A Man's Word is His Word.....

My father was a man who believed in a handshake...that a man's word is his word basically.

Many many years ago we lived in Canton, a rural township outside of Plymouth. We owned an acre of land and my father and his friends built the house that we moved into back in 1960. Before we moved while he was building it, he use to somewhat quote a line in the book "Of Mice and Men" where George tells Lennie how it's gonna be someday...."we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres and a 'horse' and some 'chickens' and live off the fat of the land"! It was his dream...a dream he made come true. He got his house on an acre. He built a small barn and hung up a sign that said "Paquin's Ponderosa", and bought a horse. My mother had her chickens and sold the eggs for 50 cents a dozen. They were able to pay off the loan they took out to build the house in a few short years, and lived there mortgage free.

But then progress moves in and the woods behind our acre where he and my oldest son use to camp out in was knocked down and apartments were built. The empty lot next to ours on a very coveted main road corner was sold and a theatre was to be built. His paradise was being intruded upon. So he bought a few acres about 5 miles down the road and had another house built. He put the house he built himself up for sale.

They had a few interested buyers. My father's main concern was that between the closing and their actual move he did not want to pay "rent" on his own house. He even gave the potential sellers a bargain price as long as he could stay in the house after the closing until their new house was ready to move into rent-free. The man understood and he and my father shook on it.

They met at a lawyer's office for the closing and the lawyer had all the papers prepared. He went through each paper explaining the details as he went along. Then he began to read about the "escrow" that was set up and the details of the monetary amount that my parents were to pay for each month after the closing until they moved. My father interrupted and explained to the lawyer that there was to be no rent escrow during that time. The lawyer was confused as this is a standard procedure. My father looked to the gentleman buyer for his confirmation on this rent-free agreement in exchange for a lower bargain sale price. The gentleman with a straight face simply said "Well, of course you have to pay rent while you are staying in the house." My father reminded him of their agreement and he wouldn't budge. He thought he had my father over a barrel. They were already at the lawyer's office all ready to close on the deal. My mother was shaking inside cause she knew......she knew.....

My father simply stood up and told the lawyer that the deal is off....there would be no closing today. And he and my mother walked out of the office. My mother was shaking. They HAD to sell the house. They needed to get the money to complete their new house. They didn't have time to find new buyers. But she knew there was no point in arguing with my father. A man simply does NOT go back on his word.

The man's wife who was a very quiet lady had sat there not saying a word. She KNEW my father was right. When my mother and father were out in the hall, she came out of the office, walked up to them, and said "I'm so sorry, but that's just the way he is."

There had been a young couple who also had been interested in the house. When they got home, my mother called them to see if they were still interested and luckily they were. They were thrilled to death that they could still buy the house. They agreed to my father's terms and the deal was done. Very nice people.

A man's word is his word.....