A Bowl of Soup and a Quarter…!

Happy Father’s Day to all the “Fathers”…!

Now, in June of 2014, I wrote a Post about making deposits into the memory banks of our young. As parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles we realize our interactions with young people become powerful memories for them as they grow older…both good and bad memories. My memory bank is full of deposits. My grandfathers, my Dad, uncles and aunts, coaches, and many others made many deposits. I grew up to admire them all.

For example, one of my grandfathers owned and operated a barber shop. His time with me was very limited but it was quality time. He passed away when I was 8. He took something fairly simple to teach me a life lesson. He is one reason we honor others on “Father’s Day”.

At this young age, my job was to deliver to my grandfather each Saturday a brown bag containing a very hot bowl of soup without causing any spills or soup stains on the bag. The stains were very easily seen. This fifteen minute walk across town was very challenging for a young person who had to pay attention at all times. The delivery had to be done with perfection to earn the wages of a quarter he paid if I arrived and the brown bag was spotless…meaning no soup was spilled during delivery. My grandfather would not pay me if some small amount of soup had appeared on the brown bag. However, he was teaching me a valuable lesson. Some deliveries ended with disappointment but most of the time he paid me the quarter because the job was done by his standards. I made a lot of quarters but my grandfather deposited much more than that into my memory bank. He was teaching me about the relationship between job performance and wages at a very early age. Many of us recognize our “Fathers” or father like figures because of the memory bank deposits they made.

Young people also make deposits. I mentioned last week that my oldest grandson graduated from high school with honors. He ended his high school sports career among the top athletes in Nevada. He had made a lot of deposits into the memory banks of family and friends.

See, we adults are not the only ones making deposits into memory banks. Young folks make some great deposits also. In this day and time it is nearly a miracle that a young boy can grow up in a single parent home and manage to avoid the many pitfalls waiting him along life’s pathway. For many reasons he could have been the most “unlikely” to succeed. However, he has a room full of awards, trophies, and other evidence that he has achieved much with the love and support of family and friends.

Watching him grow, mature, and develop into a very thoughtful, kind, and respectful young man has reinforced my belief in the power of a loving family, setting good expectations, and faith that God is ultimately in charge.

The next oldest grandson Mykel is 14 years old (6’2″) and is following along in his brother’s footsteps. He has a similar life story of course, but he also is growing up to be a very decent young man. He led his school’s basketball team to a 25 and 1 season and a District Championship. He finished his school year with academic honors and a 4.0 GPA.

Finally, my third oldest grandson Owen at 10 years old is an excellent student and athlete. He made his mark this school year by leading his team of classmates to a national Science Fair featuring an Innovation Destination project. He plays basketball very well even though his life was in real danger a couple of years ago. He required a serious operation two years ago to correct a major medical problem.

All three of these young boys have had their share of life’s challenges and fortunately they have learned to focus on what is good about life and not all the negative things they could dwell on. They believe in themselves and they have family and many caring friends who support them. I have two more young grandchildren who have excellent role models to follow as they get older. I will get them into my Blog in the future.

These are the joys of “Fatherhood” or even “Grandfatherhood”. I see personally young people achieve in the face of adversity and believe with our efforts we can all be difference makers.

The role of the “Friends of Copey” is very similar to the role of family and friends. The students attending the Learning Center are young people who could use just a little help now and then and that help can make the all important difference. I am convinced all of these students are future scholars and even athletes in the making. We are making deposits into their memory banks each day and trust me…these deposits go both ways. Those who give…also receive! As a Grandpa, I know now my grandfather wanted to help me learn something about life and he deposited into my memory bank a hot bowl of soup and a quarter to teach me something of true value. As “Friends” we can help a community to learn something about life much the same way. “When many of us do a little…much can be done”!

IN MEMORY OF

I wish to take a moment to observe the passing of the nine who died this week in South Carolina. Also, the family in Montana; Arie (37), Gus (6), Woodrow (4), and Little Arie (1) all four killed at the hands of Arie’s husband who also was the father of the children. He committed suicide. Evil is among us and on behalf of the “Friends of Copey” everywhere, I pray for peace and comfort for all those in mourning these senseless losses.