My dad and his sister, Maggie.

After dinner tonight, I stood out in the lot in front of the restaurant, between our cars, with my dad while my mom visited with some church friends inside. The sun was dropping and a slight chill was in the breezy air, and we just talked a little about the day, and in a pause, I got in my truck and got out the cookie bars that Sally’s mom had made me. I explained that because I had helped Sally with some moving, her mom wanted to make me cookie bars, if only because I sampled some of them before helping Sally and her family to set up for one of Sally’s son’s college graduation party at her folks’ house. Sally’s mom saw I liked those cookies, and she said she’d make me some one day. I plied her for some when I could. Her mom came through with a batch for me this weekend, as a thank you for my past assistance, and I now had way too many cookies for just myself. I had asked for a hamburger-sized to-go box in the restaurant to put some of these cookies in for my folks.

As I transferred some cookies into the box, I thought out loud. Sally’s great, I said. She is one of those people who will, as much as she can, always do the right thing.

My dad paused, and then mentioned he once got kicked out of the machine shop at Sandia Labs because he cut into them about how they paid more attention to outside clients than to their own internal customers. They weren’t taking care of their Sandia jobs very well, at all. He was strongly told to leave their office and to never come back, unless he came with a manager.

Sally the Just

My dad told me it was good to have a friend like Sally. I asked him if he knew she was the construction project manager on the Paseo Del Norte expansion project. He thought for a moment, and then a smile of surprise crossed his lips. “The Paseo Del Norte project?” Yeah. “Wow. that’s a job. What is her background?” After being a mom for many years, she has worked for the state for a while as a project manger in the transportation department. What did she go to school for? Civil engineering. He paused and thought for a few. She’s great for the job. I kid her, but she is one of those people who always wants to do the right thing. She is good with engineering and good with people, but probably most importantly, she will try and handle the job and all of its requirements rightly. She always tries to do what she does right.

My dad looks into his past for a moment, and his smile stalls. “I tried to be like that, too. Especially with my kids. I always wanted to do the right thing with you kids. But I didn’t always. It’s a good thing your mother was around. I got it wrong. I just didn’t have faith enough. When you grow up with a brother who was handicapped by accident, and a cousin who was mentally handicapped because something went wrong in the delivery, you think you can control things. I wanted to control things. I wanted to make sure everything went okay for you kids. I wanted you all to be safe. But I know now I couldn’t control things like I thought I could.” My dad thinks for a moment. “My dad was like this- as were his siblings mostly. They were serious and always concerned. At least your mother got to my dad as he got older.”

As far as I know, Dad, you did the right things. Your kids are all here, alive, and doing something. Your family still loves to be around you.

—

It is important to note that there are people in the world who want, and who always try, to do the right thing. They aren’t perfect, but they protect justice and mercy in their singular efforts to take care of their circles in life.

Thank you, Lord, for those who always strive to do the right things.