My father was a blacksmith and did work for the local folks around the area. Dad built a grist mill to grind corn into meal.

One bright November day Mr. Charley Givens came to the shop with a wagon full of shelled corn. The usual procedure was for dad to keep a percentage of the finished product for his pay. But we had so much corn that there was no room for more. Dad remarked once that his were the fattest rats in Arkansas.

Charley Givens had nine girls, the oldest just thirteen, same as I. They were a beautiful bunch, all blonde, just like their mother. That�s lots of mouths to feed, so when Charley came back for his corn, dad threw in several hundred pounds of his own corn. I started to say something and dad told me to shut up. I did, because that means SHUT UP!

After Charley drove away, I told my dad that he had given him too much corm. Dad�s answer will last for the rest of my life...

"Son," he said, "We have too much corn. You can�t sell it because no one has money to buy. If I had told Charley I was giving extra corn, it would hurt his feelings, for he is a proud man. So, I just threw it on and Charley will never know the difference."

My father would never lie to anyone for any reason so his words shocked me. "Dad, you lied to him!"

Dad thought a second, then said, "Yes, I guess I did, by not telling Charley. But he can use that extra corn, and it prevents the waste of God�s bounty."

You know, my dad grew ten feet tall in my eyes!
- - - Tom