Small Town Honesty

[Jack Meoff]

My wife and I were on our way back from the trailer last weekend and the route we take runs through a series of small towns...I hate the big highways...the run we take goes through farm roads. She wanted a pumpkin so we could make some roasted pumpkin seeds....they're delicious.

We saw a farm that was selling pumpkins and pulled in to get one. There was a stand setup there and a sign with the prices but nobody there.....I noticed a little sign by a plastic cup that said "please pay here". There was at last $50 in the cup with no one keeping an eye. I was amazed that there was still a place around with that kind of honor and honesty......so I took all the money and left.......KIDDING!!

We left our money.....grabbed our pumpkin and went on our way.
Made me feel really good to know in today's world of shitheads there's still places with that kind of honesty....
Just thought I'd share.....

 

[slant6billy]

It is all that organic maple syrup up there. Breeds good honest folks. It don't exist down around here. I wish it did. People steal pumpkins off stands at night and off porches too. They'll even steal Halloween decorations of all sort- local news showed it on a home security camera. My kid just experienced a "short change" of sorts in first grade by a classmate. The other kid did not like the fact my kid had 10 tokens (earned for doing what was expected and some extra). The kid offer to "help" count to make sure. Made sure he did; suddenly my kid only had 7. So the lesson there for my kid, "Don't trust anyone else, but yourself when it comes to valuables." Sad lesson at a young age. Now it is the 2 path method: Path 1- offer the rest to the little bastard. Path 2 resort to teaching her to get physical. Of course, the third path: Teach her to kick him in the gnads, and then insult him, by giving him the rest of the tokens- this oldschool method is not approved and will likely get her and me into trouble. However, when you kick someones ass and then help them up, it is a respect for life.

 

[Jack Meoff]

It is all that organic maple syrup up there. Breeds good honest folks. It don't exist down around here. I wish it did. People steal pumpkins off stands at night and off porches too. They'll even steal Halloween decorations of all sort- local news showed it on a home security camera. My kid just experienced a "short change" of sorts in first grade by a classmate. The other kid did not like the fact my kid had 10 tokens (earned for doing what was expected and some extra). The kid offer to "help" count to make sure. Made sure he did; suddenly my kid only had 7. So the lesson there for my kid, "Don't trust anyone else, but yourself when it comes to valuables." Sad lesson at a young age. Now it is the 2 path method: Path 1- offer the rest to the little bastard. Path 2 resort to teaching her to get physical. Of course, the third path: Teach her to kick him in the gnads, and then insult him, by giving him the rest of the tokens- this oldschool method is not approved and will likely get her and me into trouble. However, when you kick someones ass and then help them up, it is a respect for life.

I like path #4.

Here in the big shitty....that cup would be cleaned out in minutes.
Was very cool to see there's still descent people out in the country.
You're right Billy....must be the maple syrup.

 

[compubert]

There are farms out near Daytona that do that still, cup and sign. Always see money in the cup when I get there and more when I leave.

 

[Jack Meoff]

There are farms out near Daytona that do that still, cup and sign. Always see money in the cup when I get there and more when I leave.

There's still some of us good ones left. :icon_thumleft:

 

[ramenth]

Yup. See it here on roadsides quite a bit.

 

[jasperjacko]

I need some mone, er pumpkins, can you give me directions to that pumpkin farm?

 

[Jack Meoff]

I need some mone, er pumpkins, can you give me directions to that pumpkin farm?

https://maps.google.ca/maps?ie=UTF-...45,+Norwood,+ON+K0L+2V0&output=classic&dg=brw

Don't tell them I sent you.....

 

[72Dodge]

That's what I miss most about my childhood living in small towns. The honesty, simplicity that seems so hard to find anymore. Thanks for the story. I know it still exists. Around here, I'm afraid to leave a good lightbulb in the driveway lamp post... and this is a GOOD neighborhood!

 

[Jack Meoff]

That's what I miss most about my childhood living in small towns. The honesty, simplicity that seems so hard to find anymore. Thanks for the story. I know it still exists. Around here, I'm afraid to leave a good lightbulb in the driveway lamp post... and this is a GOOD neighborhood!

I hear you....I'm lucky. I'm in one of the few remaining neighbor hoods in the sense that I know pretty much everyone on my block and they're all good folks. We look out for each other and our belongings. Unfortunately even in this city those tiny sections are becoming continually more scarce.

 

[ramenth]

That's what I miss most about my childhood living in small towns. The honesty, simplicity that seems so hard to find anymore. Thanks for the story. I know it still exists. Around here, I'm afraid to leave a good lightbulb in the driveway lamp post... and this is a GOOD neighborhood!

Then you'd love where my dad lives.

My dad and my brother were unloading a wood stove from my dad's minivan when Pop noticed a silver truck drive by. The next he knows, the same silver truck pulled in the driveway. Pop stopped what he was doing to ask if he could help the person. The person, an older gentleman, looked at him and said, "no, it looks like you could use the help." The person in the truck stopped to help them unload the wood stove because it looked like my dad and brother were struggling with it.

And don't even get me started on Pop's neighbor. My sister and her ex were tearing down the chimney on their house and Pop was slowly moving the blocks to his house to reassemble the chimney for the wood stove. In the minivan he was only able to bring a few blocks at a time. Mind you, for him, it's about a two hour round trip just to get a couple of blocks, so he was only bringing them in when he was visiting my sister. The neighbor asked him about it and Pop explained the situation. After dinner Pop got a knock on the door with the neighbor standing there with a set of keys in his hand. "Take my truck and get the rest of the blocks." Pop said he wasn't able to put gas in it. "Did I ask you to put gas in it?"

Pop's fridge broke and he and the neighbor were able to figure out it was the defrost element. A couple of days later the neighbor's knocking on the door with a new element to the cost of a $65. Neighbor didn't want a penny for it after stopping by a repair shop on his way home from work.

My neighbors? We have one that'll watch the boy for us every once in a while, but the others? I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them. As a matter of fact, I've already told them that if anything comes up missing at my place I know where to look and I will reclaim what's mine. The hard way or the easy way. While they're stealing from other neighbors I haven't had any thefts.

 

[72Dodge]

Thanks for the stories. That's how it was in the small towns I lived in up until about 10 years ago. Random people would just stop to help at the slightest sign of needing it. Here, I swear people accelerate as they go by... of course, most of them are already screaming past at 45 in our 25mph speed zone! We live in an older neighborhood, and my immediate neighbor is in his 80s, and if he thinks I need a tool, he'll bring it over, he's great that way. But once the last of the old school guys move away, things will change even more.

Courtesy isn't 100% gone though, even with the youth. We always eat at the dining room table that is clearly visible from the road or driveway. A few weeks ago, we were eating dinner and a youngish guy selling something started walking up the driveway. When he was halfway up to the house, he glanced up and saw us eating. He smiled, nodded, waved, and immediately turned around and headed on down the road. Most of them don't care, they'll just barge right on up and pound on the "No Solicitation" sign on the door.

Sorry, that was a little off the theme of honesty. Courtesy, respect, and honesty will never be gone, it just seems to have become a more precious commodity.

 

[Monkeyed]

Most of the stuff that gets stolen around here ends up at one of the MANY pawn shops. Fortunately (I suppose) those are all clear across town. My wife had her gps stolen out of her car right in our driveway, a few days later she sees it on craigslist. They didn't reply to her emails though, shame, that would have made for a fun day..

 

[Monkeyed]

the neighbor hood isn't bad, but it's walking distance from ones that are. Over by my parent's, where I grew up, people are a lot friendlier. If you drove past and waved at someone, they'd wave back. Around here, they look at you like you've escaped from the mental institute!

 

[Jack Meoff]

Even at my trailer park we are susceptible to the imported bad eggs who filter in during peak season.....mostly campers. The things these idiots will steal makes you shake your head. Went up one weekend and went to turn the propane on.....someone stole the full tank that was on the tongue of the trailer. Now I padlock my tanks to the tongue. Another time I came up to find that the half cord of wood I just bought was gone. Didn't even leave us a stick..

Without killing the mood of my own thread....I guess the moral of the story is. There's jerks everywhere....but then you meet those really good folks who restore your faith in humanity. I have some great friends that I'm blessed to have in my life. I can call them practically anytime for help and they're right there. And I do the same. That farm where I got the pumpkin is in a very remote section that is all farmland and I'm sure they all know each other. It was really nice to see that kind of honesty and trust still alive and well...

 

[Monkeyed]

there was a famhouse selling pumpkins up by my parents cottage like that. from looking at your map it was about the same distance north, must be people havea bit of a latitude problem :icon_cool:

 

[slant6billy]

Make a liar out of me for sure. The kids and I hopped in the van and headed to our favorite roadside pumpkin stand near my budy with the 400 dollar convertible stang ( post from Feb 14). Low and behold the pumpkin stand had all kinds of gourds and weird looking pumpkins of all size. The old lady is nowhere to be found. There is a little sign that reads," Please put $$ in the green box on the produce art by the road." So the lesson to my kids- do the math correctly and make sure we put the right amount- so there will be pumpkins here next year. I am a little worried about the old broad with her health and that honor system so close to the ugly road of life.

 

[Jack Meoff]

there was a famhouse selling pumpkins up by my parents cottage like that. from looking at your map it was about the same distance north, must be people havea bit of a latitude problem :icon_cool:

Who knows?
Maybe it's the city air that makes people thieving idiots.

Make a liar out of me for sure. The kids and I hopped in the van and headed to our favorite roadside pumpkin stand near my budy with the 400 dollar convertible stang ( post from Feb 14). Low and behold the pumpkin stand had all kinds of gourds and weird looking pumpkins of all size. The old lady is nowhere to be found. There is a little sign that reads," Please put $$ in the green box on the produce art by the road." So the lesson to my kids- do the math correctly and make sure we put the right amount- so there will be pumpkins here next year. I am a little worried about the old broad with her health and that honor system so close to the ugly road of life.

You can only hope that even walking fecal matter might see that sign and have an irregular moment of honesty and fess up instead of swiping the money...