Illinois Valley News

“There“s no such thing as a free lunch.“ That is a bit of advice given me by my late father, and I“ve found it to be true. Oh, I“ve gotten free lunches, even some dinners and breakfasts. But there“s always been a snare of shorts ... er, I mean, a snare of sorts.

For example, people used to invite me to functions where food would be served. They“d say, “Come and eat. We“d love to see you. Oh, and bring your camera.“ See what I mean“ I could eat, but it was a sort of force-feeding because I also was expected to produce photos.

Dad also was fond of telling me that if I were given a job, a task, a chore or whatever, that if it was worth doing, it was worth doing to the best of my abilities. I“ve tried to follow that rule. Although I still laugh when I recall the time I tried to weasel out of sweeping our garage one time.

Ol“ dad (who died on Feb. 16, 2002 at the age of 88) was a bear about keeping the garage clean. But one time, when I was feeling feisty due to having graduated from eighth-grade, I said, “Why sweep it; it“ll just get dirty again.“ Wow. Not the appropriate words to use. Reason I laughed then and now is that mi padre“s response had to do with the possibility of throwing a bucket of something nasty on that floor, and would I ignore that.

So we went around a few times, when I got rebellious. Maybe I thought I was James Dean. I don“t know. Another saying he had, one I always found annoying, was, “I told you so.“ Reason it was annoying, I can say in retrospect, is that he was correct because he would have advised me against taking an action, and when it blew up in my face, I was not likely to appreciate fatherly advice.

Dad was shorter than my mom; in fact, if one looks closely at their wedding photo, it“s plain to see that he“s standing on an altar step with my mom on the one below so that he appears taller. OK, he was not tall that way, but he was tall in the manner he provided for us. He did the best he could raising my brother and me, given his background, and I will always love him for that.

He also gave me a strong work ethic. Not sure I appreciate that, but it seems to be working (no pun intended.)

Another bit of advice my dad gave me was that sometimes I“d find myself a day late and a dollar short. So that“s why this column is in the issue after the observance of Father“s Day 2010. A day late, a dollar short, and I told you so.

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