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I was very lucky for my first 54 years to find myself in the orbit of a man who lived life with more zeal than anyone I’ve ever known. Those of you who’ve read some of my posts will probably guess I’m speaking of my Dad, and you’re right! Please bear with me while I recount, in short form, some stories, a few of which I’ve told here before, that explain what I mean:
Curses can do that, especially when someone is well-protected. But more on that soon in one of my own posts…
This conversation is a delightful entry (I mean, just look at that smile in the picture!) in our Group Writing Series under October’s theme of Zeal. Maybe that should be “¡ZEAL!”? At any rate, we still have nine openings starting as soon as Thursday, if you happen to feel inclined to share some who is zealous or something (or someone) you are zealous about.
Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II were two others. They were physically very active men. They brought sunshine with them where they went.
Very good choices. Reagan, Thatcher, and JP II could have sorted anything out if they put their collective minds to it, I think. Thanks!
What a guy! What a dad! Your dad seems to have had a ton of self-confidence and a lust for life. Would that we all had that kind of “zeal” for life.
At the end, I’m sure he didn’t have to say, ”Gee, I wish I had. . . .”
You were lucky, She.
How lucky you are to have had such a wonderful example to follow! I think you have probably lived up to his expectations.
(Just hearing you describe your Dad makes me tired!)
Having met you, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree. Great Dad , great post.
Thanks for the great comments everyone, but tell me about people you know with zeal, please!
Are you sure you don’t mean:
Pedant!
With zeal!
Maybe she wants us to tell the story with ZEAL!
You have the best family stories.
Thanks. If memory serves, you have a few pretty good ones yourself.
I think this is the last photo I ever took of Dad. It was just a couple of months before he died, and the occasion was his older brother’s 100th birthday. I love this photo. He had to wear comfy slippers on his feet, he was pretty weak, he needed a walker, but please note 1, the hat! 2) the glass of wine, 3) the beaming smile, and 4) the gleam in his eye! Also, he’d probably want me to point out that he’s wearing his regimental tie, and that the narrow black stripe is in honor of General Wolfe who died on the Heights of Abraham in the fight that’s recorded as the regiment’s first battle honor.
His personality shines through. You’ve got some pretty good longevity genes there.
I think I have to write about my brother. He is the second oldest of six (I’m the oldest) and he is 64 now. He was always in trouble as a kid and he regularly got the belt from my Dad (one reason I don’t write about my Dad with admiration). But punishment never stopped him. He was going to do what he wanted to do. So much so that by the time he was 22 he was in prison for armed robbery. He was a model prisoner and was paroled after 10 years.
And boy did he start to live and make up for lost time – I mean time lost in living a good life! He found a beautiful 19 year old Virginia southern belle, treated her like a queen and convinced her to marry him. He started work at the Virginia Parks Department and worked so hard and with such enthusiasm that he was a virtual manager after just a few years. Virtual because he could not be promoted because he was on parole for ten years.. He was promoted the day after his parole was up. After he got home from his day job he mowed lawns and detailed cars for extra money.
He and his wife wanted a child but it never happened. Until….they had been married 18 years when she was suddenly pregnant. So at the age of 52 he became a father and he threw himself into that job also. He joined his wife’s church, volunteered at school and church and did anything he could think of to make their lives good.
He is a loud, sometimes obnoxious, good ole boy. Sometimes I need to get away for some peace and quiet. But there is no one with a better heart and he learned to live life with zeal.
And he has a doormat that says Make America Great Again Trump 2020.
Thanks. Gosh yes. Uncle Arthur (Dad’s older brother) died in 2009, at 102. Auntie Betty (other side of the family) died just short of her 103rd birthday. Several on both sides lived into their mid and upper-nineties.
I figure I’ve got at least another 40 years to go, if I’m not to let the side down.
Wonderful story, thanks for sharing your brother with us. I’m so glad he turned his life around and that you and he have been able to enjoy each other. What a great example!
Here’s to your dad, and to you for writing about him with such eloquence.
Andrew Breitbart – a happy warrior.
(So sad about the current associations with his name.)
I heard Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, speak in 1970. He had one message that he never stopped repeating with the utmost assurance: if you are a Jew, you belong in the Land of Israel. Only there can you fully express your passions and your zeal.
Whenever I leave Israel for a sojourn in the Diaspora, I am astonished by the contrast. Compared to the average Israeli, the average person living anywhere else is sleepwalking. If you want to see zeal in everyone from a 3 year old to a 103 year old, visit Israel.
Ah, Yehoshua, that’s why so many of us not in Israel decided to become ever so much more than average.
When I think of zeal, I think of Tennessee State Representative Mark Pody. The man is exhausting!
If HE had a DNA test I am sure they would find he’s a close relative of Tigger. He doesn’t just step up to the mike, he appears more like a bouncing betty.
His principles are conservative principles, principles are things one doesn’t abandon or compromise, and he defends them with energy and enthusiasm, one on one or before any group! His excitement is contagious and so far as I can tell bullets bounce off him.
Bless your heart!