1018 The Rewards System

Actually, I believe honesty is its own reward. If you don't lie or cheat, you don't have to try to remember what you said or cover up any do-do so you don't step in it. But occasionally, what goes around, comes around.

About two weeks ago we had dinner with Bill and Joyce at The Rusty Bucket. My husband paid with a couple of twenties. When the waitress returned the little folder, he opened it and found she'd given him $5.00 too much in change. So he called her over to the table and told her. She thanked him; called him honest. The next Friday we went to eat at The Rusty Bucket with our daughter. This time he paid with his credit card (yes, we do use them occasionally but have never paid a finance charge). He left a cash tip--he almost never adds that to the charge. When he got home and pulled out the slip, he noticed that the charges were incorrect--the bill was about half of what it should have been. So he called the restaurant and told them, and asked specifically that the waitress not have it taken from her salary. The manager thanked him, called him honest, and said she wouldn't be penalized (may have been the cashier's problem).

The next day we realized about 4 p.m. that the mailman hadn't been by to deliver or pick up our mail. About 4:30 there was a knock at the door, and it was a stranger with our mail, which included some very important, time sensitive material. He said it had been dropped through his mailslot next door. I thanked him, and realized the mail wasn't late, just misdelivered.

No one lives in that condo; it was sold in November and the new owners aren't moving in until June. He had just stopped by to check on some things and noticed the mail and brought it over.