Mrs. King came into Gallery Furniture to buy some new furniture, and while her story may seem sad, she wanted everyone to know the joy she felt being able to come to a new Gallery Furniture. Her story, below, was one that moved many staff members to tears and offered a glimpse into the feelings of some Houstonians who watched the events of the May 21st fire unfold .
"I had taken my 52" TV up to my husband's transplant wing at Methodist hospital, and I remember watching with him, tears rolling down my face, as we saw the fire. There was a sense of loss in the room, as many of the people, my husband included, watched in disbelief. My husband was waiting for a transplant, like so many there, and many of the folks with us knew that they may not make it - but even in that environment, even with some people knowing this may be the end, everyone in the room shared a Mattress Mack story because they had one.
It was so heartwarming to listen to people tell their Mattress Mack story, and to talk about how much good he had done for the community, and it was just a beautiful thing to hear and feel the energy in the room be so uplifting when they each told their story."
Ms. King took a minute to pause as she recounted the evening, and while she tried to fight back the tears, she then told the Gallery Furniture staff some more of how her and the patients took the news as they followed the news regarding Gallery Furniture.
"We were so, so, sad and a bit angry when we heard it was arson. That was so wrong, so bad, and we felt bad for everyone at Gallery Furniture, especially Mattress Mack. We thank God no one was hurt."
When asked what else had passed through their thoughts about the fire, Mrs. King did take some time to smile because of something her husband told her.
"I remember talking with my husband after we found out no one was hurt and I turned and I told him that 'I sure hope the Princess Di necklace made it out okay' to which my husband said 'I am more concerned about Elvis' car, honey! A necklace you can replace, but you can't replace Elvis' car, hun!' - and I laughed so hard!"
Sadly, Mrs. King's husband passed away before a transplant could be found, and she said that "Had he been here, he would have been so happy to see Mack rebuild Gallery Furniture like this, and so that's why I came out, because I knew he would have wanted to be here to buy furniture at this beautiful new store!"
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