"A promise made is a debt unpaid" is an old but true saying, and I recently fulfilled a promise (and paid a debt) over a whopping 50-plus years after making it. I told you in a previous post how my neighbours, Robert and Elaine, back around 1969-1970, gave me a Santa Claus cake-topper I'd coveted, for which I'd promised them a Christmas selection box in exchange. That was the deal I'd proposed, but because they asked for time to consider, I thought they weren't going to go for it - until said Santa, wrapped in Christmas paper, was pushed through my letterbox five or ten minutes later. In the meantime, me and my brother had scoffed most of the contents, leaving only a Bounty bar to complete my side of the bargain. As I chapped their door and shamefacedly handed it across, I promised I'd give them a full selection box at the earliest opportunity.
There's another old saying - "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions", and I never did get around to fulfilling my promise and upholding my side of the deal before we flitted sometime after. It always bothered me slightly, and I was determined, one day, to do the right thing, but the years came and went without me ever doing so. Sadly, Robert died at the beginning of the year, but I got his widow's and sister's addresses from a mutual friend and sent each of them a small selection box (with an explanatory note) to finally fulfil my long-ago promise. They were nothing fancy or expensive, merely a modest token to show I hadn't forgotten and, if I'm honest, to ease my conscience by doing what I should've done over 50 years ago. I regard the two selection boxes as two halves of the same one, as obviously the original promised item would've been divided between Robert and Elaine.
So am I blowing my own trumpet here and seeking recognition for finally doing the right thing? Not a bit of it, because taking over 50 years to do it puts me in a bad light more than a good one, but I do feel a bit of a weight has been lifted from my shoulders after several decades. Hopefully, Robert's widow and his sister will appreciate the thought behind the gesture, and recognise it as my attempt to make good on a never-quite-forgotten promise that took far too long to complete. And hopefully Robert is looking down and saying with a wink and a smile, "Good on ye, Gordie, I knew you wouldn't let us down in the end." So here's to Robert - I'll be thinking of him this Christmas and fondly reminiscing about when we were kids with forever seemingly ahead of us.
Do any of you have any unfulfilled promises you once made that nag at your conscience? And do you still fully intend to make good on them one day? Alleviate some of your guilt by sharing them with your fellow Crivvies in the comments section.
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Not a lot of response to this one. C'mon, Crivvies - I'm not talking about failing to live up to your marriage vows or anything like that - just the little things.
Nice to see that you finally kept your promise, Kid - it's a pity that Robert didn't live to see it but I'm not criticising you as most people wouldn't have bothered to make good on their promise at all.
ReplyDeleteIn a chocolate-related story, I've just bought a large chocolate, foil-covered penny for Christmas which is rather ironic because this will be my first cashless Christmas :D
I always meant to keep it, CJ, but it's amazing how time races away from you. Both sets of grandkids will probably get the selection boxes, but I don't mind that in the least as it's what I expect to happen.
ReplyDeleteNext I'm going to buy a selection box for myself.
There were no Cadbury's Selection Boxes in my local Tesco, Kid, but they did have Nestle Selection Boxes which includes Kit-Kat, Aero, Yorkie and Fruit Pastilles.
ReplyDeleteAnd fruit pastilles still bear the name of the original makers - Rowntree. I wonder if it's a contractual thing that Nestle have to retain it on at least one item. I fancy a Mars selection box, so I'll have to keep a lookout for one.
ReplyDeleteOne of my Christmas traditions is a box of chocolates which I open on New Year's Eve. The brand of chocolates has varied but in recent years I've settled on Roses because they are all soft centres.
ReplyDeleteI prefer Roses as well, CJ, especially the orange and strawberry creams. Yum yum. Maybe I'll treat myself to a box of them as well.
ReplyDeleteNice of you. I can’t eat pastilles or wine gums any more since I got crowns. They stick to your teeth and would tend to pull my crowns out. I can’t chew gum either because they stuck in my fillings.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your last sentence, that's something I've never done in my life, PS, as I consider that dreadful substance absolutely disgusting. So you're a better human being for not being able to, in my estimation.
ReplyDelete