Thread: Things Dad taught you.......

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Aside from the no smoking thing, I guess I did learn a lot from my Dad in the short time I had him in my life. He really did love me and always called me "His Pal". He was a really hard worker, worked 3 jobs every day of his life. He was a diesel mechanic in the steel mill, then when he got home at 3 pm he had a prezel route where he delivered chips and stuff to bars. He would grab a few hours sleep and then go out and play sax in a band until 2 pm, then get a couple more hours sleep and do it all over again the next day. Probably that life didn't help his health any either.

I really wish he would have lived long enough to know my own two Sons.......he would have loved them and had a lot in common because of their sax playing.

Don

my son and i dont talk because of something i did ....

I was raised by my step dad. He was not a great communicator of "deep subjects", The things he said were very short and to the point, but he but taught me very well, by example.

He worked at least two jobs all of his life... told it like it was... was loyal to family... taught me to work with my hands... spray paint... rebuild engines... drive a stickshift... and I learned to do things right, and do them ONE time! All-in-all a great role model.

Oh yeah... he bitched about me occupying the garage as a teenager... and leaving his tools in the gravel driveway! He also bitched about me spending all of my time working on those "damn cars"... but when I opened my first full-time shop, he helped me wire it, and would bring his friends by to show them what I was working on! He ended up proud of me, and that meant a lot!

My stepdad taught me never say I can't do something if I've never tried.

I never could figure out why my Dad physically abused my younger brother and yet he was partial to him over me.
My Bro also physically abused his son and I don't know if it stopped there or not???

I never feared my dad. If I got a whipping from him I deserved it and knew it. My mother was 5'2'' and almost 100 pounds. I FEARED HER!!! It did not matter how big or tall I got. She would tell me "come over by this bed so I can slap you". She to me meant business! There was a lot of trouble I did not get into because I knew I would have to answer to her! My friends were afraid of her too! She is 87 still driving playing cards and going to the Legion weekly.

I'm not sure what I owe my dad other then a quick Irish temper and the fact that I'm fairly tall. It wasn't that he was a bad person, it's just that he couldn't do what I can and will do with tools. I think that any mechanical ability was in his genes as his brother was a tool/hands on 'genius' as was his father and my mother's father. Job/professional life did kind of parallel his - he managed the construction of new GE plants, I did similar with new power plants.

My dad taught me that when Mama's not happy, nobody's happy .......... loved him deeply, lost him way too early

This thread was also poorly presented.I "tried" to be funny with the Corvair post and failed.I watch it develop into some painful memories for some of the members I respect and care alot about.I was thinking to just let it run it's course,but with the result of the Reno thread,I thought I should say here as well how sorry I am to have started this thread.

I thought I was starting a thread about Dads that taught us how to wrench on cars.Well that is what I meant to say anyways.I promise to all of you that I will be more careful in the future.Sorry guys.

Gary - threads go their way sometimes regardless of how well (or poorly)it's presented. Don't sweat them as we all tend to do a hijack even if we do understand what you meant to say. We aren't judged by these ramblings - it's usually fun and most folks don't get that worked up (but there HAVE been a couple of occasions)

Nothing to be sorry about, not all Dads are created equal and it appears that most of the guys that responded had kind and caring fathers. It's sad that we weren't all so lucky or fortunate.

Oldmanb,

That is a great story.

Jack.

yep gary i understand .. i would really like to say what my life been with out my first dad in my life we lost him at the age of 39. my step dad we lost this year early this spring from cancer .i really did not think i should let go on this open forum has some things should be private but i wanted to still alot of things in my life to work threw and try to under stand and may never will

Yeah, Gary, don't feel bad, this was actually a very interesting subject. The one lesson we should take from it is that we don't have to duplicate some of the flaws our Parents exhibited when we raise our own kids. We can learn not only the good things our Parents taught us, but also some of the not so good things we saw. No instruction manual comes with kids, and we can only do the best we can with the tools we were given.

My own Sons remind me occasionally of dumb things I did when they were young, and some of it embarrasses me. But at the time it seemed appropriate and I guess it worked because they both turned out to be good, productive human beings. But they will probably only use some of the better traits I had when teaching their own kids, and will not make some of the same mistakes they saw me make.

It's called LIFE, I guess.

Don

My father taught me to not borrow things, because when you do they break.
I borrowed something once and it broke. I should have bought it instead.