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Show J7J had taken him on almost immediately. Because he was a veteran and had scored well on the t e s t s , they were grooming him to be a loan officer, but he hadn't submitted to t h e ir attempts at i n i t i a t i o n . One day he had lent a man six thousand dollars on h i s signature - no c o l l a t e r a l . When the bank president complained, Brian had promised, "He's good for i t - I ' v e learned to recognize people who can be trusted." The man repaid the six thousand in three weeks, as promised, but Brian was moved to the Collections Department, where his a b i l i t y to recognize honest faces couldn't make much difference. He hated the job, hated asking people for money, hated ruining marriages with his bad news, hated repossessing cars and furniture. That was another of his s i m i l a r i t i e s to ta/io h ad my father, Minever asked people to pay t h e i r b i l l s , saying, "They'd pay me i f they had i t , " or "They'll have i t if I ever need i t ." His attitude had frustrated some of the mothers beyond words, especially when they were combing thrift shops for clothing and skipping the Sunday meat-dish to make ends meet. Each January, when he cleared his books to make way for a new year, he threw out all the old statements. Aunt Helga was perplexed. Aunt A was dismayed. "How will we ever keep the books straight if you do this?" '"Ye shall not oppress one another, but thou shalt fear en thy God. If they brother be waxen poor and fallA in decay with thee, then thou shalt relieve him,'" my father recited from the Old Testament. As usual when my father took .. his stand on the scriptures, all protests ceasedand the mothers were reconciled. |