Paul Walker was a generous spirit.

When I met Paul Walker a couple of years ago, he had a chainsaw in hand. That's not exactly how you expect to meet one of the stars of the biggest action movie franchise in history, trust me. No, I wasn't even sure it was him at first. I mean, he was all sweaty and dirty and he looked pretty exhausted (so did his friends). But I can tell you first hand that Paul Walker was an incredibly generous man. When I learned of his tragic passing, I was so terribly saddened. Sure, I mourn the actor but I mourn the wonderful man that he was even more.

Here's the short version of how I met Paul Walker in, of all places, Tuscaloosa, Alabama: On April 27, 2011, my town was ripped apart by a deadly tornado, one which literally changed the landscape of this area forever. Six miles of destruction, two miles wide...hard to imagine? It still is, for me, and I saw it. The storm spared our neighborhood, but it hit my father's neighborhood very hard.

For hours afterward, as night fell, we couldn't reach my dad. Downed power lines (some possibly still live), and downed trees made it virtually impossible to get to his house. Finally, we arrived and it was bad. The house was severely damaged by just a glancing blow by this monster. My father had nearly 30 huge trees down, five on his house and the rest tearing up the yard. Gas was leaking. Water was leaking. Heck, everything was leaking everywhere.

For the following few days the sounds of chainsaws echoed everywhere. Hundreds of people from everywhere came to help. A chainsaw was a much-needed item, especially to clear roads to get more help in. And it was hot, oh so hot. We were all exhausted, stressed to the point of tears. That's when one of our friends said, "You know, that guy over there, he looks like that guy from the Fast and Furious movies." And sure enough, he did. We all walked up (it was getting late) and someone said "Hi, are you that..." and he just kind of smiled sheepishly, like he didn't want to be recognized. "Yes, Paul Walker, hi."

It was a brief meeting, but it was long enough for all of us to say our "thank yous" to him. Everyone was just ready to get on home after the long day. In the week after the storm, we had visits from Charlie Sheen, country music stars, and President Obama, all with much fanfare. Paul Walker had no fanfare, in fact, we later learned that he came in, did the work and got on out before anyone in the city even knew he was there to thank him.

Walker's charity, Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW), does amazing work. Universal Pictures (Fast and Furious movies) put out a beautiful tribute video that mentions the charity and encourages donations.

A Tribute to Paul Walker

What a huge loss of a wonderful humanitarian. I also understand that when the Fast & Furious 6 DVD is released, part of the proceeds from the sales will go to ROWW. Visit the organization's website and you'll learn a lot more about what Paul Walker did when he wasn't starring in movies. He did a LOT.

Rest in peace, Paul Walker. And to his friends, colleagues and family: My deepest condolences. He reached out and helped me, my family and my community selflessly when we desperately needed it.

Photo courtesy of Eonline.com