Sunday, June 17, 2012

Father's Day Memory


“My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” Clarence Budington Kelland, The Simplify-Your-Life Quote Book, (New York: Random House, 2005), 54.

My dad was a man of few words, but he lived his God-fearing, hardworking life and set a good example. One childhood memory: following him down the hilly farm path as we walked checking on cattle and horses.  Dad said, “follow in my footsteps because there are snakes around here.  If you follow me on the path, I will see the snakes first and keep you safe.”   I knew there were snakes because he had more than once brought dead snakes for us to see.  The dead carcasses were poisonous snakes, like rattlesnakes and copperheads.  He had encountered and killed the snakes during his walks around the farm and he wanted us to know of the danger. 

While his instructions had a practical purpose (protect me from the snakes), there was also a life lesson implied in his words and his life:  revere God, work hard, commit to your family, and persevere until you succeed.  Good lessons.   A good memory. 

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