If you spent any time at all around the Character Inn the name Marlon Sias would put a smile on your face. He is a fine young man from Minnesota. He is a student in the Verity program. While pursuing his degree program he seems always to be willing to help whenever he is needed.
A couple weeks ago we hosted the Verity graduation. It was a wonderful day. The building was full and hundreds came to celebrate the accomplishments of the graduates. There were so many there in fact, we had to scramble to get more chairs. One of the first people to volunteer was of course Marlon who ran to the assembly hall grabbed a chair cart loaded it to capacity with chairs and headed toward the meeting place at a near run. Why he could not see was a coffee table that had been moved to an unusual place to make room for the set-up. He didn’t see the table until he hit it and when he hit it he hit it with such force that it exploded into pieces.
Marlon is a very sincere young man with a wonderfully tender conscience. I knew nothing about the incident until a few days later when he came to me and asked me how much the cost on one of the cherry coffee tables would be. I wondered what he would do with one of the coffee tables in his dorm room and how he would find room for it. He explained that he had ruined one of the tables during the Verity Graduation ceremony. Suddenly it occurred to me what the big noise was in the middle of the middle of the ceremony. I put it out of my mind and it didn’t come back until Marlin told me what happened later. I laughed at the thought of it. He apologized for the zeal with which he had performed his task. I think those who have no zeal in the performance of their tasks should be the ones who apologize. I say if you know anyone like Marlon send him to the Character Inn. We will be happy to welcome him to our staff, even if we have to occasionally replace a little furniture.
Ken Pierpont
Riverfront Character Inn
Flint, Michigan
June 14, 2003
