One of the things I have always loved about our home state of Maine is that it still is a place where a handshake binds a deal. When we closed on our home in 1985, no lawyers were present-just the four of us, the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Craigin, Marsha and me, and a bank employee. We shook hands in agreement, and the deal was as good as gold.

During a recent meeting with my “person of contact,” that is, my wonderful Latvian supervisor here at the university where I am teaching, I mentioned that nearly all the Latvians I’ve encountered during my first 5-months here, students, colleagues, nearly everyone, seem especially “earnest” to me. Ilze smiled as she heard my comment, and said proudly, in fact, that characteristic is a fundamental cultural feature here in Latvia and it’s called “Virs un Vards,” literally “a man and his word.” When a Latvian says they will do something, count on it. She said it was one of the most meaningful and descriptive expressions in Latvian culture.

Later, Ilze sent me this photo, the cover and name of an old children’s book here in Latvia, “Virs un Vards,” “A Man and His Word.”