Do the Right Thing

I want to start by saying that this post isn't about saying what good people Carol and I are. It is just about doing the right thing. Sometimes you are tested and your moral fiber is stretched. I think it is just to see how you will react. Those who are regular readers probably realize by now I have little or no use for organized religion. Is there a supernatural being who created us, who watches our every move, who knows our thoughts, who will reward or punish us in a life after this one? I don't know. At this point in my life I honestly don't care. I have to look in the mirror from time to time and I want to look at a guy who does the right thing.

Carol and I recently went on a trip to Wisconsin so she could take some computer classes at the Upper Midwest Machine Quilting Show. We stopped in Milton, Wisconsin at a little place called the
Caddy Shack.

We like stopping at Mom and Pop places. No chain places for us. The Caddy Shack in addition to the items on their sign had a driving range. No golf course here just a place for equipment, lunch, a drink or two and wack a few balls.

 

We were there on "Wee Wee Wednesday" when $10.00 buys all you can drink until you have to pee. We had miles yet to drive so I was unwilling to take on the challenge.

 

After lunch we went less than a mile down the road and spotted this quilt store.

We were close to our destination, about an hour out and I asked if Carol wanted to stop. I knew before I asked the reply would be yes. She went in and did some shopping while I sat in the car and snapped a few pictures of the shop and listened to the radio. She finished and we headed down the road and as we drove she told me about what she bought and how nice the shop was. We got about 20 miles down the road and she started looking at her receipt. I asked if something was wrong and she said they made a mistake on the order. She had bought a pile of fabric that quilters call a "layer cake". It is a pile of different patterned fabrics that go together cut into 5" squares in this case. She said instead of charging her $35.00 they had charged her 35 cents. She said what do you want to do? We agree immediately that we had to make it right. It was an hour drive from where we were going to stay and I didn't want to drive back from there. We were 20 miles down the road and turned around and drove back to the store. Carol went in and the lady asked if something was wrong and Carol told her there was a problem with what she was charged. The lady said they wanted to make it right and Carol told her she had been under charged almost the entire amount of the layer cake and came back to pay the difference. The lady was surprised we had driven that far and was relived we had "done the right thing". She said that many likely would have just gone on and felt they had gotten a "deal". It restored her faith in humanity. It was simple for us. We knew we had something we hadn't paid for. We knew if we kept it that it was stealing. We knew it would keep us up at night. We would have to look in the mirror at someone who was dishonest.

 

What is the result? If we had gone on our way and not made it right two things happen. At the end of the day when they do the books they know that they made a mistake and we know we have something we esentially stole. If we do the right thing they have more faith in their fellow man and we have a clear conscience. Isn't it simple what needs to be done for the world to be a better place? This isn't about trying to say that we are good people. It is about saying the world is a better place when we put ourselves in the other person's shoes and consider their feelings and the impact our actions can have on them. Let's all just resolve to do the right thing. If you wonder in addition to the shop lady's thank you Carol got a small percentage off her purchase (enough to cover the cost of the extra gas we used) and a couple of free ink pens.