Butch Asks, Who Do You Trust?

   OK, I want you to go back in time. Back to the days when the normal thing to do was to trust others. I remember those days. I trusted people to tell the truth. I trusted them to do what is right. I trusted them to follow the Golden Rule. Treat others the way you would like to be treated. People believed that lying was a bad thing. Parents, teachers and Sunday school teachers drilled that into our heads. “Honesty is the best policy.” We developed a conscience. The vast majority of people, adults and children alike, were not suspicious of others.

   I don’t recall my folks ever locking the door to our house. And when they drove to town to shop, they never locked the car doors . . . and usually left the key in the ignition! With five kids, there were times my parents might run short of money for food, medical care and other necessities. But the local businessmen knew that my folks would pay the bill some day. When Dad quit farming in 1966, the local banker loaned him the money to buy a house in town . . . even though Dad had no collateral and couldn’t even make a down payment. Try doing that today.

  If an item was lost, or a valuable was accidentally left somewhere, people knew there was a good chance that someone would return it to the rightful owner. Back then people didn’t feel the need to hire a lawyer for certain business transactions. A handshake and your word sealed the deal. People knew that if they broke their word, the trust that others had in them would be difficult, if not impossible, to restore. If a person screwed up or made a bad decision at work, he didn’t try to blame it on others. No finger pointing. No crazy excuses. He admitted his mistake, took the sole blame . . . and moved on, learning from his error, and vowing to do better in the future.

   Now let’s take a look at today. When you leave home, do your lock your house? When shopping, do you lock your car? If you need something and have no money, will the businessman or banker tell you that you can just pay later? If you lose a valuable item, are you confident that the finder will return it to you? Do you consult an attorney each time that you are considering a business transaction? If you are registered to vote as a Democrat or Republican, do you trust the opposing party? Do you trust our government and the elected officials? Are you suspicious of everyone you don’t know? Are you suspicious of E-mails, texts and phone calls? And on and on and on . . . I already know your answers.

   A few years ago, I was driving through my hometown, and I noticed a small wooden box laying in the middle of one of the main streets. I pulled over and picked it up, and proceeded to work. When I arrived, I opened it, and inside was a very nice men’s watch. Not just a plain watch, but a very fancy Rolex. I know very little about those watches . . . whether it was real or an imitation, but it certainly appeared to be the real thing to me . . . and likely worth quite a bit of money. I inquired at the post office if anyone had mentioned losing a watch. No luck. I then proceeded to the town hall and spoke with the clerk. She acted very surprised. A lady had reported losing the watch just about a half hour before.

   I went back to work and called the woman, who immediately came to my workplace. She had been moving a few items, had placed the wooden box on the top of her car trunk, and drove off . . . later realizing what she had done. When she saw the Rolex, she started crying. It had been her father’s watch . . . worth several thousand dollars . . . and more importantly a dear keepsake. She gave me a big hug, and thanked me for being honest and reporting my find to someone. That afternoon, I wondered what might have occurred if a dishonest person had found that little wooden box?

   Now I’m not saying that you should trust everyone in today’s world. We all know better than that. But wouldn’t it be nice if we all could go back in time . . . yes, the good old days . . . when trust and the Golden Rule was the natural way of life?

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 37 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.