A teen said some mean comments on an elderly man’s house saying, “Look at this crappy house — they just need to burn it down.” This made the resident of the house 75-year-old Leonard Bullock feel bad about his abode.
Josh Cyganik heard this comment and he couldn’t keep it out of his mind. He knew that he had to do something. He could not forget the look on the old man’s face. “I saw him put his head down and it was clear he was upset,” Cyganik said. “I thought about saying something to the boys, but sometimes anger is better left unsaid and I took a different course of action that ended up paying off more so than if I yelled at them.”
Cyganik said that he wanted to do something so that Bullock would not get such comments anymore. So he talked to volunteers and rallied them so that they could paint the house. Josh went up to Leonard’s house and asked if they could paint the house, the elderly man tried to hold back the tears and said that he would love to see his house be painted with fresh paint.
Cyganik posted a Facebook status asking for help with the project after getting permission from Bullock, and a friend who works at Tum-a-Lum Lumber agreed to donate paint to the cause. There was no time for the post to spread like wildfire, and hundreds of volunteers gathered early on July 18 to get to work.
“I couldn’t believe the turnout,” Cyganik said. “I stopped counting at 95 because I couldn’t keep up, but it ended up being well over that.” Those who weren’t able to make it but wanted to help sent food and water to the house. Bullock and his wife, who sat in lawn chairs and watched the transformation of their home, were even given generous donations.
People drove by throughout the day to check out the house, and volunteers came from all over the country, including those who drove from Texas, Washington, and California. The Bullocks were so ecstatic that they couldn’t wait for the day to come to an end. As of 11 p.m. They were still waving to cars passing by on the front porch that night.
“I know that will probably be the last coat of paint he sees on the house, so for me to give him that and to be able to see him on the porch smiling with a beautiful backdrop made it all worth it,” Cyganik said. “According to the media, I’m a hero. I’m not a hero, I just heard something that bothered me. Anyone would have done the same thing. Everyone has it in their heart to do things like this.”
Just like the good Samaritan, most people will not give a second glance at the sad state of the repainted house or how the residents are truly feeling. But the good thing about Josh is that he took the time to respond to what happened. God puts us in the position we are in so that we can have the ability to help and to create goodness in the lives of others. May this be an inspiration for you to do a good deed for your neighbors today.