Posted this on Facebook; thought some of you might like it:
Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate many of the life lessons I learned from my dad. One story that I’ve told dozens of times is The Fuel Pump Story. It goes like this:
When I was probably 17 or 18 years old, the fuel pump went out on my dad’s '73 Dodge pickup truck. He went to the parts store and bought a new fuel pump and brought it home. He walked in the house and handed me the new fuel pump and asked me to swap it for the old one on his truck. I said, “But I don’t know how to do that.” He said, “Just go give it a try, and see if you can figure it out. If you can’t, no problem.” So I crawled underneath the truck looking for something that resembled the fuel pump in the box he gave me. Ah, there it is. After studying it for a bit, I developed a plan of action and in probably 30 minutes I had replaced the fuel pump and IT WORKED.
What I learned that day wasn’t how to replace a fuel pump (although I did learn that); the real lesson was to not be afraid to try to do things that I have no prior knowledge of. From that one lesson I have learned to do hundreds of things just by deciding to try. It is one of the lessons that I consider foundational to who I am as a man.
So thanks for the lesson, dad; and for all the other things you taught me. I love you, and I wish you a Happy Father’s Day.
Great story, thanks for sharing. Not to be a Debbie Downer but my Dad passed away exactly 1 year ago today, the day before his 84th birthday. He spent 20 year as a Naval aviator, did 2 tours in Vietnam Vet and practiced law for 30+ years. It too me a long time to realize he wasn’t the dumba**, I was. Man I miss him. It feels silly at my age to wish my Dad was still around to ask him things and just to talk but, I guess you’re never too old to want to spend time with your parents.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”, but really, who cares?
DFreedom, when I woke up today I felt a sense of sorrow for those that are experiencing their first Father’s Day without their dad. The 3 children of my uncle (my 1st cousins) that passed earlier this year for starters. I sent each of them a text to let them know I was thinking about them. I haven’t experienced that yet, but I know the first Father’s Day has to be hard. That’s a great remembrance of your dad, and I bet he is very proud to call you his son.
DF ; I know the feeling, while growing up i thought at times dad was getting dumber as he/I grew older and would always encourage me to try and figure out how to do things on my own and to not depend on others to show/help me. After my tour of serving our country , getting married and trying to raise/support a family with never enough income to really do it without a struggle , I came to the conclusion that Dad was probably the second man that could walk on water…It’s been over 15 years since i lost him and it doesn’t get any easier::: lord how I miss him:smiley:
Two days after I originally posted this thread, my dad went to the hospital because he hadn’t eaten in a few days. Normally he eats like a horse. Turns out his kidneys were failing and his heart was only working at about 25% capacity. (We knew his heart wasn’t in good shape.) It has been about 6 weeks now, and he has had some ups and downs, but mostly down. He probably weighed 180 going into the hospital and a week ago he was down to 126. Probably hasn’t eaten 3 days worth of food in 3 weeks, and not much before that either. He’s been mostly unresponsive for about a week and a half.
Based on the information that the doctors have given us, today my mom decided to discontinue treatment except for what it takes to keep him comfortable. He may last hours; he may last weeks, but the end is near. He has the assurance of eternal salvation, so that is a comfort for all of us. I was able to talk to him while he was still responsive (a few days after he went into the hospital). He said then that he knew he was dying. I went to see him last weekend and he was too weak to respond, but I’m certain he could hear and understand me when I told him goodbye. It was so hard to walk away from his bedside. Mom held the phone to his ear tonight and I told him “see ya later” and that I’ll miss him and that I love and appreciate him.
Here is a picture from a better day; about 6-7 years ago:
Your dad has a legacy, that’s the best he could ask for.
I didn’t get a chance to talk to my dad at end of his life, it was sudden and at night, an error by the medical community when he needed help the most. But I did give him my feelings in writing a few years prior when I wrote him a thank you note for things he had done for me since I was a kid. Then I wrote this:
My Fathers Son
When I’m outdoors, he is with me
When I pick up a tool, he holds it with me
When I walk on my dock, I think of the one we built together
When I hold a gun, I remember the many hunts we went on
When I go fishing, I remember his old Johnson motor
When I’m on a road trip, the ’68 Plymouth is so vivid
When something breaks, I cuss like he did
When I succeed, I remember his praise
When I fail, I remember his scolding
When I try again, he is the reason
I am not ashamed to cry, he said it was OK
I am lucky to be my fathers son, I miss him
I lost my mother-in-law three weeks ago today to cancer. She only lived 5 weeks after the diagnosis and elected to die at home. A gracious, loving, giving woman. I had a chance to sit, hold her hand and talk with her about her daughter and her husband, and my promises to her. At one point she cracked her eyes and the only thing she said was, “take care of yourself.” I can assure you that regardless of the physical condition, they can hear and think. Everything you say they will hear and understand. Don’t stop talking.
As my son lay dying from a horrible disease. We never stopped talking to him and never gave up. He had been brain dead for 4.5 days, had survived longer than most with that disease, and we were told to pull the plug. It’s been a long road. Today Hunter is a fully functional adult still working as a Charleston County Crew Chief Paramedic and opened his brew pub in West Ashley, Twisted Cypress. The doctors have no explanation. While he was in a coma he could hear, process and physically respond - it was spooky. Don’t stop talking to your dad.
This brings back memories from 21 years ago when I lost my dad. I was 16 and he was only 52. In my first 16 years, he showed me how to fish, hunt, respect and love my wife, raise my children, and work my behind off in the process. We did everything from put a roof on our house to rebuilding a 22R in an '81 Toyota.
I got to say goodbye to him while he was still awake, just before he passed. I still miss him all the time, but I know those lessons he taught me will be with me forever.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, I know how hard it is, but he will soon be in a better place.
Thanks, guys. Great to hear your stories as well. Re: hearing. The nurse told us that it’s the last sense to quit working. She told us to talk to him as much as possible.
Truth told, my dad’s long-winded stories that he told over and over used to get on my nerves. He’d say, “Stop me if I’ve told you this before.” I’d usually say, “It’s a pretty safe bet I’ve heard it before.” I’d sure like to hear one now.
I can only hope that my daughters think of me the way you do and have thought about your dad; you are good person and I send my prayers to you and your family.
This reminds me of me 3 weeks ago. Mower was running a little rough so I was gonna clean the carburetor. Pretty sure I did this as a young kid with the previous lawn mower 15ish years ago and checked a youtube video of a different model mower and it looked cut and dry.
Craftsman mower with a Honda engine.
WRONG. I pulled out the 2 lag bolts that held the air filter housing on and that POS fell into a pile of parts that were now caked in dirt. Plastic washer that fit the (intake manifold?), heat shield, thin plastic washer, thin metal washer, carb (still held tight to the engine with the fuel line), and another thin washer. All of this had 2 lag bolts holding it together that had to be removed to get it off the air filter housing and engine. All of it was to be put in place behind the back side of the air filter housing which was mounted to the mower.
Honda had the benefit of using double sided sticky tape on clean parts to align the bolt holes. I was trying to stack them with my mower leaning on it side against the garage door with dirt, oils, and carb cleaner all over it. By some miracle a got the first bolt though on the first drop with a few wiggles of the bolt. The second one was much easier to adjust for as one was locked in.
Lesson learned, its better to be lucky than good and next time just dump carb cleaner in there until she sound better. I might still take the bottom reservoir off the carb to see if I can clean that out. She runs a little better than before so it doesn’t appear that I made it worse, surprisingly.
