Local Honour

Speaking of getting "back to the good", I came across a family today who brought life to that idea.

In getting ready for the 100 Mile Challenge (2 more days!), I headed to our local flour mill for some staple items. Oak Manor Farms is a family business which sells its product nationally but has a retail outlet right in their milling barn. I had been there with the boys a few weeks ago, scouting out the local offerings, so we were instantly recognized by one of the owners. That, in itself, is somewhat unusual when one is used to purchasing from large nameless, faceless store chains.

We proceeded into the store where the boys, being one-and a -half year old boys, started wandering through open doors into an office (where the other owner was working and happily allowed the interruption), behind the cash register (pressing buttons, by the way - AAGGHH!!!), and picking up bags of dry goods to deposit elsewhere. The woman was as thrilled as I was horrified. She simply said, "They're babies and they can't possibly hurt anything." In this "no touch" world, that was a relief to let them wander and know it was okay.

Once I'd loaded up my many purchases, I realized they didn't take Interac. Of course not. It's a farm store. I don't know what I was thinking. What happened next amazed me. She said to me, "Don't worry about it. Just take it and send me a cheque when you think about it." WHAT???? This is a legitimate business whose product sells in major grocery store chains and they're telling me to just send them a cheque whenever? And then, to top it all off, she promptly took the hand Ben offered, walked him out to the car amid much chattering, and strapped him into the carseat herself.

In this world of what often amounts to stand-offish relationships with customers, it was so encouraging to see that, even now, a hand shake is still worth something and the honour system still lives.