What life advice did your father hand down?

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Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,312
8,634
136
I suppose it would be get a profession and be the best at it. He obviously preferred this approach of running your life. He pretty much did just that.

i think that is part of the reason that i work no more than 40 hours a week and never will.
I adopted this philosophy a long time ago. You can't let them work you into the ground, it's called oppression.
If you have kids, you don't get to have dates or party anymore, you don't get to go on vacations or have fun until they leave the house...
Just about the finest memory I have was my folks taking Mom, me and my sister on a 2 week vacation driving around the American west, staying in motels and checking out various national parks. It was unfortunately a one-off. My brother's kids are much more adventurous and take their kids on various vacations. Brother did that too, he had the dough. If you can swing it, that's the thing to do.
We are all whores.

We sell our ass every day for xx dollars for xx hours, servicing other people.
It wasn't my dad but a guy I met and did a few things with. I said to him that a certain activity seemed like a hustle (it was probably our going together to flea markets, setting up and selling used computer equipment) and his reply was emphatic and immediate: "Everything's a husltle!" Unforgettable.
 
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OlafSicky

Platinum Member
Feb 25, 2011
2,364
0
0
Son, there is only one reason to go to church on Sunday, and that is to see who is sitting in the front pew, for that is the bastard that will try to screw you on Monday.
So true my father always made us sit in the front ():)
 

RandomWords

Senior member
Jun 11, 2014
633
5
81
Just about the finest memory I have was my folks taking Mom, me and my sister on a 2 week vacation driving around the American west, staying in motels and checking out various national parks. It was unfortunately a one-off. My brother's kids are much more adventurous and take their kids on various vacations. Brother did that too, he had the dough. If you can swing it, that's the thing to do.

Oh, I know it is the thing to do - just telling my fatherly advice given to me anytime I do anything but go to a city park or stay at home... I never said it was good advice.
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,739
452
126
"this manual labor thing sucks. Go to school and don't you dare follow in my footsteps"
 

Eno Safirey

Member
Dec 14, 2012
76
9
71
My dad was a salesman but he also was handy at repairing things. I used to help him and I would start cleaning up to be helpful. He took me aside and explained that we weren't done yet.

"Never put your tools away until you are done with your project."
 

squarecut1

Platinum Member
Nov 1, 2013
2,230
5
46
Sometimes it is the parents who learn from the advice of their kids on how to be better people
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,919
8,184
126
My dad was a salesman but he also was handy at repairing things.

My father was terrible at repairing things. The fixes were usually sub par, and better, more obvious(to me) solutions weren't used. He just didn't have the eye/mind for it. He also liked woodworking, but was pretty bad at it. He gave it hell though. He never quit, and all projects got finished. They may not have looked good, but there was some level of functionality.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
I seem to think all your dad's giving you guys condom advice just didn't want you repeating the same mistake they made.
 

Imp

Lifer
Feb 8, 2000
18,828
184
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Tons of gems:

- The kid with the mental disability in the neighborhood is smarter than you.
- Gamble all your money.
- Barely support your family even though you stuck your dick into that women and caused a few kids to pop out.
- F*** everyone else, take care of number one only, do actively screw your family over.

...What a great family I have.
 

OlafSicky

Platinum Member
Feb 25, 2011
2,364
0
0
Tons of gems:

- The kid with the mental disability in the neighborhood is smarter than you.
- Gamble all your money.
- Barely support your family even though you stuck your dick into that women and caused a few kids to pop out.
- F*** everyone else, take care of number one only, do actively screw your family over.

...What a great family I have.
So sad didn't anyone here have a great dad?
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
57,919
8,184
126
So sad didn't anyone here have a great dad?

Define great. My father made it through life with constant improvement, and very few missteps. He didn't do anything to get into Wikipedia, but that's not all bad. Under the radar isn't a bad path to follow.
 

Pr0d1gy

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2005
7,774
0
76
I seem to think all your dad's giving you guys condom advice just didn't want you repeating the same mistake they made.

You're a fantastic human being. I am in complete shock that you have been divorced multiple times.
 

OlafSicky

Platinum Member
Feb 25, 2011
2,364
0
0
Define great. My father made it through life with constant improvement, and very few missteps. He didn't do anything to get into Wikipedia, but that's not all bad. Under the radar isn't a bad path to follow.
Well i guess one that gave you a good example took care of his family and made them his number one priority.
Or when where his kids don't hate his guts.
 

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
38,312
8,634
136
My father was terrible at repairing things. The fixes were usually sub par, and better, more obvious(to me) solutions weren't used. He just didn't have the eye/mind for it. He also liked woodworking, but was pretty bad at it. He gave it hell though. He never quit, and all projects got finished. They may not have looked good, but there was some level of functionality.

Functionality is key, that's always been my bent.

My father didn't spend a lot of time fixing things, just on occasion, but he did have some basic tools. We lived in a big big house and there was a basement and it had a decent sized bench, tools, and nice vise. There was one kitchen drawer in which we had a few basic tools, things like screw drivers and pliers. My house follows this pattern, but I have more tools. I do way way more in the way of repairing things, creating things, fiddling than my father ever did, but my inspiration can definitely be traced to the tools and basement setup in my parents' house.

I learned woodworking here and there, once built my own rowboat from scratch and a plan in a magazine, worked on the docks repairing and maintaining boats. I'm not a tool nut, but I have a lot of tools.

Really good woodworking is pretty advanced. I built my boat in space given me by a cabinet maker, and he let me use his considerable tool arsenal. Cabinet making (and furniture manufacture) is beyond most people, in considerable degree because they don't have the tools or space.
- -
My father earned the respect of his kids. We were his first priority, although he honored his own parents in the extreme. He would deny us nothing. We always knew that and didn't wear it out.
 
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