I deal with measurements. I don’t measure people or clothing; I measure houses. One day a Yid called and asked me to come measure a certain part of his home.
“I am asking you to come at 2 a.m.,” he said.
The hour, obviously, did not suit me. “That is not during my work hours,” I told him. “I have a schedule for my day, and that hour doesn’t fit my schedule at all.”
“But it must be then,” the Yid said. “You must understand. Seven years ago I extended my house and added a room, and since then my neighbor harasses me day and night. At this point he has succeeded in obtaining an order to demolish the extension. I called a lawyer, and he said I need to get an official permit for building the extension, which is the reason I’m calling you. But I don’t want the neighbor to know about it.”
I nodded and then proposed an idea that was feasible for me. “I’ll come during my regular work hours, but I’ll do the work quickly and quietly, and I’ll finish up within a few minutes. Agreed?”
We agreed.
I showed up at his home, did my work quietly, and on my way out I saw the owner of the house speaking with someone in the stairwell of the building. I wanted to say hello, but I knew that if I wanted to respect his wishes that no one would know I had come, it would be best for me to disappear ASAP.
Half an hour later I got a call from the owner of the house, and he told me excitedly, “Do you know who I was talking to? I was talking to that neighbor who got the order to demolish my addition! I didn’t want him to know that I had called you, and just as you were coming in, he...
