From Dad...

Do It Now

“There’s no time like the present”, is something to think about.

“Now” is all we’ve got and the golden opportunity will pass. I like to hang with teenagers and say things like, “sup” (short for “what’s up?”)

Teens are doers and not talkers. I saw a free sporting event the other day. Some older boys were “ditch surfing”. A vehicle was parked along side a water-filled ditch. A long rope and a youngster on a boogie board was in the ditch. I knew “sup”. I asked, “Can I watch?” They gave me a “free ticket”.

They took off and the young man “surfed” a short distance. The others laughed when he fell. If I’d been a city cop, I would have taken the fifth. No was would I turn in some fine young men for having fun. I though how nice it was to see some good clean, muddy fun. No drugs or alcohol. They were on a “natural high”.

A fun life is all in the timing. You can’t ditch-surf if the ditch is dry. You can’t build snowmen when there’s no material. Years ago I made an un-stingy decision. It started snowing one day and I left work to play with the Grand boys. I got the Honda-50 out and hooked a boogie board behind. O’Neal climbed on. I will always remember his cries of joy as we circled the house. He was yelling, “Oh, Yeah! Oh Yeah!”

Opportunity and God’s grace is all that’s needed. One cold winter some boys found an iced-over pond. One said, “That’ll be a good swimming hole next summer.” Another asked, “Why wait?” That’s all it took.

They shucked their clothes and jumped in. My friend said, “I soon realized I’d made a big mistake.” He say he like to froze before he got his legs back in his long johns. He doesn’t want this told so don’t yall say anything to Billy Franks about it.