5 Lessons My Dad Taught Me

Dad died a couple of years ago from a heart attack that he had after a surgery that was to clear up complications from another surgery.

He was a good guy and he taught me a lot. Mom is doing fine with a new boyfriend, John, and a lot of activities at her church and with girlfriends and grandchildren. Oh, and I can’t forget her cat Millie. What would she do without Millie?

My dad Bryan loved Cleveland sports teams, golf, fishing and advertising. He owned his own ad agency. It was a small company. He wouldn’t partner with bigger companies because he said he didn’t want to have a meeting over which coffee maker to buy. He did have an office manager who made great chocolate chip cookies.

He also ran a lot of non-profit organizations. He was president of the local marketing association and the lake front group where the summer house was as well as the boat.

Here are five things that he taught me.

1. Keep your yard neat. He didn’t live in a big house but he kept the lawn well-manicured and he hated weeds. I guess you could call this “curb appeal.”

2. How to drive in dangerous conditions. My first lesson was at night on a sheet of ice. He said, “Step on it,” and then asked me to hit the brakes. To my horror the car slid. He then said, “First lesson is that you don’t hit the brakes when you are on ice.” Needless to say, driving got much easier after that.

3. Save a stray. On more than one occasion he brought home a kitten in his suit jacket pocket. He once said that there was a kitten wondering around the parking lot at work and he had to help it. We found homes for them.

4. Which fish to keep. I liked driving his little motorboat on Lake Erie and learned which fish not to eat. There is one that eats garbage for example. Yuk!

5. Be nice to your husband. He didn’t like when I nagged Dave to help with chores. After, he’d say to him, “That’s okay Dave. I still like you!”

Miss you dad!

###