What were your parents good at? (pension, dumped, animated, movies)
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Career Army Aviator - helicopter pilot, two tours Vietnam, instructor pilot for AH-1.
Mother survived WWII as a refugee from Poland to Germany. Married father, became American citizen raised two kids THEN worked for United States Gov't as a great dental assistant winning several awards/recognition for her efforts. Very proud of her for being able to start a career after my brother and I were independent.
Great thread.
My mom was a SAHM mom, homemaker, seamstress, cook, funny lady, and raised three kids- two boys and a girl. As a kid, she wanted to be a scientist, but was quenched by her parents. Despite that, she was brilliant, and loved to learn. When I started to teach her how computers worked...at age 80!...she blossomed with knowledge.
Dad was a secret joker, social worker and dedicated his life to helping others...family included. He rose to the top of his field, and worked directly with Jerry Brown, and Ronald Reagan in CA. My folks were very, very loving people, and did everything in their power to make sure that everyone in their domain was well taken care of. Their ethics and lessons rubbed off on us.
When DW and I were leaving Maine- broke, but with the offer of a job in another state, my wife told me about her friend that had just grabbed her three kids in the middle of the night and left a domestic battering drunk husband while he slept. She had previously found a secret place to live, one that her A***HOLE hubby didn't know about. We visited her in her new place, and saw her and her kids sitting in the middle of an empty house provided to her by a battered women's agency. They had no food, no furniture, no money, no job, but no beatings either. Timing was perfect. We had just packed our stuff into storage to move to another state for a new job, but after looking at her situation, DW and I stared at each other and left. A half hour later we rolled up to her empty home in a truck and trailer, and unloaded all of our furniture, lamps, dishes, silver, glasses, bookcases, books, etc. into her house. I remember a lot of emotions going on that day; we all started over.
Tales of her classroom discipline instilled fear in the hearts of all young people as the year of their time with her approached. And throughout three generations of schoolchildren if you mentioned her name you always heard the same response. "She was strict but you really learned in her class."
She couldn't bear and wouldn't allow a child to leave her class without learning what he was supposed to learn.
Her command of the English language was impeccable. She played a mean game of Bridge and it wasn't until near her death that I also found out that underneath that proper schoolmarm exterior lived a wicked and outrageous sense of humor. (So glad she finally let her hair down as I always wondered where I got mine from.)
My father was sent, along with all his siblings, to business school, a gift from his hard-working mother. No matter that he didn't care for business. So he worked a humble but well-paying and reliable job his whole working life for his family. It wasn't in business, but it wasn't in something he was especially talented at or which called for talent. So he didn't get to enjoy a job doing something he enjoyed.
He was one of those guys who was good at nearly everything he tried. He roller skated like a pro, skied (in the ditches behind a car just the way his ancestors had done behind a horse like a lot of flatlander Norwegians) could do circus tricks on his bicycle and played the drums in a swing-style dance band. And I've been told he was a dance partner in demand.
He played the organ in church and the piano at home and told the absolute best fractured fairytale bedtime stories. If he went out to shoot a pheasant for dinner he was sure to return with one and it wouldn't be full of pellets.
My father, mostly absent, could fix anything from plumbing to automotive to electrical. Unfortunately I inherited none of those skills. My mother raised three boys on her own while working fulltime and always putting our needs above hers. She was and is an amazing woman.
Honestly, all I remember as a kid was them smoking cigarettes, at least a carton each a week. I don't remember them being particularly good at anything other than sitting and smoking.
Lodestar: How very fortunate you were (and are). From your description, your parents were wonderful.
The only teacher I can recall who had everyone worried was Miss Gifford. She was a tiny little thing but she packed a powerful punch. Even the "big" boys were afraid of her and never went against her.
My mother was good at stretching a dollar and saving money. My Dad sometimes would not come home with his paycheck, due to gambling while drinking. We always had good food and clean clothes. We went to good public schools and had no sense that we were poor. She taught me the value and necessity to save money for a rainy day. Thank God I listened.
My parents were both really hard workers, having come from poor families and grown up during the Depression. They also loved to read and shared that with my sister and myself (my brother never really cottoned to reading much). Both of my parents also loved music and had lovely voices; they shared a hobby of singing with the local opera company for many years (I have so many pics of them dressed in gorgeous costumes), as well as singing with the church choir for more than 4 decades. My Dad also loved keeping the yard just so, which complemented my Mom's exquisite roses (maybe that's where I got my love of gardening?), so that our house always looked really nice outside. Mom was an immaculate housekeeper, and taught me her housekeeping routine as well, so the house always looked nice inside too. She baked such good pies, pastries and cookies ( a skill I did NOT inherit), and would always give goodies to my friends when they came over. Dang, now I'm getting teary missing them both so much.
Great thread.
My mom was a SAHM mom, homemaker, seamstress, cook, funny lady, and raised three kids- two boys and a girl. As a kid, she wanted to be a scientist, but was quenched by her parents. Despite that, she was brilliant, and loved to learn. When I started to teach her how computers worked...at age 80!...she blossomed with knowledge.
Dad was a secret joker, social worker and dedicated his life to helping others...family included. He rose to the top of his field, and worked directly with Jerry Brown, and Ronald Reagan in CA. My folks were very, very loving people, and did everything in their power to make sure that everyone in their domain was well taken care of. Their ethics and lessons rubbed off on us.
When DW and I were leaving Maine- broke, but with the offer of a job in another state, my wife told me about her friend that had just grabbed her three kids in the middle of the night and left a domestic battering drunk husband while he slept. She had previously found a secret place to live, one that her A***HOLE hubby didn't know about. We visited her in her new place, and saw her and her kids sitting in the middle of an empty house provided to her by a battered women's agency. They had no food, no furniture, no money, no job, but no beatings either. Timing was perfect. We had just packed our stuff into storage to move to another state for a new job, but after looking at her situation, DW and I stared at each other and left. A half hour later we rolled up to her empty home in a truck and trailer, and unloaded all of our furniture, lamps, dishes, silver, glasses, bookcases, books, etc. into her house. I remember a lot of emotions going on that day; we all started over.
Mom and Dad did that for her.
That is So Beautiful!!
Thank you for sharing that wonderful story
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