One of the first people that walked through the door of Darn Knit Anyway back in 2009, before we were even officially open, was Gilmore Goulet.

Gilmore Goulet

He walked in with a smile on his face and asked if we needed any light bulbs.  We didn’t even know there was such a thing as a light bulb salesman.  We bought light bulbs from him that day.

He walked in with a smile on his face once a month, every month since that day.

Some times we needed light bulbs, some times we didn’t.  But every time he came in he was smiling and happy and that made us smile and be happy.

We knew he was over 80 years old and had no plans to retire but that’s about all we knew.  We didn’t talk about much in our 6 minutes together each month, just light bulbs and the weather.  We didn’t know he had been married to his high school sweetheart for 61 years.  We didn’t know he had 5 kids and 6 grand kids.  We didn’t know he started his sales career as a Fuller Brush Salesman.  We just knew he made our day better when he came through the door.

We don’t know his family, but they were sure a lucky family to have Gil as a husband, father and grand father.  If he was a joy to be around for 6 minutes a month, I can’t imagine the joy he must have brought to his family and friends every day.

Do not underestimate the power your attitude has on the lives of others.  Gil knew.

Rest in peace.