Two front teeth

All Lucas wanted for Christmas was his two front teeth. At least that’s how the story goes. On Halloween, he was dressed up like a Storm Trooper, having a banner night at a local bar and proudly showing off his costume that took months to make. Then, something happened, the kind of thing you never want to happen on your favorite night of the year: he got sucker punched in the face. The drunken attacker ran off, and before anyone had a chance to catch him, he disappeared into the night.

I found out a couple days after Halloween. The last couple years I’ve snuck away to the desert. Although I love Halloween and costumes and all the fun that comes with it, the bar scene isn’t my thing anymore. Instead, I prefer to party down under the light of the moon.

I ran into Lucas at the grocery store shortly after finding out. I felt that awkward kind of guilt when bad things happen to good people. He didn’t have any replacement teeth yet, so he spoke with a lisp. One of the first things he said was, “I probably had a huge smile on my face when it happened.”

That’s the kind of guy Lucas is. He finds the positive when the worst happens, always looking for the silver lining. I’ve gotten to know him because we work together in the same busy restaurant. I’ve worked in the food industry now for 21 years, off and on, but mostly on. I’ve noticed you see someone’s true character when they are under stress. And Lucas never fails to suck it up and get the job done, even when he’s running around like a chicken with his head cut off. I’m always happy when we work the same days, because I know he’ll step up to the plate and give his best.

Lucas and I also have the same name. Sometimes he goes by Lucas, and sometimes Luke, which he seems to prefer. He told me when he started there he really wanted to go by Luke. But, I was already there, and my mom named me Luke because she didn’t want me to go by an abbreviated name. So graciously, he conceded and let me be Luke. That’s the type of guy he is.

It didn’t take long for me to understand why Lucas was in Durango. He’d just graduated from CU in Boulder and wanted to do what many of us do out of college – get a job in the service industry to buy some time to decide what’s next, and most importantly, get outside and recreate in this beautiful place. For him it’s skiing, fishing and hunting. I don’t really do any of these, but I respect his passion, and I think all outdoorspeople can relate to each other. When he comes back from an adventure, telling me he woke up at 3 in the morning to hunt ducks, or fish, I’m always impressed by his passion. Without passion, life isn’t worth living.

In the meantime, I’ve watched him become fully engaged in the culture of Durango. He loves each and every holiday that involves costumes and spends countless hours constructing his own, like the Storm Trooper. But after getting his teeth knocked out, Lucas started to lose faith.

My fellow co-workers all were concerned, especially after we learned his expenses were totaling up to thousands and thousands of dollars. I thought it would be cool to have a little poker night fundraiser. Lucas and I always talk about poker, but we both rarely ever have the same night off, so we never get to play together. I told my boss, Cody, about this and he suggested we start a Go Fund Me campaign. The next day, Cody started the page and tagged me on Facebook. I shared it, and so did several other friends and co-workers. In the blink of an eye, a thousand dollars had been raised. Then another. In a week it was almost $5,000!

Then came poker night. It was inspiring how many people wanted to help out. My friend and poker mentor, Travis, who had never met Lucas, offered to help organize. We decided to make it a surprise, and my bosses arranged for both of us to have the night off – a rarity considering we are both night managers. My other boss, Mike, who ended up working that night, arranged for a pony keg and free food. Everyone came over an hour before he was supposed to arrive. It was a cool and quirky mix of Durango folk: his friends and family (two of his cousins live here), co-workers, my poker friends, and my climber friends. There were many people that didn’t even know Lucas, but when they found out what happened decided to come and support the cause.

Lucas’ girlfriend Liz – who told him they were going on a date night – had blindfolded him, and we watched as he hilariously walked across my icy driveway and fumbled up the stairs. When Liz took his blindfold off, he was stunned. The first thing he said in an endearing voice was, “You guys are ridiculous,” which was quickly followed by, “Wait, who is at work right now?”

The poker game was epic, 15 some people playing into the wee hours of the night. During the break, Lucas told me how his waning faith in the community had been restored once he saw all the people who rallied to support him. Later he would tell me what a cool assortment of people showed up. I thought about that for a minute. I thought maybe it was his group of people, or maybe it was mine. But, then I realized it was bigger than that – it was the community of Durango.

Not to dismiss the problems we have – there’s more than one evil person running around committing acts of violence – and it’s not just violence, its drugs and homelessness and 99 other problems that ail our community and society as a whole. But if we are strong enough to support people when something bad happens, even people we don’t know, that’s a start. And that’s the essence of community, a common unity.

– Luke Mehall