MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — A Montgomery County business owner decided to take his mistake and turn it into an act of kindness.
Michael Faust owns Faust Landscaping. He said he went to work at a home in Montgomery County, but as it turned out, he broke ground at the wrong house.
"First time this ever happened. I always heard about the nightmare. But this is definitely the first time this has ever happened. I’ve been doing this for 10 years," Faust said.
Faust said he sent his team to work but they ended up digging up the front yard of the wrong house.
"I immediately freaked out," he said.
He got his crew to alert the homeowner, who rushed home to meet them.
"Honestly, I was really nervous. I was scared. I didn’t know how to approach it. You know, usually, I’m good at selling landscaping, but to tell somebody that I did something wrong at their house was another story," he said.
A short time later, a patrol vehicle pulled up to the residence.
"I thought maybe the homeowner called the police," Faust said.
Officer William Burgess said he recently moved into the house.
"We’ve been here for about two months now," Burgess said.
So, when he arrived to see his driveway was in the process of being expanded, he was shocked, to say the least.
"You know, you hear of stuff like this happening to other people (but) you never think that it would actually happen to you," Burgess said.
As a police officer, he anticipates for things to go wrong.
"Even a simple traffic stop, just the disrespect," Burgess said. "I’ve been in it for over 25 years and from when I very first started people respected authority. Now, times have changed."
Faust, who has law enforcement members in his family, took his blunder and turned it into a blessing.
"We actually offered to do the job completely for free," Faust said.
The extension of good will was given to Burgess from the community he swore to protect.
"This is the biggest thing that I have ever received in my life. It’s like hitting the lottery," Burgess said. "I’m just in shock. You never think this would happen to you."
It's in these moments that an opportunity for kindness is magnified.