Once upon a time, a firm handshake was as good as a promise. Before there were contracts and lawyers and litigation and lawsuits, people would stand behind their word. Your reputation was at stake after all, so you would not risk falling back on what was essentially, a verbal contract.
When I moved to this town two years ago, a woman had helped me to sort out the changes that I needed to make to Medicare since I had moved to a new state. During one of our meetings, we discovered that we both loved chickens. I was distraught at the time because I had needed to give my previous chickens up, not being able to find a place where I could keep them. Earlier this year, I mentioned to her that I was in a new place and that I was planning to get baby chickens. My landlord had agreed to let me remodel an existing shed into a chicken coop. My new friend was excited for me and said that her husband was in construction and they would help me to make the alterations to the shed.
Towards the end of April, she brought her husband by so that he could have a look at what needed to be done. He put out his hand to shake mine. I hesitated slightly – not because of the new fear that had blossomed from Corona-virus – but because I have painful, arthritic hands that have been squeezed too tightly before, by over-zealous hand shakers. It seemed as though he was trying to impress me and he made a suggestion that would have required further permission from my landlord. He told me that he already had the glass needed for repairing the windows and plenty of extra chicken wire for the run. After getting an emphatic “no” from my landlord, I texted his wife to let her know that we would need to come up with an alternative plan. Her text messages were always very positive and she said her husband would drop in the following Sunday to see what could be done. He never came by, so I texted her again after two weeks had passed to see if I had missed him. He showed up two days later without warning. I sensed a change in his attitude, but he said it would be easy and that he would be here the following Tuesday (the 23rd of June) at 8 a.m. to begin the project. He never showed up and when I texted his wife on Friday, she apologized and said she had given him my phone number. I texted her again three weeks later, but I have not heard from either of them since.
Is it just me, or has this become normal behavior for people? I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps there has been a death in the family. Maybe they went camping and do not have cell service, or they are on vacation. Maybe she dropped her phone in the lake. But seriously, what has happened to integrity, and to professionalism, and common courtesy? Am I wrong to expect a simple explanation? If he does not want to do this, couldn’t they just kindly let me know? I understand that people are often busy during summer, but it feels insulting when someone cannot even take a moment to respond. I have concluded that for whatever their reason, they are blowing me off.
My chickens are seven weeks old now and they are growing too big for their brooder. I will complete as much of the work on the coop as I can, by myself. I know that my needs are always met and that the chicken coop will be done in the perfect way and in the perfect time. I guess common courtesy is a value that has been delegated to the past.
