A Christmas Story for All Seasons

by Donald Capps

From the Editor: As a further tribute to Dr. Capps and in keeping with the spirit of the holidays, we thought it a good idea to run an article written by him. It was first published in December of 1992, and here is the way it was introduced to Monitor readers:

From the Associate Editor: The following article appeared in the November 1991 issue of the Palmetto Blind, the publication of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina. It is a wonderful illustration of the deep and selfless brotherly love that we think of at this season. When the world seems filled to the breaking point with suffering and tragedy, it is well to remember that people like John Fling are living and serving in our midst.

As Monitor readers know, Don Capps is the senior member of the Board of Directors of the National Federation of the Blind. He and his wife Betty now fully dedicate their time to doing good in the world, chiefly by working tirelessly to strengthen the NFB in South Carolina and around the country. Here is what Don has to say:

It was Thursday morning when a phone call came which brought me overwhelming joy and gratitude. It was my longtime friend, John Fling, who until recent years was very much involved in helping the Columbia Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina. In more recent times John has broadened his unselfish service to include many other groups and individuals, and therefore I had not heard from him in some time. However, I had been able to keep up with the charitable activities of this very special person since he is frequently featured in the news media. I also knew that John Fling had become a national and international celebrity, having received many high honors—including one bestowed upon him at the White House by the President of the United States. Knowing that he had once worked almost exclusively for the blind through the Federation, I was especially proud of John Fling, recognizing that he truly puts service above self.

But getting back to that Thursday morning call on January 16, I heard a familiar voice: “Don, this is John Fling, and I happen to have some funds left over from Christmas and was wondering if you would accept a little contribution to the Federation?” In a split second I assured my longtime friend that the Federation would be most grateful for any contribution, especially at this time. He said that he would stop by my house that afternoon, and true to his word he drove into our driveway at about 3 o’clock. After a most enjoyable visit during which we brought each other up-to-date on our activities, John handed me a check with instructions to use it any way I wanted to, just so that the Federation would be helped. He then departed without fanfare; got into his truck, clearly marked “John Fling Ministries”; and continued on his way to assist someone else. After John’s departure, Betty looked at the check and said, “Don, this check is in the amount of $10,000.” Both of us were absolutely overwhelmed. Never had I received a Federation contribution for such a substantial sum without having solicited it. As a matter of fact, I was so overwhelmed that I needed time to think about the real significance of what this wonderful man had just done and how this substantial gift to the Columbia Chapter of the NFB of South Carolina could best be used to assist blind people. I wanted to share the good news with fellow Federationists but felt that I needed time to think and ponder about what we might do to justify this generous gift and how it should be used to meet a special need. It was the next day before I shared the wonderful news with the chapter president, Mike Sutton, and the Federation Center’s chairman, Frank Coppel, because I felt as if I should sleep on this matter before making any recommendations. Mike and Frank were just as excited and overwhelmed as I was.

Something led me to call John Fling that evening. I clearly remembered his stating that I was to use the money to do the greatest good for the largest number of blind people. I knew that the Columbia Chapter desperately needed a new van since its ten-year-old vehicle had served the chapter well but was probably no longer road-worthy without considerable repairs. Additionally, I knew that President Sutton had appointed a search committee to acquire another van. During my telephone conversation with John on Friday evening, I discussed our need for a new van, and he readily volunteered to donate an additional five thousand dollars in order to purchase one. John said that he was well connected with the Addy Dodge dealership in Lexington, and would I meet him there the following morning at 11:00 a.m. In the twinkling of an eye I answered in the affirmative. At two minutes before eleven o’clock Saturday, Betty and I arrived at Addy Dodge, and John rushed out to greet us. So did Tim and John Addy, owners of the dealership. As it happened, we parked next to a beautiful, brand new 1992 fifteen-passenger white Dodge van with maroon interior, and John asked me to check the van over. He said that this was the van that he had picked out because he understood from our Friday-evening conversation that we wanted a white one. After talking with John, I had called President Mike Sutton that same evening to inquire whether he would trust me with the details of purchasing a van. Mike replied that of course he would.

The sticker price on this beautiful van was in excess of $22,000, and I immediately wondered how we would swing it, but John had already worked it out. We were ushered into the office, where all the paperwork had already been done. Because of their respect for John Fling and a desire to help the Federation, the Addy brothers had reduced the price of the van by nearly $5,000. However, I knew that the initial gift of $10,000 plus the promise of an additional $5,000 would not cover even the reduced price for the van. But before I had time to become concerned, John pulled out a pen and began writing a check for the remaining cost, about $8,500. Thus, in the end John Fling Ministries gave a total of about $18,500 to the Federation to cover the total cost of this beautiful new van.

But this is not the end of the story. Mr. Addy checked the Blue Book and advised us that we could sell our old van for about $3,500, which could be used for insurance or other expenses. Mr. Addy said that there is a great need among churches and day-care centers for previously owned vans.

As I said earlier, John Fling has been honored at the highest levels for his benevolence and good deeds. On September 30, 1991, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall in Washington, D.C., John Fling participated in America’s awards honoring unsung heroes who personify the American character and spirit. In a special publication entitled “America’s Awards,” a program of the Positive Thinking Foundation, the following article is dedicated to John Fling:

You’re Never Too Old to Do Good

At age seventy, John Fling does every day what he has done every day for forty-five years—spends most of his waking hours helping those in need.

One of nineteen children, John Fling grew up in Gabbetville, Georgia, (population forty-six). His parents were so poor they weren’t even sharecroppers; they were sharecroppers’ helpers. What family members ate, they had to catch out of the water, dig out of the ground, or shake out of a tree. At age twelve, John quit school to work in the cotton fields, where he labored for six more years.

At age twenty-five, after a six-year stint in the US Army, John settled with his wife in Columbia, South Carolina, landing a job as supervisor to one hundred boys who delivered newspapers. He began providing them and their families with food, clothing, and school supplies. Helping others became his personal mission.

One night in 1951, John accompanied the police to settle a domestic dispute. The couple had a small baby, but apparently the boy wasn’t fathered by the woman’s husband. John asked if it would solve the problem if he took the baby. The couple readily agreed, signing a scrap of paper that gave John all rights to the baby. John and his wife Jane raised the child along with their natural son.

John and his wife have never owned a home. They live on Social Security, in a rent-free cottage behind his mother-in-law’s house. Though he has worked all his life—sometimes several jobs at once—John is almost without material possessions. Before he retired as a parts delivery man, John’s employer, Love Chevrolet, gave him clothes to wear and a truck to drive—and lots of time to serve.

The clothing John gives away is often better than what he wears. He hasn’t bought clothes, except underwear, for twenty years. He doesn’t have a television or the time to look at one. Only recently did John get a telephone—to better serve those who depend on him. He has never owned a car, but he has bought cars for five others.

For forty-five years John Fling has spent most of his waking hours driving the streets of Columbia, looking for someone he can help. There has not been a single day that he hasn’t done something to help the poor. He delivers food, medicine, and laundry; helps with bills; repairs screen doors; mows lawns; unstops sinks; and transports the needy to appointments—for an extended family that includes forty blind people, two hundred seniors, and four hundred children.

Having lost sight in one eye in a boyhood hunting accident, John shows a special interest in the blind. He gives them rides and takes them to the beach or fishing. He drives his more adventurous blind friends out to a cow pasture, settles them into a go-cart, places earphones on their heads, sits on his truck, and—using a two-way radio—tells them to go left or right. Some of them are hot rods.

John is caring, selfless, and limitless in energy. He is unincorporated and refuses to become a nonprofit organization. There are no boards to direct him and no committees to support his activities. Most of the money he hands out is donated by local businessmen and by friends around the country. He often takes the last dime out of his pocket to help someone.

Once, while visiting a nursing home with two deacons from his church, John met an elderly woman who said she didn’t know what time to take her medicine because she didn’t have a watch. John pulled the watch from his own wrist, handed it to the woman, and walked on.

As the three men left the nursing home, John met a one-legged man on the street who said he needed a raincoat. John took off his own coat and gave it to the man. One of the deacons said to John, “Let’s get back in the truck before you give away your pants.”

John’s first love is still the children. As he drives through Columbia’s back alleys, kids emerge from the shadows and rush the truck. Embracing as many as he can, John asks them how they are, and what they need and gives them what he can. As he leaves, John comments to a visitor, “Even more than money, what they need is love.”

And John gives them lots of love.

At 5:30 a.m. every Sunday, John starts driving a donated van for three hours to go to the Baptist Church next door, collecting as many as seventy-nine children as he travels a fifty-five-mile circuit. On the way home he stops at a restaurant and treats each of the children to a meal.

Every Christmas John provides the kids he cares for with a shopping spree at one of the local department stores. Last year he took 1,216 to K-Mart, providing them each with a $50 gift certificate. To encourage kids to take their education seriously, he offers $20 to students making B’s and higher on their report cards. Grades have soared.

Over the years, John’s generosity has become known throughout the world. When a man in India writes to a man he knows only as “John Fling, USA,” to request help in obtaining a prosthesis, and the letter somehow arrives, John’s response is equally characteristic. Somehow he finds the money to buy and send the needed prosthesis.

Now seventy years old, John continues to have a tremendous impact in his role as a one-man social-service agency. Few people in South Carolina are as well known, and few people in the world are as well loved. When you ask about John Fling, the first thing people say, more often than not, is, “That man is a living saint.”