Wondrous Stories

“I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.” ― Umberto Eco

I want to grow as old as my father has and many years beyond it. Today my Dad celebrates another birthday, well into his eighties and with stories to we each have to tell. And many stories I am sure he could tell as well.

All were adventures as I look back now, leading me to where I am today.

A story I wrote about in one of my books titled Changed Lives gives a glimpse into one such adventurous story.

"Take old oak doors for instance, the old heavy ones that you rarely find these days. There can be many uses for these doors if you put your mind to good use. These doors are also quite heavy for a young boy that didn’t have the physique of a football player.

We would find these doors at the old trash dumping location near our hometown. This dump was a ravine, back again during those times before much stricter regulations. That which we could not burn was taken to this dump.

Most times we returned with more then we took. This is the ‘new stuff’ I referred to earlier. My father had a great ‘eye’ for things that could be potentially used on our farm. He could spot an old oak door many yards away. One such day he found one laying about half way down the ravine. All we had to do was climb down, attach a rope and pull it back up.

I was the available son and was instructed to ensure that I tied up to it securely. So down I went, doing as I was told, never wanting to disappoint. All the while I kept wondering if the whole trash pile would give way and slide further down the ravine. God was watching over me I am sure; no scrapes, no bruises and another prized oak door was ours."

My Dad always took care of us, did a great job at it in fact and I am the person I am today because of him. To that I thank him for being Dad. Pretty simple idea but hard to execute on. But he has done it well as one can.

Happy birthday Dad and I look forward to more wondrous stories.



Stay inspired my friends!

Happy Birthday Dad

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." -Unknown

Today is my father's 79th birthday, nearly eighty years of viewed life. There has been so much seen by his eyes. I send along happy wishes for so much more to see. His has been a life that like so many of us in which happy and sad events have defined his path.

I have always liked the picture above showing my mother and he in their last year of high school. Sweethearts with so much life's adventure ahead of them. To know their story, to know what has happened to them through the years is a great lesson for me.

Now it is very likely my father will not see this post. He isn't much for things like computers or the Internet. It can be frustrating for me knowing how much is available to him. And then I realize the frustration is more about me then it is him. He is happy with magazines, newspapers, radio and television. He likely gets more information on a daily basis then I do.

After my mother passed away from Pancreatic Cancer, I worried that he would be lost. He was to a certain degree and probably still struggles with it today. When you are married to someone for nearly 60 years, losing the other can be like losing your internal compass. What was is no longer other then the memory of everything you did on a daily basis with each other.

But I am proud of him and how he is adjusting. There are things I would have him do differently I suppose, but then again I realize those thoughts are more about me then it is him.

One needs to lift their eyes and look outward to see that each of us are unique. It should be our effort to embrace the difference and to nurture it. There will be disagreement but there will also be room for compromise. All we have to do is to look beyond ourselves and see life out ahead of us.

So a big "Happy Birthday" shout out to you Dad and hoping that you get to see so many more. And just maybe you'll take a chance one day on a computer. Okay, we'll start with that cell phone thing first.

Love you.