Ingratitude — 1961
INGRATITUDE — 1961
I remember well a wonderful man that lived in our ward in Reno as I was growing up. His name was Hoyt Martin. I really admired and looked up to Hoyt; he was friendly, outgoing, generous, and he treated me like a son. At one time, he took me with him to a San Francisco Forty-Niners’ football game, and I was enthralled with the game, the players, and especially with Hoyt’s generosity. During the summers, he would hire me to do small jobs and chores around his house and then he would pay me much more than I deserved. As he would pay me, he always had the 10% for tithing counted out separately, and he would remind me to pay that portion to the bishop. Hoyt was one of my boyhood heroes.
I do have one very unpleasant memory, however, that comes to mind whenever I think of Hoyt. One day, Hoyt called our home and asked if he could bring me a gift. I waited anxiously for his arrival. When he arrived, he presented me with a small, beautifully wrapped box. I gleefully tore off the wrapping, opened the box, and there was a special-edition baseball with the reproduced signatures of all the members of the 1961 New York Yankees baseball team. At a time when I should have expressed gratitude and appreciation, I blurted out, “I hate the Yankees! My favorite team is the Giants!” As if that unkindness wasn’t despicable enough, I then laid the ball aside with an air of indifference. Hoyt’s smile faded and his shoulders sagged as he tried to remain cheerful. My mother tried in vain to cover the embarrassment both she and Hoyt were feeling due to my rudeness. Hoyt made a hasty retreat from our home, and my mother quickly followed the scriptural injunction of “…reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost.”
To this day I still shudder when I think of the inappropriateness of my behavior. Perhaps some allowance could be made due to my young age, but even a nine-year old should be possessed of enough social decorum to express thanks when given a gift, no matter what the gift might be. At the very least, a nine-year old should have the wherewithal to withhold negative or incisive comments in a situation like this. To Hoyt’s credit, he continued to treat me with kindness despite my reprehensible behavior.
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