WELCOME July 5, 1999 Issue

To Our Readers

William E. Moody

So much of what we learn from our parents comes through their example rather than their words. I remember two particular examples that taught me the value of integrity and responsibility.

One was a small lesson that came when I was about thirteen years old. My dad had just left a convenience store with my brother and me after buying the usual milk or bread. We were already at the car when he discovered that he'd been given twenty-five cents too much in the change the cashier returned to him. There wasn't a moment's hesitation. "You boys wait here a minute," he said. "I need to return this."

A larger lesson was brought home after I had finished school and was on my own. I learned that during all the years I was growing up, while we had only a modest income coming in, my dad had been regularly, patiently, paying off some debts from a failed publishing venture. Yet the failure hadn't been my dad's fault. A business partner had actually stolen funds that were necessary to keep the new magazine going. Dad could have declared bankruptcy. He didn't. He went to each creditor individually and promised to pay the debts no matter how long it took. His word was good. He eventually paid everything that was owed.

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