Today
would have been our dad's Birthday. He always enjoyed having his
Birthday because it meant that all the children were usually there and
later the grand children. He would have loved seeing all of his grand
and great-grand children and sharing his Birthday cake with all who were
able to come.
When I was a young lad I never remember seeing my dad with out his dress hat on when he was outside and he always wore a dark suit either in Navy Blue, Black or Dark Gray. He never wore a light suit until he got much older in years. He would always say, "If you want to be respected and treated like a Business Man you have to dress like a Business Man." He knew everyone of his customers by name where they lived and all of their family members. Whenever or whoever came to shop at Waters Bros. through the years felt like they were at home because that is how he wanted to make you feel.
One day a man came in to pay off his bill that had had an outstanding balance for years. The account was so old that it had been written off as a loss, but it was kept on file so that we could remember it if they ever came in to buy again. We could see the loss whenever we went through this accounting ledger and see all of the accounts that had been unpaid by customers through the years.
This man was getting olde and knew that it wouldn't be long before he died and he knew that he had left this bill unpaid and he wanted to settle things with my dad before he died so his heart could be free of this debt. My dad had me to go and get the book and dad found the account and told the man what the balance of the account was. (The account was over 20 years old and the balance was over $2,833.) The man said it could never have been that much. My dad waited a few seconds and then he asked the man how much that he thought that the balance of the account was. The man said, "I thought that my balance was about $150.00."
My dad turned to me and said, "Write out Mr _____ a paid in full receipt for $150.00. The man paid his bill and left smiling saying, "Thank You Joe," "I can now go and die in peace."
When the man had left, I asked my dad, "Wasn't that the account as a young man you had delivered feed to them for many years and that they had purchased groceries every week for over thirty years and one day twenty years ago they just stopped paying on their bill and moved away from here." My dad said, "Yes son, that is the same family, but I had already written that account off and taken the loss, and the $150.00 was what it took to give him peace, so I'll settle for that."
This is the kind of dad that I had growing up. I'm thankful for these and other memories that I can look back on whenever I think of him and it makes me glad that he was my dad.
It doesn't seem like he had been gone for eleven years. But we are so thankful for the life that he lived before us and for his example.
When I was a young lad I never remember seeing my dad with out his dress hat on when he was outside and he always wore a dark suit either in Navy Blue, Black or Dark Gray. He never wore a light suit until he got much older in years. He would always say, "If you want to be respected and treated like a Business Man you have to dress like a Business Man." He knew everyone of his customers by name where they lived and all of their family members. Whenever or whoever came to shop at Waters Bros. through the years felt like they were at home because that is how he wanted to make you feel.
One day a man came in to pay off his bill that had had an outstanding balance for years. The account was so old that it had been written off as a loss, but it was kept on file so that we could remember it if they ever came in to buy again. We could see the loss whenever we went through this accounting ledger and see all of the accounts that had been unpaid by customers through the years.
This man was getting olde and knew that it wouldn't be long before he died and he knew that he had left this bill unpaid and he wanted to settle things with my dad before he died so his heart could be free of this debt. My dad had me to go and get the book and dad found the account and told the man what the balance of the account was. (The account was over 20 years old and the balance was over $2,833.) The man said it could never have been that much. My dad waited a few seconds and then he asked the man how much that he thought that the balance of the account was. The man said, "I thought that my balance was about $150.00."
My dad turned to me and said, "Write out Mr _____ a paid in full receipt for $150.00. The man paid his bill and left smiling saying, "Thank You Joe," "I can now go and die in peace."
When the man had left, I asked my dad, "Wasn't that the account as a young man you had delivered feed to them for many years and that they had purchased groceries every week for over thirty years and one day twenty years ago they just stopped paying on their bill and moved away from here." My dad said, "Yes son, that is the same family, but I had already written that account off and taken the loss, and the $150.00 was what it took to give him peace, so I'll settle for that."
This is the kind of dad that I had growing up. I'm thankful for these and other memories that I can look back on whenever I think of him and it makes me glad that he was my dad.
It doesn't seem like he had been gone for eleven years. But we are so thankful for the life that he lived before us and for his example.
No comments:
Post a Comment