What began as a plumber’s act of appreciation turned into a random act of kindness for an elderly man in Baytown, Texas, about 25 miles outside of Houston. It started with a chance meeting at a Home Depot store between Shane Blackmon, owner of Blackmon Plumbing in Baytown, and police officer Danny McWilliams.
For the past year, Blackmon has been handing out $25 Texas Roadhouse gift certificates to officers as a way to say “thank you” for their service.
“They’ve been put under a negative spotlight for a while, all the negativity, people have been disparaging cops,” says Blackmon. “So, what I did last year is I got a bunch of gift cards – 66 to be exact. If I see a police officer I’ll pull up beside him and say, ‘thank you; appreciate it.’”
Seeing McWilliams at the checkout, Blackmon asked if he’d follow him out to the truck so he could give him a gift card.
The officer saw “plumbing” on the side of Blackmon’s van and began telling him about an 85-year-old man in the neighborhood who was without water. McWilliams said the man paid a neighbor to fix his pipes, but the work was never completed.
“He wasn’t a plumber, just a guy in the neighborhood who said he could fix the pipe,” McWilliams says. “I think it was 100 bucks or something.”
Since the case was a civil matter, McWilliams says there was little he could do. He asked Blackmon what it would cost for an estimate. Instead, Blackmon offered to complete the work for free.
“I said, ‘Let me send someone over there,’” Blackmon says. “The bathroom was in really bad shape; it wasn’t even functioning.”
Since Jan. 11, Blackmon and his crew have been replacing all the hot and cold water lines and remodeling the elderly man’s house, and not charging a cent.
A licensed master plumbing, Blackmon, 35, has been on his own the past eight years.
“He’s a pretty outstanding fellow,” McWilliams says. “I tried to tell him, ‘Look, just tell me what it costs.’ But he said, ‘No, I’ll take care of it.’ He’s got a crew out there, crawling underneath the house getting it done. He’s got a heart of gold.”
McWilliams says Blackmon is an angel and refers to their chance meeting as an act of God.
“I think he and my beliefs are kind of similar,” McWilliams says. “We both kind of believe God put him and me the right place at the right time; that’s what he does. That’s why this is all unfolding the way it did.”
According to KHOU 11 News in Houston, work on the house, including a walk-in shower and security system, is expected to be completed this week.
Blackmon, featured on the cover of this month’s issue of Dock Line Magazine, has been plumbing since 1998, beginning his own business in 2007. He has seven employees, including his fiancé, Laurie, who handles the office, three plumbers and three helpers.
