Have You Become Your Father?
- Thread starter EagleGuy
- Start date
NothingButTheTruth
Well-known member
Never said he was a full-time farmer. Our farm was 73 acres and we had sheep and cows. Didn't realize that farmers like you were so pretentious.
I enjoy wrestling
Well-known member
Food for thought? How is your life? Did the hardship make you a better man?
Sykotyk
Well-known member
As others have said, yes and no. My dad is a morning person. That's what happens when you're raised on a farm and had morning chores before school, went into the army, and then did construction. He just naturally woke up at 4am every day. I am lucky if I'm asleep by 4am. One that my dad absolutely hated about me growing up. I'm in my 40s, and am still not a morning person. I don't think in that regard I ever will be like him.
My dad is also an incredibly bland and predictable eater. Hamburger with just mustard. Pasta with just the bare minimum of seasoning in the sauce. Pot roast, etc. All very little seasoning. The man refuses to eat pizza. Doesn't like it. Won't eat chinese/japanese/indian food at all. Will eat pork chops, baked chicken, etc. Again, minimal/no spice. He likes Lawry's Seasoning Salt, but nothing much more than that. But part of that was my grandmother wasn't much for cooking. She could, but she only cooked with stuff they grew. Spices and seasonings weren't grown there. They had meat, milk, corn, etc. They'd buy flour and dry pasta to store.
I, on the other hand, love every kind of foreign food. Indian especially. But I love Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indian, Pakistani, Greek, Mediterranean, Polish, Mexican, and the various blends of Central American fare. I'm pretty good at making Indian, Mexican and Mediterranean dishes at home. And anything I make is loaded with spice. I don't do bland. But, like him, though, I can't stand ketchup. My burgers are either mustard and onion only, or lettuce, cheese, and barbecue sauce. And loaded with mustard. Far more than McDonalds or Burger King would ever consider normal.
I'm not much into cars but can work on them. That's more a relic of poverty than it is interest. Never wanted to be a mechanic. But in my day I replaced an engine, rebuilt a head, dropped many fuel tanks to replace pumps, etc. Have a good general knowledge of any pre 2007 vehicle. The more modern systems with the overbuilt EGRs and vaccuum systems to control things are a bit over my head. Especially all the new computer controlled everything. I remember replacing a throttle cable in more than one car, while today it's all computer controlled throttles. Just isn't the same. But now I take my vehicles to the shop. I prefer not to work on them even if I can. I'd rather pay someone else to do it.
I travel. Everywhere. My dad went to Germany in the military, with stops in Louisiana. He actually enlisted before his time to be drafted since he knew he was going to be eventually (forgot how, but the list of who would be drafted was known in advance). He was stationed in Germany and hated it. Was a generator tech. All he remembers doing was tearing down and rebuilding perfectly working generators to stay busy. He kept telling his superiors that he wanted to go to Vietnam, where his one brother was (his other brother was at another base in Germany). Mostly out of boredom. He was shocked when he was given his honorable discharge instead of shipping him to Vietnam. He thinks part of it was that he enlisted early rather than be drafted as why he wasn't sent to Vietnam.
He got into construction. Apprentice. His main thing was foundations. Pouring footers for builders everywhere. He remembers almost all of them. He knows the basics of almost any construction method. Plumbing, electrical, siding, roofing, etc. Learned a lot from him. Renovated my kitchen by myself with just mostly bouncing questions off him on what to do or what was needed. Rewired the kitchen, did the drywall, plumbing, etc. Between him and my uncle got all the help needed. That uncle just passed a few months ago unexpectedly. He was a lifer in the Air Force.
My dad has a very short temper, though. And one thing I work on is not being like him in that regard. I refuse to treat my daughter like I was growing up. And it's not even that his 'temper' was the issue, it's just his lack of patience. He expects everything immediately. And now in his 70s, he is so much worse. I learned even in my teens to just go with the flow. My dad has never understood mindset. If he thinks something, it must be done immediately. I am a procrastinator. I prioritize what needs to be done when it needs to be done. Not just because I'm thinking of it.
My dad is also an incredibly bland and predictable eater. Hamburger with just mustard. Pasta with just the bare minimum of seasoning in the sauce. Pot roast, etc. All very little seasoning. The man refuses to eat pizza. Doesn't like it. Won't eat chinese/japanese/indian food at all. Will eat pork chops, baked chicken, etc. Again, minimal/no spice. He likes Lawry's Seasoning Salt, but nothing much more than that. But part of that was my grandmother wasn't much for cooking. She could, but she only cooked with stuff they grew. Spices and seasonings weren't grown there. They had meat, milk, corn, etc. They'd buy flour and dry pasta to store.
I, on the other hand, love every kind of foreign food. Indian especially. But I love Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indian, Pakistani, Greek, Mediterranean, Polish, Mexican, and the various blends of Central American fare. I'm pretty good at making Indian, Mexican and Mediterranean dishes at home. And anything I make is loaded with spice. I don't do bland. But, like him, though, I can't stand ketchup. My burgers are either mustard and onion only, or lettuce, cheese, and barbecue sauce. And loaded with mustard. Far more than McDonalds or Burger King would ever consider normal.
I'm not much into cars but can work on them. That's more a relic of poverty than it is interest. Never wanted to be a mechanic. But in my day I replaced an engine, rebuilt a head, dropped many fuel tanks to replace pumps, etc. Have a good general knowledge of any pre 2007 vehicle. The more modern systems with the overbuilt EGRs and vaccuum systems to control things are a bit over my head. Especially all the new computer controlled everything. I remember replacing a throttle cable in more than one car, while today it's all computer controlled throttles. Just isn't the same. But now I take my vehicles to the shop. I prefer not to work on them even if I can. I'd rather pay someone else to do it.
I travel. Everywhere. My dad went to Germany in the military, with stops in Louisiana. He actually enlisted before his time to be drafted since he knew he was going to be eventually (forgot how, but the list of who would be drafted was known in advance). He was stationed in Germany and hated it. Was a generator tech. All he remembers doing was tearing down and rebuilding perfectly working generators to stay busy. He kept telling his superiors that he wanted to go to Vietnam, where his one brother was (his other brother was at another base in Germany). Mostly out of boredom. He was shocked when he was given his honorable discharge instead of shipping him to Vietnam. He thinks part of it was that he enlisted early rather than be drafted as why he wasn't sent to Vietnam.
He got into construction. Apprentice. His main thing was foundations. Pouring footers for builders everywhere. He remembers almost all of them. He knows the basics of almost any construction method. Plumbing, electrical, siding, roofing, etc. Learned a lot from him. Renovated my kitchen by myself with just mostly bouncing questions off him on what to do or what was needed. Rewired the kitchen, did the drywall, plumbing, etc. Between him and my uncle got all the help needed. That uncle just passed a few months ago unexpectedly. He was a lifer in the Air Force.
My dad has a very short temper, though. And one thing I work on is not being like him in that regard. I refuse to treat my daughter like I was growing up. And it's not even that his 'temper' was the issue, it's just his lack of patience. He expects everything immediately. And now in his 70s, he is so much worse. I learned even in my teens to just go with the flow. My dad has never understood mindset. If he thinks something, it must be done immediately. I am a procrastinator. I prioritize what needs to be done when it needs to be done. Not just because I'm thinking of it.