Yesterday morning, as we were putting our lunch together for the family outing to the FW Zoo (an outing which, I would like to note, we would be sharing with just about every other family with children in the city, it seemed) a strong knock came at the door.

“Who could that be?” I worried. I looked outside. A utility work truck was at the curb. I opened up the door and there was a workman, with hard hat, sunglasses, and boots on. 

“I’ve been assigned to shut off your electricity,” he said.

Well this was very bad news, and not something I was expecting. Since the burglary, I’d not kept very good records, but I didn’t remember forgetting to pay the electric bill.  Although I knew immediately I almost certainly had. I told him this.

“Well,” he continued, “I saw your kids yesterday working on the yard, and I thought it was so nice that they were cleaning everything up, and I was like, ‘no, these people are not going to get shut off.’ I have some flexibility. It’s on my work list, but it’s not considered urgent. I can put it off a couple of days.”

“Gee, thanks,” I said, stupified.

“Yeah, well, I just really thought it was great, all the repairs you’re doing … anyway, you’ve been blessed. Make sure you pay that bill right away.”

“I will, and thanks so much.” He smiled and shook my hand, strode down the path, a man doing a good deed.

Gee, I thought, as I walked away from the door, I guess taking good care of our houses really is important to others. Our yard has needed some attention for a while, and I guess he knew it from driving past. Apparently it was like Rudy Guilliant’s “broken windows” campaign, where he said the City of New York had to spruce up in order to be more efficient, friendly and safer.  We had generated good will just by raking up leaves and carrying out the brush.

The most interesting thing about this was it wasn’t me who did the yardwork. I bought the tools. But the two oldest kids were the ones who actually cleaned up the front.

“Hey kids!” I yelled. “All that yard work you did yesterday, just saved us from me forgetting to pay the electric bill.”

The kids looked on in surprise and then smiled modestly. They didn’t have to say anything; their deeds had already spoken for them.