my place for a spaghetti and meatball dinner. Soon after, Carol adopted me and I have been their adopted son for almost 20 years. When I met them, I did not realize how nice they really were. They didn’t make grand offers then not show up when needed like so many people in my Texas neighborhood did. If I asked the Roys for help, they would show up every time. They would actually give me the shirt off their back.
Guy Roy:
In 2008 or 2009, the Roys invited me up to their place in Plymouth, MA. for a family party. It was a long flight but my expectations included me getting a rental car and a hotel. I hoped someone would pick me up from the airport but I wasn’t used to that level of nice-ness. In fact, one of my outwardly ‘nice’ neighbors left me standing at the curb of my house for a ride to the airport on my way to Plymouth.
I walked down the hallway of the terminal of Logan International toward the bag claim level. Riding the escalator down, I saw a familiar diminutive man standing at the bottom. He was smiling and had two cups of coffee in his hands. I stepped off the escalator, looking confused. He gave me a big hug and handed me the second cup of coffee.
“I figured you could use a ride and a coffee after your long journey,” he said.
I got so emotional at the gesture that I choked up a bit. He helped me with my bags and whisked me to Plymouth in his fancy Cadillac. Once we got there, the Roys directed me to Melissa’s old room. The bed was made up and ready for me.
“If you want to stay here, you’re welcome to,” I remember Guy saying.
Over the years, his kindness has never wavered. He is as kind today as he was when I first met him. I never visited the Roys during COVID and it had been almost six years since I had seen them. When I showed up at the rehearsal dinner for Melissa’s wedding (she got remarried to a really nice man named Jeff), Guy hugged me then held me around the waist, not letting me go for a full half hour. It felt like I was really his long lost son and it was nice, to say the least.
Carol Roy:
Together, Carol and Guy are one of the cutest married couples I know. They are still very sweet to each other after almost 50 years. Carol and Guy are a perfect pair, too. They are both reserved, quiet, sweet, and welcoming.
I visited them in 2011 and we attended something in downtown Boston. I can’t remember what it was precisely but I do remember that Carol and Guy had parked their car south of the city at the Quincy T stop. They asked me to drop them off at the Commons so, they could walk to the T station from there. After exiting the car, the walked together down the path and Carol grabbed Guy’s hand. The walked close together swinging their arms and smiling at each other as they went. I tried to take a picture of them but it was dark and blurry. Nothing can capture that moment quite well enough. It was overflowing with love, devotion, and happiness.
To me, Carol is very much like another mom. She treats me like her son. She’s kind and generous but also stern when the situation requires it.
I was a knucklehead back then and did things that I cannot understand now. One year, I was invited to a party at their house in Plymouth. I invited a woman I didn’t know to hang out with me at their house party. I didn’t ask the Roys if that was ok. Turns out, that woman and I did not mesh very well and it turned into a whole thing, not in a good way. I was walking through the kitchen and Carol was standing there. I looked at her and she said,
“You need to make better choices.”
I was so embarrassed. I never did that again. Not once. As a matter of fact, I straightened up after that and those words still stick with me.
I hope that everyone gets to have someone like Carol and Guy in their lives. They are wonderful humans.