I’ve seen Jim Boykin call these cat posts, so here’s a bit of a “cat post” from me.
This weekend I went to North Dakota for the funeral of my 91 year old Grandfather. He was quite a character and a story teller. Also a bit ornery. Think of a combination of Albert Finney in Tim Burton’s movie, “Big Fish” and Archie Bunker. For some reason, he rarely ever revealed his ornery side to me – just the stories.
One of my favorite tales was of how he worked as a boxer at a circus during the great depression. Others included World War II exploits. Even in his 80’s he’d call me “buckshot” and boast about how all the nurses liked him and how tough he was. True or not, the memories are there. Funerals can make one relflect on what’s important.
With this sort of mindset, I prepared to go back home from North Dakota to Minnesota and ended up in the emergency room. We feared my mom was having a heart attack but it ended up being something else related to stress. All I know is, it was quite a scare for a while. After seeing her survive a bout with cancer several years back, I know she’s trooper. Seeing her in the hospital like that was also a stark reminder that the things you value most should not be taken for granted. Thankfully, she’s doing much better.
I’m just so glad to be in the situation I’m in with a great family, growing business and an industry I truly enjoy to work in and learn from. Corny as that sounds, I know it’s what’s important.
[/end cat post]
