Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Katy business helps evacuating couple
 |
| Richard Meinen (center) and his sons James (left) and Matt help a Galveston couple find shelter and another vehicle when their camper broke down. (Times photo Scott Kaiser) |
By Scott Kaiser
Times Reporter
Good Samaritans abound throughout Katy, but the Meinen family went above and beyond to help a family fleeing Hurricane Ike.
For Richard Meinen and his sons James and Matt, the Monday after the hurricane struck was a normal business day at their Southwest Car Care Center on South Mason when Galveston’s Tim and Wendy Lowe had their Volkswagen camper towed into their lot.
The Lowes had left Galveston for Austin the previous Thursday, but their vehicle broke down on I-10, and they spent the next three nights in a hotel waiting to get it checked.
“They came in pretty early, and it was pretty obvious (the vehicle) was shot,” James said. “The cylinder head had popped, probably because it hadn’t been used more than a mile or two before then, and it just wore out under the strain.
“They showed up here with nothing except a three-day supply of clothes and money, and they were out of both. It was quite an ordeal.”
Richard, who is in his 20th year at 803 S. Mason, had the heartbreaking task of telling the Lowes that their vehicle could not be fixed.
“It was just so sad,” Richard said. “She just looked at me and said, ‘It can’t be true … it’s all we have.’
“It’s like you have a heart of stone and then it just melts like butter on a hot stove.”
Tim Lowe went out to a field adjacent to the shop to take in what had happened and when Wendy went out to console him, she fell in the mud.
After seeing the couple’s situation, Richard took the couple to his home, where his wife Aldine washed their clothes and rounded up some extra clothes for them.
“They were pretty distressed, so we just told them to make themselves at home,” James said.
The Lowes wanted to keep the camper in the shop’s lot while they determined what they could do next, but Richard instead got them a room at the Comfort Inn.
“Everything sort of went our way that day,” Richard said. “All the hotels were booked, but someone was just checking out of the Inn when we walked in. The girl behind the counter said they had a waiting list and couldn’t give them a room, so I asked if I could visit with the manager because this was an extraordinary situation. When he came out, I said, ‘I know you from somewhere,’ and he said, ‘I know you, too.’
“It turned out that he used to be the manager of the Kettle (on Fry Road) and my family had gone there for breakfast every Saturday for years, and so he said he’d let them have the room even if it did get him in trouble with somebody else.”
An additional act of kindness came from a Rosenburg couple, customers who had never set foot in the Meinen’s business before. When they learned of the Lowe’s troubles while renting a truck, the husband went into the shop and gave Tim Lowe all the cash he had on him.
“There were a lot of Good Samaritans out here,” Richard said.
However, Meinen’s generosity was just starting. He then found a car for the Lowes and bought it for them.
“We thought we had found another one for them, but that fell through,” James said. “Then we remembered that our neighbors were trying to sell a car and all we had to do was replace the starter to get them back on the road.”
In addition, the Meinen’s had the camper loaded on a flat-bed truck and sent to LaMarque, where the Lowes have settled with cousins after learning that their home – along with their belongings – were destroyed by the storm.
“Mrs. Lowe couldn’t stop crying and saying, ‘Thank you,’ and ‘I don’t know how I can thank you,’ over and over,” Richard said. “I just told her that if she’s in my situation in five or 10 years, do the same thing for someone else.”
James said his father’s generosity came from watching his father do the same thing at his gas station in Iowa.
“Why wouldn’t you help them?” James said. “You always have an opportunity here in a business setting where you see people reach the last notch on the rope, and you have to recognize those people. You know if you don’t help them that they’re going to be pretty destitute.
“When you understand their situation, that they had lost their home and his mother’s home and everything they had was in those two houses, it’s not hard to figure out who to help.”
Richard agreed.
“Anybody else would have done what we did,” Richard said. “It was just so sad. My heart could just not take it, so it’s a case of ‘What are you going to do?’
“There were lots of people with the same problems, but this problem was standing right in front of you.”
The Meinen family has felt the appreciation of the Lowe family in many ways.
Francis Lowe, Tim’s grandmother who lives in Florida, wrote a letter to The Times describing the Meinen’s generosity as “Good Samaritan Texas Style,” and the Meinen’s are still getting daily calls of thanks.
“Between the mother and the cousins and the grandparents calling, I don’t know if we can take any more crying,” Richard said.
Tim’s grandfather called again on Wednesday, and Matt took the call.
“He was crying and Matt finally said, ‘You don’t have to thank us. The people of Katy have been very good to my Dad, and because of their loyalty my brother and I have been able to go to college and my Dad’s home is paid for, so it’s our turn to help others,’” Richard said. “To hear him say that made me very proud.”
For Richard Meinen and his sons James and Matt, the Monday after the hurricane struck was a normal business day at their Southwest Car Care Center on South Mason when Galveston’s Tim and Wendy Lowe had their Volkswagen camper towed into their lot.
The Lowes had left Galveston for Austin the previous Thursday, but their vehicle broke down on I-10, and they spent the next three nights in a hotel waiting to get it checked.
“They came in pretty early, and it was pretty obvious (the vehicle) was shot,” James said. “The cylinder head had popped, probably because it hadn’t been used more than a mile or two before then, and it just wore out under the strain.
“They showed up here with nothing except a three-day supply of clothes and money, and they were out of both. It was quite an ordeal.”
Richard, who is in his 20th year at 803 S. Mason, had the heartbreaking task of telling the Lowes that their vehicle could not be fixed.
“It was just so sad,” Richard said. “She just looked at me and said, ‘It can’t be true … it’s all we have.’
“It’s like you have a heart of stone and then it just melts like butter on a hot stove.”
Tim Lowe went out to a field adjacent to the shop to take in what had happened and when Wendy went out to console him, she fell in the mud.
After seeing the couple’s situation, Richard took the couple to his home, where his wife Aldine washed their clothes and rounded up some extra clothes for them.
“They were pretty distressed, so we just told them to make themselves at home,” James said.
The Lowes wanted to keep the camper in the shop’s lot while they determined what they could do next, but Richard instead got them a room at the Comfort Inn.
“Everything sort of went our way that day,” Richard said. “All the hotels were booked, but someone was just checking out of the Inn when we walked in. The girl behind the counter said they had a waiting list and couldn’t give them a room, so I asked if I could visit with the manager because this was an extraordinary situation. When he came out, I said, ‘I know you from somewhere,’ and he said, ‘I know you, too.’
“It turned out that he used to be the manager of the Kettle (on Fry Road) and my family had gone there for breakfast every Saturday for years, and so he said he’d let them have the room even if it did get him in trouble with somebody else.”
An additional act of kindness came from a Rosenburg couple, customers who had never set foot in the Meinen’s business before. When they learned of the Lowe’s troubles while renting a truck, the husband went into the shop and gave Tim Lowe all the cash he had on him.
“There were a lot of Good Samaritans out here,” Richard said.
However, Meinen’s generosity was just starting. He then found a car for the Lowes and bought it for them.
“We thought we had found another one for them, but that fell through,” James said. “Then we remembered that our neighbors were trying to sell a car and all we had to do was replace the starter to get them back on the road.”
In addition, the Meinen’s had the camper loaded on a flat-bed truck and sent to LaMarque, where the Lowes have settled with cousins after learning that their home – along with their belongings – were destroyed by the storm.
“Mrs. Lowe couldn’t stop crying and saying, ‘Thank you,’ and ‘I don’t know how I can thank you,’ over and over,” Richard said. “I just told her that if she’s in my situation in five or 10 years, do the same thing for someone else.”
James said his father’s generosity came from watching his father do the same thing at his gas station in Iowa.
“Why wouldn’t you help them?” James said. “You always have an opportunity here in a business setting where you see people reach the last notch on the rope, and you have to recognize those people. You know if you don’t help them that they’re going to be pretty destitute.
“When you understand their situation, that they had lost their home and his mother’s home and everything they had was in those two houses, it’s not hard to figure out who to help.”
Richard agreed.
“Anybody else would have done what we did,” Richard said. “It was just so sad. My heart could just not take it, so it’s a case of ‘What are you going to do?’
“There were lots of people with the same problems, but this problem was standing right in front of you.”
The Meinen family has felt the appreciation of the Lowe family in many ways.
Francis Lowe, Tim’s grandmother who lives in Florida, wrote a letter to The Times describing the Meinen’s generosity as “Good Samaritan Texas Style,” and the Meinen’s are still getting daily calls of thanks.
“Between the mother and the cousins and the grandparents calling, I don’t know if we can take any more crying,” Richard said.
Tim’s grandfather called again on Wednesday, and Matt took the call.
“He was crying and Matt finally said, ‘You don’t have to thank us. The people of Katy have been very good to my Dad, and because of their loyalty my brother and I have been able to go to college and my Dad’s home is paid for, so it’s our turn to help others,’” Richard said. “To hear him say that made me very proud.”
 |
 |
|
| Hearing begins for Haltom murder | District, police do their part in hurricane effort |
Suzanne Larson wrote on Sep 28, 2008 1:49 PM: