A Good Name is Hard to Come By

Daddy taught us our name was as good as our word. If we were ever tempted to lie, steal, or cheat another person or go back on a promise, our name would be disgraced forever. The lesson was seen played out everyday in our father’s life. Daddy never took anything without returning payment for it in some form…whether it was a bushel of corn for a bushel of tomatoes or a bunch of rhubarb for a couple quarts of strawberries. Daddy was an honest man and worked hard to have honest children…well, three children out of four’s not bad.

We had a general store in my hometown of Wellsboro called Dunham’s. Before the A&P or Acme grocery stores came in and took over, our family did all our shopping at Dunham’s. Dunham’s had everything: food, clothes, shoes, furniture, tools, canning supplies and feed for the farm critters. I loved going to that store. It had all the wonderful aromas of fresh baked donuts rolled in with the sweet smell of cow feed. It also had the biggest barrel of peanuts in the shell that I had ever seen.

However, Mom never seemed to have enough money to get any of those peanuts, and I had resigned myself to the fact that only the rich people of town could ever enjoy these wonders. But that barrel always intrigued me. It was strategically placed right in the middle of the store so everyone would have to walk around it to get to anything else. It seemed as if a magnet drew me in the direction of the forbidden barrel every time I entered that store.

I remember one shopping day in particular when I had plotted a most devious plan to taste just one of those jewels. As we entered Dunham’s, everyone knew where his or her section of the store was. Mom got her basket and headed for the meat counter. Sister Virginia hurried to check out the new fabric, and Rodney went right for the toys. I was left to myself to meander around.

In those days, we never heard of kids being kidnapped out of stores. In fact, nothing real exciting had happened in that town for the last 200 years. So Mom had no fear of letting me explore. And for a five-year-old, this old store needed a lot of exploring. I had done plenty of detective work here in the past, but today was not going to be one of those days.

I slowly ambled over to that big old barrel as I cautiously put my plan into action. I was almost eye-level with the top. I started to walk around that barrel. I watched the other people in the store to see if they were watching me watching them! No one seemed to be paying any attention to me. But I wasn’t taking any chances. I continued my pace around that barrel. On about my twentieth trip around, I reached up and started circling the steel rim with my finger. With my finger on the rim, I continued with another twenty or so laps. Round and round I went. My heart was pounding so loudly I figured someone would soon hear it and catch on to my wicked plot. But everyone seemed hard of hearing!

So on my fifty-first dizzying walk, I grabbed one of those delectable buggers and headed for the street. No, I raced to the street. I was really scared. I had just become Wellsboro’s littlest outlaw!

I sat on the curb and held that little peanut so hard it felt like it was burning a hole in my hand. A thorough look up and down the street produced no sight of Daddy. He was out paying the bills and was in one of those buildings, but at the moment I didn’t know which one. What I did know was that he had to have seen everything! Daddy was wise and always knew everything, so this crime was not likely to escape his keen eyes. As I sat there with that hot peanut in my sweaty little hands, I became more and more convinced that the deed had to be undone.

Mustering up all the courage possible, I slowly entered the scene of the crime again. From the door, that barrel seemed to have grown immensely since the last time I had seen it just a few minutes before. My heart was pounding so hard by now; I thought I would have to put a hand over it to keep it from jumping out of my chest. But I didn’t have a spare hand. Both hands were glued to that peanut!

I timidly started my journey all over again. Round and round I went. I looked to see if I was wearing a track through the floor that would take the barrel and me to the cellar. I had been in that cellar one time and didn’t like what I had seen. It was dark and musty, definitely not where I wanted to find myself today.

I found it was much harder getting that peanut back in that barrel than it was getting it out. If someone saw me this time, they would think I was stealing it, and I wasn’t! I had done that earlier! I guess it was on my 100th round that I finally got that peanut back in. What a job! If this was what it was like stealing something, I guessed I would never do that again! But my conscience was not done with me yet.

I was back outside sitting on the curb when I saw Daddy round the corner. Having finished with all the bill payments, he was on his way to gather up the family and groceries. He smiled one of his biggest loving smiles at me and I knew “MY GOOSE WAS COOKED!”

I was quiet all the way home. At dinner I didn’t seem to be hungry, which in itself should have told everyone that there was something very serious going on here. But no one seemed to be paying attention. I sat there wondering when Daddy was going to confront me with my dastardly deed of the day, when he finally said, “Why, Judy, why aren’t you eating?”

I knew it! He had seen me! Why had he let me linger in my guilt for so long? That was downright mean. Why hadn’t he talked to me earlier? Why not just spank me and get it over? And why did he wait so long that my food got cold?

I ran over to Daddy crying, throwing my whole body at him. I begged his forgiveness. In between sobs, he pieced the sad details together. His kind loving face looked down at me. But there was now a new twist to that face, one of sadness. Had I missed that part of his face before? I had never seen that side of him. There was a little tear at the corner of one eye.

“Judy, you make me very sad to hear this. This is not the Judy who I know and love. You realize that you tarnished our name today. I am sorry for you that you have this to live with now. You will never try this again, right?” That was it. Daddy had spoken.

I agreed this was the first and last time for me. That was too much work for a peanut that I never ate! I would like to say that next week Mom bought me a whole bag of those delectable things. But, alas, that wasn’t to be. I did maintain a healthy position each time we went to Dunham’s: as far away from that barrel as possible.

I think back on this episode of my life often. I wonder how my parents instilled that conscience of right and wrong into us kids. Parenting does not come with a manual. There is no chapter named “A Good Name is Hard to Come By.” But I think my dad could have helped to write that part.

© June 22, 2008
Judy Watters