An Honourable Man in a dishonourable age

My father Hall Deeks is 84 years old and is finally retiring as a Chartered Accountant, having worked for a number of Water Boards in the White River area in the Lowveld of South Africa for over thirty years. But not for him a pension or even a gold watch. No, the new Chairman of the Board has accused him of 'cooking the books'. Anyone who knows my father knows that he is a man a absolute integrity and honesty, a man for whom his word is indeed his bond. Never in all the years that he has worked has anyone ever suspected him of the slightest dishonesty or double dealing, never mind accused him of such. This has been a devastating blow to him - he is utterly distraught at the idea that someone might accuse him of dishonesty. As his daughter I feel that the accusation tells us more about the man who made it - he is obviously capable of such things if he can think such thinks. In South Africa today dishonesty and corruption make daily newspaper headings and we live in a dishonourable age but how does a man who was bred in a more honourable age deal with this one now? With great difficulty. Anyone who knows him well or has even met him relatively briefly or had business dealings with him can testify to the character of this most honourable of men.