By Daniel Hartill,Staff Writer
After a tough year, an Auburn family is thankful for home and family.

AUBURN – Even the little luxuries, a movie rental on a Friday night or a short trip for burgers at McDonald’s, vanished after the accident.

The money was gone.

“We ain’t been here like this before, rock bottom,” Donald Greene said Monday, a bandage still covering the stump of his left thumb, severed in June.

His $8.25-an-hour job has fallen to part-time. Bill collectors call. Food stamps buy his family’s groceries.

But even rock bottom isn’t the bottom.

He’s still together with his wife, Melissa, and their two children, Dakota, 10, and Chris, 15. They’ll enjoy a Thanksgiving feast today.

Things could be worse.

“A lot of people get frustrated, get depressed and give up,” Donald Greene said. “We get by with what we’ve got, and we’re happy with that.”

They even plan to give away two turkeys. Figuring they’d be preparing a holiday meal, they bought a turkey last week. On Sunday, their church gave them a turkey. Then, they won a drawing at Rent-a-Center, awarding them a fully cooked spread from Shaw’s.

They decided other folks could use their spares.

“We think we’ve got it hard sometimes,” Donald said. “But some people have it harder.”

It’s been a tough year for the Greenes, though. The worst day was June 8.

Donald was working at the VIP Discount Auto Center in downtown Lewiston, changing a tire when the accident happened.

The tire he was working on exploded.

“It knocked out the ceiling above my head and destroyed the machine.” Greene said, recalling the still-fuzzy accident.

The tire was blown straight up and knocked him over. He remembers the blood, clutching his injured hand and wandering into his boss’s office.

He was taken to Central Maine Medical Center. Several hours later, doctors operated, suturing the jagged end of his thumb.

He stayed in the hospital for several days. Workers’ compensation picked up the medical bills and paid Greene a portion of his wages while he recuperated.

Then, he tried to go back to work.

He could only work a few hours at a time, doing light duties around the office. The money couldn’t compete with his regular check.

Before, the family was getting by. Then, they were slipping.

For the first months, Melissa tried putting off the bill collectors. She’d tell the people from Central Maine Power Co. she couldn’t pay. But she wouldn’t tell them why.

“I didn’t really want to tell them the reason,” Melissa said, who left her job at the Oxford Wal-Mart last spring due to her own medical problems.

However, when the power company threatened to turn out the lights earlier this month, she gave in.

“People do understand,” she said. “They’ve all been great. They let us set up payment plans.”

That’s the Band-Aid that’s kept the family going – until Donald gets back to his job full-time.

The family is all that matters, he said.

Their attic apartment is enveloped by baby pictures, snapshots and school photos lining the slanted ceiling.

“I don’t get to see my relatives much,” said Donald, who was raised in the Piscataquis County town of Dover-Foxcroft.

He’ll spend today with his immediate family.

They plan to sit down for dinner in the middle of the afternoon. Then, as it gets dark outside, they’ll get in Melissa’s car.

It’s a family tradition, fueled by 10-year-old Dakota.

They’ll drive through the neighborhoods in nearby towns, watching for Christmas lights.

Dakota calls it “house hunting.”

They’ll ride, talk and look at the lights.

Simple stuff. But it’s deserving of all their thanks, Donald said.