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Character As Fixer Upper

A woman finds that the 'good Christian' contractor she hired was a dirtbag -- but his ex-drunk, ex-druggie workmen are golden
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I mentioned in an entry the other day a pastor I know, a member of a minority group, who had befriended and elderly white man who is somewhat notorious for his racist views. I said to the pastor that I found this amazing. The pastor told me that the older man was not so bad once you got to know him.

A (female) friend of mine responded to that with this e-mail. I publish it with her permission, but have edited it very slightly for privacy purposes:

I am once again in possession of the house I did a lease to buy on three years ago. A month ago I hired a contractor who, with his friend, was going to get it ready for me to rent. The contractor, according to the person who referred him, is a “good man who has been Christian values”. Things went seriously south with the contractor who did not show up for work in the 2 ½ week time frame that he gave me to finish the work, did not pay his friend, and when called on the carpet, called me a “self-righteous bitch” and a “c*nt”. So I fired him, but I asked his friend to stay, along with the young apprentice they brought in (to do the grunt work the contractor didn’t want to do really).

The friend is one of the hardest workers I have ever met. He is intelligent, knows about art and art movements, has a varied interest in music, is a great dad, and has kept his word on everything he has told me. The apprentice attends culinary school two days a week and then comes to work until late hours at the house. They are trying to make up for the time the contractor didn’t show. I can tell you without hesitation that I love these men, and I feel respected and valued by them.

Now, having said that, there are a few “unlovable” things about them. The friend does his breathalyzer three times a day and checks in with his probation officer once a month, and Monday he appears before the judge to see if the last three years of probation have been sufficient punishment for the DWI in 2013 or not. And, by the way, I have spoken with his probation officer personally. He gave me her name and number and permission to call her about any issues that came up, but, “Miss [Name], I won’t give you a reason to call.” He was wrong. I did feel a need to call — and tell her about his determination for excellence and honor.

The young apprentice, as I write this, is checking into jail so he can spend the weekend doing his time for drug charges. He does this every weekend through the end of this year. He also attends an AA meeting and NA meeting each week, and his sponsor checks up on him.

Rod, I’m a bigot. If you told me, “I want you to hire a guy on probation and someone with a drug conviction to work on your house,” I would have thought YOU were high, but these are good men, just good men who made stupid mistakes. Good men who are trying to do better by themselves, their families, and the people they ask to trust them.

That pastor was right. It’s really not so hard to love those nasty, ugly sinners when you get to know them. And, yes, we have to realize the irony of this. The “good man taught Christian values” was anything but, and the man on probation and the man doing weekend jail act with honor and integrity. Yeah, that pastor had a lot of wisdom. A lot of wisdom.

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