My Father Myself - 6/17/07

Today's picture is (left to right) my Dad, his Father and his Grandfather; my paternal line. It was probably taken in 1945. All three are gone now. If I ever met my Great Grandfather I don't remember. He died when I was in kindergarten. I remember that because I remember telling my classmates that he had been shot by Indians with arrows. I have no idea where that idea came from. He was a very successful financier and entrepreneur in his day. At various times in his life he owned and ran an photography studio, owned a coal mine, was a banker and dabbled in real estate. My Dad lived with his Grandparents for awhile in High School and was being groomed by them to go on to medical school. When Dad's Grandmother became ill and died, he had to move back to the farm with his Mom and Dad and finished his senior year in Gettysburg. After High School Dad started college (pre-med) at Gettysburg College but when World War II broke out at the end of 1941 he left school and enlisted in the Marine Corps. He never went back to college, life took him elsewhere.

My Grandfather was a farmer. He'd been to college and served in World War I in France. He didn't inherit his Father's business sense, in fact I think that Great Grandfather probably set him up with the farm. He worked the land much like his Grandfathers had done.

My Dad was a wonderful Father. He ended up being an airline mechanic. He worked hard all his life for his family. He expected a lot from us, was strict but not abusive. He loved us. He taught us to work hard, to care for our families, and to be judicious with our money. In his later years as the muscular dystrophy claimed more and more of his body, he taught us to not feel sorry for ourselves, to keep fighting your obstacles and to have a sunny outlook on life. I used to tease him that our family motto was "Anything worth doing, is worth doing the hard way."

He is a tough act to follow. I guess what I'm trying to say is that none of us exist in a vacuum. We have developed into who we are based on our own inherent natures and on the guidance we've either received or been denied. Experience has shaped us and I'm inclined to think its who we were supposed to be all along.