Okay…this gives me a reason to call Dad and ask for his baking powder biscuit recipe, I thought. Instead of tomatoes for lentil soup, I’d brought up frozen strawberries from the basement freezer.
When life gives you berries…make shortcake?
As is wont to happen, our conversation meandered beyond the berry patch…
Elmer and Roger hauled stone for a neighbor’s home project…drive? Fence?
(My attentive listening slipped for a few seconds I guess.)
The job took an entire week of father/son labor.
This neighbor happened to be a town supervisor and when the work was complete he said, “Elmer—Go ahead and bill the town for this…”
Roger recalls Elmer’s response as, “I live in this town and so do my neighbors…we’re not paying for your personal work.”
After that, hauling work flowed to my grandfather’s competitor.
I thanked my Dad for the recipe and the story.
Understanding where I come from helps me to hold my thinking to the light.
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. ~Abraham Lincoln
It seems your grandfather concluded that if the supervisor made that offer to him, then the supervisor was in the habit of billing the town for his own projects?
It seems to me the dynamic hasn’t changed much, only the scale... Mr. Lincoln seemed to have a keen understanding of human nature, as did Elmer.
How did the shortcake turn out? 😋😋