TRUST WORTH Y: N E W A NGL ES ON TR UST S FRO M B E NE FI CI ARI ES A ND TR UST E ES
So now I was living on a budget. Of course, before long, by about the 25th of the month, I had run completely out of money. I called Bill. “I’m so sorry but I ran out of money and I need you to put more money in my checking account.” “Sorry,” Bill replied, “but you know that isn’t the way this works. You are a smart young woman. I am sure you can figure out how to handle the situation.” “No, seriously — I need you to put some money in my account.” “We made a budget based on your spending and you’ve got a week to go until the first of next month. I know you can figure this out.” That was it — the end of the conversation. He hung up. He wouldn’t budge. And I remember hanging up the phone and thinking, “Wow, I don’t have any money.” I looked around the cupboards and thought about what I could eat for the next week. I only came up short that first month. After that, I got better and was able to make the money last for the full month. After a few months, it occurred to me to get a job. It sounds so silly. Here I was 30 years old and most people would have thought of that step much earlier — but I never had to because I didn’t really need it. The YMCA hired me, and it was wonderful. I ended up loving it there. The Y doesn’t pay that much, but they provide a lot of training and it was a great group. That opened the door for me working. In the meantime, Bill and I had a lot of contact. He was willing to talk to me as much as I wanted to talk. He gave me ideas. Probably the idea of getting a job even came from him. My father couldn’t have picked a better person to fill this role. All in all, Bill and I had a very respectful relationship. He was just the right mix of being firm and being kind. He had a sense of humor. We would joke around a little bit. 73