Tuesday, March 6, 2007

My Dad...A Better Man Than Me

I'm a private guy, so I very rarely talk about myself or my family here. I usually try to reserve this space for social commentary and random funny shit, but what I have to say about my Dad in a way IS social commentary. A little over a week ago, he retired. I never really knew what it meant to retire, until I saw it up close. You actually stop working. You pack up, and you go home...you never go back. Ever. I don't know about you but, to me that shit is cool. But here is what is even cooler about my Dad. First off, he's a private dude too so I won't put his picture up here. But I know this: he worked for two reasons. to support his family and to be productive. I'm fortunate enough to have a job that I love. I'm passionate about it and I'm driven to do it. but who is to say it will always be that way? My Dad worked for the government. The Federal Government. That's like me going to run a Smooth Jazz Radio Station. You would have to drug me just to get through the day!

My point is, that I always hear a lot of young people complaining about how there are no jobs. "I wanna do something in my field" they say. "I can't go to work at a job I can't stand" is another popular one. Grow the fuck up. The truth is that you can do whatever you set your mind to. You just don't want to. My father is living proof that BETTER MEN THAN YOU have done it, and survived. I respect that shit. I really do. This great gig that I have could be taken away from me at any moment, and I could end up doing a job that I don't like. I could handle it. He did, and in classy fashion.

I called him up last night and asked him "what do you plan to spend your days doing?"

His answer: "right now I just really need to rest. I really just need to rest man..."

Damn right. Enjoy yourself Dad.

1 comment:

Setta B. said...

I hear you. My mom once worked three jobs in a day. If I could back in time to hear someone say there are no jobs, then I'd have to slap him. My mom had two extra ones, one of which could have been his. Just one of the many reasons I respect my mom just as you respect your dad.