Many positive things have happened in my life and I honestly have little to nothing to complain about. Yes I have bills and such just like everyone else, but the opportunity to wake up in the morning, start a new day and thank the lord all mighty for life is priceless. This gift we have on earth, to develop and grow both physically, mentally and spiritually, is one that I will cherish forever until my time comes to join the lord.
My birthday just recently passed, January 13th, 2013. Although this is alway considered a joyful day for me, unfortunately I loss one of my dear friends, if not my best friend, just min before my birthday. My Dad alway liked to be early and in the case of his passing and my birthday, that stayed consistent :).
Jack Polk Jr. was born August 13th 1918 and passed January 12th, 2013 @11:50pm eastern. He was one of 13 children, born in the south and believed in working. Dad raised 8 children and has more grandchildren and great grandchildren then I can honestly count. My dad is a great man and will forever be missed. He taught me so much and was alway there when I needed to chat, and I did my very best to be there for him when he needed. Dady encouraged me to work hard, be kind to others and alway stay prayed up.
This was a man with very limited education, but that never stopped him from accomplishing all that he sought out to do. Born in Tenn, my dad grew up on the farm and worked the land until moving to Milwaukee in 1947, to work for A.O. Smith automotive. That's a drastic change if you ask me and one that I'm sure took some adjusting to get use to, but he did it and did it well.
In 1947 my dad earned $1.18/hour at A.O. Smith, and when he retired 36 years later, he was earning over $40.00 +/hour. He always took care of his family and put others before himself. Could you imagine leaving your home and venturing to a place with limited education and experience in the city. Landing a good job and starting over brand new at the age of 29? As I write this I guess I can!
Traveling and placing myself in new/foreign environments, has been something that I have become accustom to over my 29 years of life. I guess the apple doesn't fall to far from the tree, because my dady did the same thing at my age. Perhaps this is why he always encouraged me to do my very best and never say never. One of Jack's most famous lines for me is, "a baby has to crawl before he walk", I can hear those words from his mouth even as I write. I have been known to start running in most situations, skipping right over the scooting, crawling and walking stages of development. Sometimes it works, hell who am I fooling, majority of the time it works; but many times I have to go back and correct some things that wouldn't have happened if I had crawled (one step at a time). This I'm learning slows down progression; every time you have to go back, you're not moving forward.
My dady always progressed and learned to evolve with the changing times. Think about it, he experienced all the major wars, witnessed the evolution of vehicles, television, fashion and how we communicate. I mention all those things in that particular order, because my dad enjoyed all those things. It wasn't odd to see my dad with a new cell phone, or a CD player; dady was as up to date as you can get.
He's a well kept man, who drives a Chrysler and always is fashionably correct. Creased jeans & pants and a Polo sign on his chest. Hat on his head and scarf around his neck, shoes shined and always on time. Jack Polk is his name and he is a friend of mine.
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