I picked up my dad’s journal the other night to skim through it, but a couple of hours passed before I realized it. It is a journal/sketch book/thought book. He was quite a character, and I found myself laughing at times and crying at others. Here are a couple of gems from The Legendary Bob Bass, as he titled the book himself.
I had to read this one to Nate. I guess I did inherit a few of my dad’s traits. He wrote: “Lord if there’s any way let me have an easy life cause I’m awful lazy. Of course every organization needs one lazy person. This is the guy who is going to find the easiest way to do things.” And in another place: “Worry? Well if you have to I guess you might as well, but really now, it ain’t gonna change things.”
Then there was this entry that impacted the future of our family: “Folks think I’m a dreamer and I guess I am. My latest idea concerns greenhouses. A tough field to break into with no plant knowledge or money. Well some lumber from a house I tore down, and my own labor, will help nullify no money. My plan is to sell tomatoes not plants. Unlike other wild ideas like resturaunts, the wife has a soft spot for greenhouses. What business can fail when the ole wife agrees to help. We ain’t got nothing now so what is there to lose. Don’t you know the struggle to the top is more fun than the rewards if you make it. If defeated, then the hard times will be a common bond because we will have failed together.” For someone who was asking the Lord for an easy life, I have no idea why he would want to build a greenhouse.
I also liked his entry about a whole morning of fishing with not much going right – he got up late, the boat was leaking, no fish were biting, he had to shoot a water moccasin out of a tree he was drifting under, and then he ends it with this: “Real hunger sets in and I decide to call it a day. Successful trip. No fish to clean, mind refreshed.”
I sure do miss him. It’s going to be wonderful to meet him again and hear some more of his stories.
3 comments:
you've just reminded me why it is so important to keep a journal. you never know how important it might be to someone else. i have a journal that my mom kept for me as a baby. she had my grandpa and grandma write in it. my grandpa passed away when i was 2 and although i feel close to him through stories, i didn't get to know him for very long. that one journal entry is priceless to me. how wonderful that your dad wrote. i bet he was a character. =)
i also meant to say, i love the first quote about and easy life. that should go up on my refridgerator. that captured my feelings exactly! =)
It is wonderful to have his journal. I didn't know him for nearly long enough, and it is a great way for me to feel like I know him better. Sometimes it gets hard to remember little details, but when I read his handwriting and his words, it's almost like I can hear how his voice would have sounded if he was reading it out loud to me.
Nate and I are funny together because he is a worrier and a doer, and I'm so like my dad in his easygoing way -- always happy to sit back and let someone else worry about getting it done.
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