On Thanksgiving day, about an hour into our 3 hour drive home from Seattle, our car broke down. Miraculously, we were just barely able to get off of the highway and one of our party had AAA, which we called right away. After almost two hours, a tow truck came and the driver came out to greet us. Mario was a very energetic, friendly man, with reddish hair and a stocky build. Three of us had to ride in the tow truck cab, while the others piled into the other car. Mario told us to wait for him in the cab, out of the cold.

When I got into the cab I noticed an envelope on the dash with the words, “Horse Fund”. I asked Mario about his horse fund when he got into the cab. It turned out that his 14-year-old daughter had just lost her horse and he was trying to raise funds to buy her another one. "What a nice dad", I thought. I also thought that tow-truck driving must pay fairly well, because having pets of any kind, let alone a horse, is expensive.

I found out that Mario had worked his way from a very difficult beginning in life. “My family didn’t want me”. And as he told his story, it seemed that they truly had not. Mario's father, in the Air Force, was stationed in Japan when Mario was born and he and the family were going to be sent to Europe after Mario's birth. For whatever reason, after Mario was born, his parents decided that they preferred not to raise him and they flew infant Mario across the ocean to live the rest of his childhood with a family “friend”. This man provided Mario a roof over his head, but without care or affection. Mario was trained by this man to drive by age 9 to pick up his drugs, and to cook methamphetamines by age 11. 

When Mario was 14 years old, the man sold his home and moved to a city in Texas. He took Mario with him, but when they arrived at the new home, Mario discovered that there was no room for him. He was turned out onto the streets, homeless, with no family to turn to, in a new town. A rancher saw Mario and offered him a job on his ranch. Getting into the rancher's car, Mario didn't know if he would be going to a new job, or if he was driving to his death, but when they arrived at the ranch, he discovered that the rancher had many underage boys working for him on his ranch. For the next three years, Mario worked as a farm hand. He suffered a lot of broken bones from injuries working with the animals. “I am in pain 24 hours a day”, he told us. He left after three years to work in the city. Unfortunately, he got into a lot of trouble in the city.

Many years and many mistakes later, Mario was given a new start at life in the military, where the disciplined life gave him the structure that he needed. After three years of military service, he got back into civilian life and looked for a job. There were a few problems, one being that because of ADHD, he had not been able to concentrate in school and received only a fourth grade education. He went through 9 different jobs in his first year. But he persevered and  finally found a job that he could do that he enjoyed, being a tow truck driver. He really enjoyed helping people.

Mario works the night shift, from 2 in the afternoon to around 6 in the morning, about 16-17 hours a night. He would work this shift 7 days a week, but he is a divorced father with a young daughter that he gets to see on the weekends only. A few years ago, he asked for one day off a week to spend with his daughter,  As we talked, it was evident how much Mario loved his daughter and how proud he was of her.

Two years ago, a woman whose car he towed, invited Mario to bring his daughter to her ranch. She was impressed by Mario’s daughter and kindly gifted her a horse. To pay the board for the horse, every week on his day off, Mario cleaned out the 12 horse stalls that the lady owned. I told Mario that he was a good dad. “Just creating memories” he said. It was important for him to create these weekly memories for his daughter.

I was really touched by Mario’s life. Despite the cards that he had been dealt, he decided that he would not let his past define him. He has worked without a vacation for the last 16 years and does it without complaining. His greatest desire right now is to earn money to buy his daughter another horse. Mario has found someone who will sell him a horse for $2500 and is raising funds for this. He has found a friend who has offered to board his horse for the cost of feeding two horses, around $200 a month. I would like to raise enough money to help Mario purchase the horse and to be able to feed the horses a couple months.

I am raising money for another reason—so that Mario can have a “vacation” and go to Years Restored and find some relief from the chronic pain that he has suffered. Years Restored costs $3000, but we would have to pay for transportation to and from Seattle ($200-$400 depending on when purchased) and for the pay that Mario would miss for approximately 2 weeks, so that he will be able to pay his bills despite having time off. I think $3000 would give him a cushion for that. If we could raise more so that he can get more bills paid, it would be icing on the cake.

If you have been touched by Mario’s story and would like to make a difference in the life of someone very special, please donate today!