When I met him the first time, he told me his name was Shaq. Later, much later, after he had become someone who among other generous and kind things had supported two art events by donating five cases of award winning wine each time, when I was unpacking the boxes for the second event I found a shipping label with his name on it. I had asked him each time when he had donated wine for his full name so I could put it on the invitation with a special thank you, and each time he had said, "Just Shaq is fine." His name is actually spelled differently, and when I told him that I'd found the shipping label and asked him if it was pronounced differently, he said that Shaq was close enough. To keep his privacy I'll keep his name as Shaq here too, because part of what makes him so special is that he does the kind and generous things he does without expecting anything in return. Some people want public praise for the littlest thing, but Shaq just does wonderful things and doesn't want to be in the spotlight at all.
I'd been speaking with him about writing a blog post about him for a while, but because he is so humble and modest, he had never followed up with me about it, so when I started thinking about who to write about this week, God put it on my heart to write about Shaq. Over the years since I've known him, I've gotten to find out a few things. One is that all of his friends I've met are very nice and good people. I always feel safe with them and when we go out anywhere we always have the most lovely time and Shaq always makes sure I get home safely. That's not always the case with some people, but with Shaq it's guaranteed.
He came to New York from the Ivory Coast a number of years ago, and he worked several different jobs until he met someone who told him about the cable business. He worked hard and built his own business, and now he is very well respected and trusted in the industry and has teams of people working for him, and every time I am out with him and we talk about an area of the Eastern Seaboard or a specific part of a city or section of a state, he will say that he did the cabling there. He knows every major building from the inside and underground and overhead, and whenever there is major construction or a large project, chances are Shaq is a part of it.
His family is an important part of his life, and sometimes when I check in with him I find out that he is helping them with something or taking the time to support a milestone, such as his daughter going to college. He is always working or traveling for work, but he takes time to spend time with friends and family that is quality time. I never feel rushed when I'm with Shaq, even though I know he has so much to do always and his time is limited because of his work and schedule. Somehow he has managed to discover a key of life that so many of us wish that we had, how to live in a way that is beautiful and to celebrate the good things while we can.
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