Too Close to Home

Listen to the people whom you hire when they bare their hearts. This story broke my heart.

Friday we concluded the 17th day of a bathroom remodel, and I love to watch them lay tile so precisely cut that it’s art. We have more days to go, but I want to share a true story about one of the two contractors.

The black contractor and the white contractor are two peas in a pod. Wonderful men. We wanted 1 1/2 years to get them. So, Friday I heard a racist story I didn’t want to believe. It’s true.

Apparently, after a long work week in 2009, the black contractor came out of the worksite and found his car stolen. He did all the right things: contacted the police, alerted all his friends, posted a photo on Facebook,etc. He went to the impound lot, and a “nice Christian racist” was on duty.

Now, as it happens, Joe (not his real name) has a minister for a brother and a lawyer for a brother too. He’s a wonderful God-fearing man who can charm any old racist and spot a religious bigot. It was blatant racism.

The racist questioned first that he was the owner of the stolen car. Papers were shown. Then he charged Joe with having a friend steal his car so he could collect insurance! Finally Joe had had enough. He said he would call his minister brother and his lawyer brother—and the NAACP on him. The man backed down resentfully saying “all you people” want is a free ride.

So, what happened? Joe drove his own car home, and his white contractor buddy installed an alarm system so loud you could hear it 5 cities away. The impound lot racist was fired.