How to Enjoy Life

I learned the pursuit of happiness from my Dad.  When I was about 10, my Dad let me sip his beer, and he would take me to the tavern with him.  Sometimes he would let me sit on his lap while he was driving the car and he let me turn the wheel to steer it.  My Dad taught me how to barbecue on the grill and he would let me go camping in the back yard.  He showed me how to make mickies (Brooklyn style potatoes cooked on a stick).  He was an excellent story teller and he had lots of stories.  My Dad was different from the rest of the fathers in the neighborhood, as when he got home from work, he would immediately start playing with me and any of my friends that were around.  My Dad taught me how to play golf when I was young and he had a lot of patience.

My Dad liked landscaping and we had many trees on the boarder of my house.  My Dad had the best lawn in the entire neighborhood.  He took pride in how our yard looked and many of the people in our town would ride by to admire how well kept our yard was.  My Dad liked flowers just as much as he liked trees and grass and he lined our driveway with wax begonias.  He planted tulips and roses around many of our other bushes.  My Dad tried to teach me about plants as when we were out driving around town, he might say, “Jim what do you think of that Arborvitae shrub planted over there”, and I learned from him.  I still think about my Dad when I see certain trees and flowers that he taught me about and because of him, I am allowed me to appreciate many beautiful things.

Written for Fandango’s Provocative Question #119 which is, “What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in life and who did you learn it from?”