I have a temper. I do not show it often, but it is there. I generally control it, but things happen on occasion that set if off. Then I need a little time to cool off and calm down. Like any good Irishman, I want to be slow to anger and quick to forgive.

Weather is like that in the summer. Sun one day, rain the next, followed by sun. We appreciate the sun all the more because of the rain. We enjoy the sun more, of course.

We talked about the influence my Dad had on my life today. No one influenced me more; I have tried to emulate him as much as I can. Here are a few of his words to live by.

You have to do without to keep from having to do without. Translation: save now for a rainy day later. He grew up in the South during the Great Depression, when money was tight and new possessions were rare indeed.

Bring me a high number. Translation: you are capable of making A's. Bring home A's on your report card. My Mom had a slight variant on this one. You're as good as the best and better than the rest. Basically, both of my parents did not have a very good education; neither graduated from high school. As an only child, they were determined to see that I got one.

Do your work first. Translation: there is plenty of time for fun after the job is done. Make sure that you do a good job so that you can keep it.

There’s always another one. Translation: don’t be rushed into buying a car, a house, or settling down with a woman. His advice was to take your time to make sure that it’s right.

Do not blow the hat off that trooper. Translation: do not speed by a policeman, or he’ll stop what he’s doing and write a ticket for you.

Turn down that tuneless music. Translation: Beethoven or the Beatles fall into that category. The only music that he enjoyed was country music. He loved to visit with family and have a good time swapping stories, fishing, playing cards, and above all, laughing. One song that he would do a kind of stomp dance to went something like this,

“Stay all night, stay a little longer
Dance all night, dance a little longer
Pull off your coat and throw it in the corner
Don't see why you don't stay a little longer”

Thanks to the Internet, I now know that song was by Bob Wills, and was recorded by Willie Nelson, among many others. I think that my Dad’s approach to having fun was something like the words to that song.