Dad and Doug

Lost my father and a close friend, Doug, within months of each other last year. Dad was fine right up until the last few weeks. Doug had been fighting for about five years. I wrote about each of them here already (for Dad, and for Doug), but never posted the obituaries themselves.

This blog has been mostly tech since 2005. But some things need to get written down while I still can, and this is one of them. Miss them both.

Write things down while people are still around to read them. The obituary is the last thing anyone writes about most of us. Everything before it is still yours to say.

Lessons From My Father's Life

My father died yesterday. He was 94.

He worked 33 years as a telephone company lineman and repair person. He was retired 41.

He taught me the world doesn't owe you anything. But it gives you everything if you work for it.

What I learned from him:

·      Success isn't what you accumulate. It's who you help along the way.

·      Freedom isn't avoiding work. It's loving what you do so much you'd do it without pay.

·      You don't need all the answers. You need better questions.

·      The goal isn't another achievement, another title, another milestone.

·      The goal is a legacy. Something that outlasts you. Something that matters beyond yourself.

He spent much of his life teaching me in fields, streams, woods, forests, offshore in rough water, and in quiet moments watching the years pass.

I'm 68. Maybe I’ve got 26 more years of lessons if I'm lucky. 

Thanks Dad. Miss you.