True story teaches life lesson

About 25 years ago, I was involved in selling windows to contractors and homeowners — for new construction and remodeling. Occasionally, I had a question regarding building code for windows used in some applications. I was providing windows for a job in American Fork and had a question about safety glass in certain areas.

I called the city building department there and reached a building inspector. The fellow found time to help me with the glazing requirements for the job I was working on. I sometimes enjoy chatting a bit with others to see what I can learn about their experiences. We struck up a short conversation and this inspector related a story about a resident in the city.

This person was an older lady who had a reputation for being the biggest complainer in the city. She whined to the city management about anything that was happening near her home — whether it be neighbors who annoyed her or construction projects in her neighborhood. It so happened that the city needed to dig up the street in front of her home for some project — utility line or the like. Here we go again!

The inspector was in charge of some of the project. He made a decision to try out something very unusual for a city construction project. He drove to this lady’s home and, after gathering up courage, knocked on her door. He told her that he was with the city and that there would be some work going on in front of her house for a few days and that he just wanted to let her know. He told her that the crew would be careful as they worked around the neighborhood and for her to please call him if she had any questions.

In a few days the excavators and crew arrived. No sooner did the men get ready to dig, but guess what happened? You’re right. She came walking out of her home and went right up to those men and brought out her homemade cookies with some fruit punch! She told them to let her know if they got thirsty or needed anything else. The city heard nothing else from her through the entire project.

The moral of this story is — well, I think you know!

– Steve Horne, Orem

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