I Miss My Father

 I Miss My Father

If my father were alive today, he would be 103 years old this year; the very same age of my “Auntie” who raised my mother.  However, my father died when he was 82 years old, and 21 years later I still miss him very much.  He had a different way of showing how much he loved all 6 of his kids.  Even though I was in competitive athletics from 3^rd grade through the 12^th, he wouldn’t attend very many of my swim meets.  But what he did teach me in passing on his love to all us kids, were principles of life.  How to guide your every step.  Things that I still do, honor his memory every day.  Let me give you a couple of examples.

My father was a terrific golfer (which he did teach all of his children to be) but the lessons he taught us were more about life, than golf.  He would always tell me that how you play golf was a reflection on how you lived life and that he learned a lot about the people that he was playing golf with by how they played.  He told me anybody can cheat in golf… move your ball out of a divot on the fairway… take mulligans all the time… record a lesser score on your scorecard… move your ball from behind the tree …ground your club in a hazard, and the list goes on.  He would always say that you’re only cheating yourself; you’re not improving; the rules are there to be followed; golf is an honorable game….. and so is life.  If you cheat in golf, you will cheat in life, but the consequences are far worse.

One other story (and he had many many of these) my dad would tell all of us kids, had to do with honesty and integrity.  In his early years, he was in a business relationship with another man.  They both had put money and lots of sweat equity into the transaction.  My dad became aware that his business partner was cheating on his wife.  My dad confronted him and my father ended up walking away from his money and his invested time and never set foot again in that business establishment.  The lesson, my dad would say, if he will cheat on his wife.. the most intimate of relationships… then he will cheat on his business partner.  Dad said better to take his losses now and move on.  What a message.

My father was famous for his little one line quotes:

You can’t get every nickel that rolls by the front door of your business, so determine your market niche and serve it well.

Always stand in the shoes of your customer.  What do they see when they come to the front door?  Fingerprints all over the glass?  Leaves and papers blown into the entryway?  A front door that’s dirty and grimy?

You only get one chance to make a good 1^st impression.

I could go on and on with his sayings.  I quote them often here at work, generally starting off with the following wording: “My daddy used to say………..”

Happy Father’s Day dad.