Since things are kind of quiet around here lately, I started reading through my life's journal. I have kept one since age 10. Man! my handwriting was as bad then as it is now! I should have been a doctor.
I ran across a section that covered a couple of days of my life back in the late 1960's when I was a teenager. In the left hand margin, I wrote, " You're not learning any younger! " It was in quotation marks, so it caught my attention as I flipped through the pages. So, I started reading my words.
Wow! Did this bring back memories! So, I wrote it out into nice story in paragraphs. I think you will like what a 15 year old had on his mind 51 years ago! Did I say that? 51 years ago? My God!.......here goes....
" You're not learning any younger! " is what my father said to me countless times these past few years. I used to say to him, " Yes sir! " But, I really didn't understand what he meant by those words, " You're not learning any younger! " I always agreed with him because I didn't want to seem like a dummy in his eyes.
Then one day, as my father and I were watching TV together, we saw a speech being delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King Sr. My father liked the way Dr. King presented himself and liked what he said when he tried to convey his message to the masses.
My father was a teacher by profession and, I have to say this, we were white. Dr. King had many white followers, contrary to certain beliefs. So, we watched and listened to the entire speech, then, my father looked over to me and said, " Understand that man's message now, because you're not learning any younger! "
There were those words again. I have heard them a thousand times! I was 15 years old and I decided, even though I was ashamed out of my wits to ask my father what he actually meant by the words, " You're not learning any younger! " He looked at me and told me that every single day, every single nuance that I have experienced, and all the information I have been subjected to so far in my life, that I will never be able to experience that moment of discovery again! Once the opportunity has passed to learn something, then it's history. So, learn now because you will never be the age you are now, again.
( We talked a while about what he said. He was good at getting me motivated to do better. I was making " C " to " B " grades in school and my father always said I could do much better. This was the time in my life that I started getting better grades. my last 2 years in high school, I made straight A's in everything but math! )
We continued our little talk while Dr. King finished his speech. My father said, and I remember this vividly, " Do you know why we are watching this speech? It is because Dr. Martin Luther King has just been assassinated and all the hopes and dreams may die with him! ".....!
I had been playing outside and when I came in, my father had asked me to sit and watch that speech with him. I did not know that one of my hero's, Dr. Martin Luther King Sr., had been viciously murdered in such a cowardly way!
When he told me that Dr. King had died, I got tears in my eyes and as I went to my room, I took one look back at my father, who was sunken way down in his recliner. He had tears in his eyes...
I had never seen my tough, West Virginian mountain man father break down and cry before! God! I felt bad!
" You're not learning any younger, " was my father's message. From then on, I started to become a man. I took pride in my schoolwork. I started to care about the poor and uneducated. I decided to never, ever make an enemy in my life!
I lost that great man in 2005. He was 80 years old and one night, in his sleep, God took him into the rock of ages. He wrote a note to my mother before he went to bed. I have that note now because they are both in Heaven. He wrote, " I love you! I had a good evening. I ate a bowl of grapes and they were so good. I didn't make a mess. See you in the morning. Wake me up so I can see Price Is Right. Love, Jerry ."
They were married 56 years. He was my gentle giant of a father. I miss my buddy.
David
I ran across a section that covered a couple of days of my life back in the late 1960's when I was a teenager. In the left hand margin, I wrote, " You're not learning any younger! " It was in quotation marks, so it caught my attention as I flipped through the pages. So, I started reading my words.
Wow! Did this bring back memories! So, I wrote it out into nice story in paragraphs. I think you will like what a 15 year old had on his mind 51 years ago! Did I say that? 51 years ago? My God!.......here goes....
" You're not learning any younger! " is what my father said to me countless times these past few years. I used to say to him, " Yes sir! " But, I really didn't understand what he meant by those words, " You're not learning any younger! " I always agreed with him because I didn't want to seem like a dummy in his eyes.
Then one day, as my father and I were watching TV together, we saw a speech being delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King Sr. My father liked the way Dr. King presented himself and liked what he said when he tried to convey his message to the masses.
My father was a teacher by profession and, I have to say this, we were white. Dr. King had many white followers, contrary to certain beliefs. So, we watched and listened to the entire speech, then, my father looked over to me and said, " Understand that man's message now, because you're not learning any younger! "
There were those words again. I have heard them a thousand times! I was 15 years old and I decided, even though I was ashamed out of my wits to ask my father what he actually meant by the words, " You're not learning any younger! " He looked at me and told me that every single day, every single nuance that I have experienced, and all the information I have been subjected to so far in my life, that I will never be able to experience that moment of discovery again! Once the opportunity has passed to learn something, then it's history. So, learn now because you will never be the age you are now, again.
( We talked a while about what he said. He was good at getting me motivated to do better. I was making " C " to " B " grades in school and my father always said I could do much better. This was the time in my life that I started getting better grades. my last 2 years in high school, I made straight A's in everything but math! )
We continued our little talk while Dr. King finished his speech. My father said, and I remember this vividly, " Do you know why we are watching this speech? It is because Dr. Martin Luther King has just been assassinated and all the hopes and dreams may die with him! ".....!
I had been playing outside and when I came in, my father had asked me to sit and watch that speech with him. I did not know that one of my hero's, Dr. Martin Luther King Sr., had been viciously murdered in such a cowardly way!
When he told me that Dr. King had died, I got tears in my eyes and as I went to my room, I took one look back at my father, who was sunken way down in his recliner. He had tears in his eyes...
I had never seen my tough, West Virginian mountain man father break down and cry before! God! I felt bad!
" You're not learning any younger, " was my father's message. From then on, I started to become a man. I took pride in my schoolwork. I started to care about the poor and uneducated. I decided to never, ever make an enemy in my life!
I lost that great man in 2005. He was 80 years old and one night, in his sleep, God took him into the rock of ages. He wrote a note to my mother before he went to bed. I have that note now because they are both in Heaven. He wrote, " I love you! I had a good evening. I ate a bowl of grapes and they were so good. I didn't make a mess. See you in the morning. Wake me up so I can see Price Is Right. Love, Jerry ."
They were married 56 years. He was my gentle giant of a father. I miss my buddy.
David