From the archives
Top ten things my Dad taught me
November 2010
I have in my right hand, direct from my home office in Corn Borer, Indiana, today's category: top ten things my
Dad taught me. Actually, there are probably thousands: how to ride a bike, how to shoot a gun, how to parallel
park, how to tie a Windsor knot, how to use a table saw without losing any appendages . . . the list goes on
and on. But here are, what I consider, the top ten:
10. Sand with the grain
Cut against the grain, but then sand with it to smooth things out. Good advice for woodworking
and working with people.
9. It's better to laugh than cry
Since my sophomore year in high school, I've been writing humor: a weekly column
for seven years in a teen magazine, a column for fifteen years in three Indiana newspapers, and
a column each issue for a pastors' magazine. I couldn't have developed my dry sense of
English humor without the wonderful examples from my Dad. His quiet, spontaneous wit continues to crack up
the family even as dementia muddles his mind and cancer batters his body. It is better to
laugh than cry!
8. You can fix anything with Vise-Grips, baling wire and duct tape
My dad was a jury-rigging genius. (joor'-ē-rĭg v. to creatively
solve a problem using unconventional means or methods. Not to be confused with rigging a jury.) The body of our
1956 Pontiac was held together with pop rivets, coffee cans and Bondo. The leaking hoses on the car were sealed with duct
tape. And the exhaust system was held up with baling
wire. But most of all, he built my brother and me a great go-cart from items he found at the dump and
the scrap bin at Kelloggs. Dad was the "MacGyver" of home repairs!
7. Encourage creativity
Our garage was a mad scientist's laboratory with every tool needed to create aforementioned go-carts,
as well as marionettes, magical illusions, robots, and props for home-staged plays. And Christmas and birthday
presents included a Royal manual typewriter, a guitar, and a unicycle. Creativity can be dangerouslike the
time I attempted to make rocket fuel by dumping everything flammable I could find in the garage into my tin-can
missilebut Mom and Dad thought it was worth the occasional trips to the emergency room to instill
creativity into their sons.
6. Strive for excellence in everything you do
Dad was a master craftsman, whether it was keeping the '56 Pontiac running, building a solid-oak desk that
I'm writing on today, or keeping the garden weedless. Anything worth doing was not only worth doing well, but
doing with excellence.
5. Never, ever say "I'm bored"
If you dared utter "I'm bored," you found a hoe, a rake or a snow shovel in your idle hands. And idle
hands were the devil's workshop, so we were taught a strong work effect. It served me well in school, work and
life.
4. There are no problem people, just people with problems
I'm not sure if that was original with my Dad, but he certainly applied it. He had a big heart for "people with
problems" and befriended the friendless. Even the kid in high school who thought he was an
aliennot non-American, but non-earthlyand invited him over to the house much to my utter
humiliation. But Dad's philosophy has kept me in good stead personally and professionally.
3. To plow a straight lineand lifefocus on a fixed, far-distant point
Dad taught us to line up the upright exhaust pipe on the Allis-Chalmers Model B tractor with a distant tree or
some other stationary point to plow a straight line in our Texas-sized garden. That's good advice for life as
well. Lock on to your dreams, goals and intended destination; then don't take your
eyes off of them for a second.
2. Start the day with Bible reading
When I would come downstairs to get ready for school, my Dadbefore heading off to work at Kellogg'swould be sitting at the kitchen table reading
his Bible . He never once said, "James Norman,
you need to read your Bible every day." He just provided a consistent example of the importance of starting
every day with Bible readingand so that's what you'll find me doing early every morning.
1. Put God first
I don't remember seeing The Wizard of Oz until I was in high school, because the classic film
always aired on Sunday nights. And the Watkins family was always in church Sunday nights . . . and for Sunday school
and morning worship and monthly carry-in dinners and youth meetings, and. . . . But more than
simply church attendance, Dad put God first in daily life, in faithful financial giving, serving as lay leader,
teaching Sunday school, being youth group sponsor, and serving others in hundreds of ways. Those priceless
lessons have been passed down to my children and now to my grandchildren.
So, thanks, Dad, for the top ten . . . and ten thousand . . . things you taught me!
Note: Donald James Watkins has "months" to live with cancer, so I thought I better say thanks while I
have the time. I am indeed grateful for the lessons learned.
Note 2: I was too late! Mom tried reading Dad my top ten list, but with his dementia, he couldn't grasp it. Tell your loved ones thanks now!
Note 3: Dad went to meet his Lord Monday, November 29, at 7:20 am. I hope he was looking in at his funeral when I
read this tribute to him.
Leave a comment, tell a friend, send money
Email your comments to jim@jameswatkins.com.
And if this page was helpful, please . . .
a) tell a friend
b) link to it from your blog or Web site
c) save it as a favorite at
delicious.com
d) recommend it to digg.com and
StumbleUpon.com
And if this page was really helpful . . .
e) please consider a donation to our sponsor XarisCom.
You can donate securely with any major credit card
Legal stuff and warnings
Copyright © James Watkins. All text and graphics on my sites, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted © in my name,
James N. Watkins, and are protected by United States copyright law and international copyright law under the Berne
Convention. Please visit the press room for information on reprinting any text or
graphics. Thanks!
WARNING: Reader assumes full responsibility for the proper and prescribed use of this
site. For external use only. Discontinue if rash, redness, irritation, or swelling develops. If swallowed, do not
induce vomiting. Side-effects may include drowsiness or mild to severe agitation. Do not read while consuming alcohol or
operating heavy machinery. Keep away from open flame. Do not store above 451 degrees. Do not use near or place in water.
Void where prohibited, taxed or licensed. Any medical information provided is for general educational use only and should
not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.
Views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of
any other personreal or fictitious, living or deadusing the name James
N. Watkins.
|