The American way of my Dad was different than mine.
For him it was finish high school, wait a year for his brother, then go to junior college to play baseball together.
Instead of waiting it out, he got with his buddies and they all joined the Marine Corps.
Everyone went in, except one, and they all remember.
He went to Korea, came back, and added an extended year to his four year enlistment before finally making it to junior college.
This time, instead of his brother, who’d also joined the Marines, the old man of twenty-five showed up with a wife and two kids.
Two years later he transferred to a four year school and got a bachelor’s degree, and an additional kid.
His own dad didn’t make it to graduation day, but his mom did.
Grandpa G explained how anyone who went to school past eighth grade was just afraid to work.
He might be right? No.
He quit after eighth grade, his kids didn’t.
After college, dad transitioned into a small-town, white collar, insurance man.
At thirty he was locked in for the next twenty-five years.
That’s how it used to work, find a field and plow it the rest of your life.
Things are different now?
Looking For The Difference
People with the habit of working look for work to do, work that needs being done, work they can do better than it’s being done.
I see people in different fields with the same attitude.
They like performing at a high level, enjoying the rewards, and counting their lucky stars.
What’s luck got to do with it?
Based on the people I know, they made the most important decision early on with the women they married, for better or worse.
Some work for themselves, others in a corporate setting, while still others work on the promises of the modern world.
It’s quite a spread across the American way, but they all share a similar drive:
They want to get it right, finish, and move on to the next item on the list.
If they don’t get things right the first time, they fix it, move things around, and find a creative solution.
What they don’t do?
They don’t blame the problem, the circumstances, or other people.
‘It didn’t turn out as expected and we’ll have another answer soon.’
Not:
‘I don’t know where you heard your information. There’s not a problem, nothing is wrong. Why would you doubt it?’
My American Way
When you’re young you hear people say what they want to be.
Fireman, policeman, teacher, and others in public life are good choices.
Besides, what’s a kid know?
Banker, executive, or chairman of the board are further out there.
I didn’t know what any of my friend’s parents did for a living, barely knew what my own parents did.
What I did know is we were all at home most nights. It’s called stability.
No one ever got away with a line of bullshit, not that we didn’t try.
Eventually it turned into a game when the old man’s childhood buddy, a State Police officer, brought a lie detector home.
Who took the garnets out of Ma’s drawer? Off to the lie detector.
Where is the missing gold coin we each got from our Grandma in Texas?
Off to the lie detector.
The part about marrying the right person? Who is that?
Finds a person you can’t force yourself to lie to, and marry the hell out of them.
Do that and the world’s problems clear up.
If you lie about a girlfriend, gambling, drugs, and drinking, you’ll eventually be found out.
Maybe not all the way found out, but enough.
Marry the right partner and you won’t be donging around, or hiding in a dark room of a tap house feeding money into a machine, taking a little bump, and smoothing it out with vodka and ice and a twist of lemon.
But, if you are in there, and you get the word to stop, and don’t?
So long, baby, next one up.
People with such an attitude loosen up the reins of society, of civilization as we know it.
You can replace people who get in your way.
If you fuck up, no problem. It wasn’t any worse than your other fuck-ups, so why would anyone be concerned?
The first challenge comes from a concerned wife.
About David Gillaspie
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