Posted by
Georgetwin on Friday, June 15, 2007 10:40:38 AM
You would have to look far and wide to find a group more maligned in Popular Culture than Fathers. Of course, White Men are The Evil Du Jour according to The American Left. As you MAY HAVE NOTICED, I disagree STRONGLY with The American Left on most issues. So one more is like putting another deck chair on a cruise liner. Certainly, there are examples of bad behavior among White Men/Fathers. There is bad behavior among both genders, all races and in every country. Therefore, bad behavior is specific to ALL PEOPLE, no one group has a monopoly on it! Having said that, here is a Tribute to my Father, John A. Frye.
My father is for all intents and purposes, a Hillbilly. He is the youngest of 9 children and was raised on a sidehill farm in The Appalachians. Farming in the mountains is TOUGH, the farm covered 200 acres. However, most of the land was vertical, so about ¼ of it was tillable. They raised hay for the plow horses (they were too poor to afford a tractor) and sold the surplus to dairy farmers and cattle and/or horse ranchers in the area. They grew ALL of the vegetables they ate and Grandma Frye baked her own bread. They had a handful of milk cows, Dad always told me you would be surprised how much milk 12 people (9 children, Grandma & Grandpa Frye, Great Grandpa Frye) could go through. So they had fresh milk & butter and sometimes surplus milk to sell. They also raised chickens, so they had fresh eggs and chicken for supper on Sunday.
Being raised like this taught him several things that he passed on to me:
01. Hard work will wear you out, but won’t kill you.
02. Keep your eye on your ultimate goal.
03. Finish what you start.
04. Have pride in your appearance.
05. Keep your shoes polished.
06. Keep your hair combed.
07. Keep your clothes pressed & starched.
08. Failure is an option, but only after trying.
09. Sit up straight.
10. Stand up straight.
11. Ignore the naysayers.
12. Never start a fight, but finish as many as you have to.
13. Respect your elders.
14. Shake hands firmly and look the person square in the eye.
15. Say what you mean, mean what you say and back it up if necessary.
16. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.
17. Nothing counts so much as blood, stand by your family.
18. A hand-out is unacceptable, a hand-up is on rare occasions necessary.
19. If you can work and you aren’t , you’re not looking hard enough FOR WORK.
20. Be adaptable and be a team player.
Thank You for Your Time & God Bless
J. Allen Frye