Johnny said that when he saw the home — half of it collapsed under the oak — his first thought was to spin into action.
“The whole right side of the house crashed down,” Johnny said. “It looked sad.”
(Bill O'Leary/WASHINGTON POST) - Johnny Karlinchak, 8, right, gets a hug from Mrs. Elissa Myers. He’s raising money to help fix her damaged home with a lemonade stand.
When he handed Elissa Myers his piggy bank savings the day after the storm, he didn’t say a word.
“She was crying,” Johnny said, “but not crying like sad.”
Myers said that until that moment, she was able to keep her emotions under wrap.
“I lost many, many things that day. But things did not make me cry,” Myers said. “The overwhelming kindness of Johnny did.”
Myers, 61, said it is unbelievable that the tree only damaged her house and belongings. She and her husband, Bill Rogers, were in bed when their roof and one side of their house collapsed, but they escaped injury.
Now, they have a lot of rebuilding to do. The storm caused about $200,000 in damage, and it will take about six months until the house is repaired and they can move back in. The couple are staying in a friend’s basement and are looking for a short-term rental.
Myers is a consultant, and her husband is a mortgage banker, and they are financially comfortable. But she said she is “touched beyond words” by Johnny’s help.
The Karlinchaks and Myers have been neighbors for about eight years and live about six houses away from each other on Moultrie Road.
Johnny always enjoyed visiting Myers, in part because he was mesmerized by her huge fish tank. He eventually persuaded his parents to buy him one of his own.
“We’re great fish friends,” Myers said.
And Johnny has an 8-year-old’s appreciation for the huge candy dish Myers keeps in her house.
Donna Karlinchak said the hours she has devoted in recent years to needy children has helped her deal with her profound loss.
But, she added, “I still have trouble getting out of bed every morning.”
She said she thinks she has passed along to Johnny her method of giving as a way of healing.
“In the wake of tragedy, I wanted to rise above it,” she said. “Since we lost a daughter, it lets us give back to others.”
Loading...
Comments