Lupe

There is a guy at work that I always look forward to talking with. Lupe is a Custodian who went all over the building doing his job. No matter what kind of day I was having, seeing Lupe always lifted my spirits. Whatever Lupe was doing that day, he looked like he enjoyed his job. He never complained, but he would joke around with me. Normally, I take the service elevator since I can get around the building more quickly that way. There were many times Lupe was in the elevator, and he would always say, “How is it going, Mr. Bill?”

Lupe looked like he had some health challenges, but I never knew what they might be since he always talked about everything except himself. He never let on that he might be in pain, but he did walk with a limp. Usually, he had a trash can or a cart so that he would lean on it. Whenever I saw him approaching a door, I would hold that door open for him. He always returned the favor in that if I were about to go through a door, he would hold it for me.

The last time I saw him was a few months ago, when the quarantine started. I came to the building to take care of something. The building was like a ghost town since most everyone was working from home. As I walked along the first floor, I saw Lupe outside, cleaning up the mess the ducks had made through the windows. That is probably the worst job on this site. Lupe saw me, and his face lit up with a smile. I stopped and pointed to a spot he “missed”, and he cleaned the window about where my face was instead. I laughed, and I saw him laughing outside. I could not hear him or he me, but we had fun communicating.

Today I heard that Lupe died. When I heard that, my heart was broken. Lupe was a great guy, and I will miss him terribly.