Doug Clark: Santa left early gifts in my stocking

Christmas is still a few days away. But in my world, Santa has already delivered some early presents.

One was a boon. One was a bust. And one was a big lump of coal.

BOON – The story I wrote on the right guy who was in the right place at the right time lives on.

Luis Brito’s the name.

His decisive actions and CPR know-how were credited for saving the life of 83-year-old Bob Rowles, who suffered a major heart attack while playing tennis last year at the Spokane Club’s athletic facility on East Fourth Avenue in the Valley.

An American Red Cross representative let me know last week that the 26-year-old has been nominated for a Heroes Award.

The prestigious honor covers Eastern Washington and North Idaho and goes to “members of the community who have reacted quickly and courageously to save a life, prevent a tragedy, or unselfishly give of themselves for the greater good,” Vicky Tom wrote in an email.

That fits.

“Unbelievable,” Brito said upon hearing the news. “I can’t stop smiling right now.”

Since that incredible time on Nov. 14, 2014, Brito has moved on from the Valley club, where he was overseeing the conditioning room. Now he’s a personal trainer with a MUV Fitness facility, he said.

Heroes Award winners will be selected by a committee that evaluates the details and stories of all the nominees. The actual awards will be given out during a luncheon sometime next spring.

As far as Rowles is concerned, however, it won’t matter what they decide. He’s already made up his mind.

Brito’s “the best,” he said. “The very best.”

Rowles, who turned 84 in October, said he’s given up tennis but is taking exercise classes. He remembers nothing about what happened that day other than that he was playing tennis on Court 3.

Brito had just been called to the front desk when Rowles suddenly dropped.

He calmly told the manager to call 911 and headed out to find that the lanky man had no pulse and wasn’t breathing. Undeterred, Brito applied the rhythmic chest compressions he learned in a college CPR class.

Statistics show that half of the 1 million annual heart attack victims never come back.

Rowles – after what seemed to Brito like an eternity – took a gasping breath.

Brito kept pumping and talking to this stricken stranger, who couldn’t hear a word. “You’re gonna make it,” he said. “You’re not gonna die. Come on. Come on.”

It took seven minutes for paramedics to arrive and take over. “You saved that man’s life today,” one of them told Brito.

Rowles is right. Award or not, the young man’s a rock star.

BUST – It’s that time of year when thoughtful cards arrive from those near to us, and those dear to us.

And one guy locked inside Colorado’s Federal Correctional Institution.

Yes, another Christmas card (he sent me one in 2013) has come from Eddie Ray Hall, who is now several years into his 16-year sentence on a federal drug rap.

Hall, as you may recall, gained infamy status as the Spokane area’s top malefactor, racking up nearly 50 arrests and 16 felony convictions and at least eight stays in the pokey on an assortment of drug- and burglary-related crimes.

And don’t forget the bail jumps and jail escapes that put Hall in the news and my columns (with parody songs) on a semiregular basis.

His card includes a carefully hand-drawn (and colored) cartoon of Garfield the cat with sunglasses.

“You have yourself a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year,” Hall wrote.

We all will, Eddie – as long as you stay put!

LUMP – Nothing like being on the receiving end of a Santa-size class-action lawsuit.

And “nothing” is the operative word.

Tom Hudson learned this the other day when he found an official-looking envelope in his postal box.

“It looked like a letter from the IRS,” the affable 70-year-old said. “I thought, ‘Oh, no. I’m gonna get an audit.’ ”

But no, inside was a check (dated Dec. 15) containing Hudson’s cut in an action against eBay. The check was made out to Hudson’s corporation, which sold books on eBay.

“Pay Exactly,” the check read, “02/100 Cents.”

That’s right. Two cents.

Hudson stared at his windfall. His first thought was that it cost way more to “write the check and mail it” than the silly thing’s worth.

He started laughing. Then he showed his check to strangers and they started laughing.

“Look at this. I won,” he told them, adding, “I had everybody in the parking lot cracking up.”

Considering all the holiday joy being spread, Hudson definitely got more than his money’s worth.

Doug Clark can be reached at (509) 459-5432 or by email at dougc@spokesman.com.