My mother was born in a small western town. Because her father was in the military she moved a lot. She rarely lived in one place for more than six months until she was eighteen years old. When the United States entered the Second World War she was three. Her father was part of a crew that flew Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses over Europe. Her mother worked on an assembly line at a factory that built those planes. My mother was about eight when the Cold War began. She sometimes watched the “sun” rise in the middle of the night over the Nevada desert. Her father participated in the Berlin Airlift, and helped construct the DEW Line. My mother had a tough childhood, and she grew up to be a tough, determined, independent woman. She was an autodidact too.
My mother changed my diapers, clothed and fed me. She taught me how to tie my shoes, make my bed, and how to read. She introduced me to philosophy, literature, art, music, the sciences, and history.
My stepfather was born in a small western town. His parents were civilians. He was a prodigy with a love of music, and clearly remembered his grandfather singing “Old Man River” to him when he was only two years old. His father was a pharmacist, and his mother was a school teacher. My stepfather’s health was delicate when he was a child but he was determined not to let that interfere with his pursuit of music. Eventually he overcame that and went on to university, where he was Phi Beta Kappa. Before graduating he also received a full scholarship to attend a university in Europe for one year. He entered university as a man of honesty, integrity, and learning, and came out as a musician, and polymath.
After my mother married my stepfather, her soulmate, I grew to love and regard him as my true father.
Together, my parents pursued “the best that has been said and thought in the world”. They were my childhood heroes. They taught me that words have meanings, ideas have consequences, and principles matter. I am extraordinarily grateful to them.
Are you grateful?
We all have a choice for whom and how we express our gratitude (including paying it forward). And it’s never too soon to start doing so, is it?
Peace.
