A Tribute...Until About The Middle And Then It Sort Of Trails Off
Sam Johnson died today. Well, yesterday as it were, being that its 12:15.
While I realize that doesn't seem like something that should be of much importance to me, it really is. My parents worked for him when I was a kid, and when we'd plow the driveway at his house his wife always invited me in and gave me nutterbutters...she’s a nice lady. And then, I ended up at Prairie and he was always in and out. Some days he'd come and just sit in on our assembly’s and talk to us; like he really was interested in what we had to say and just enjoyed being there.
He belongs to a sort of person you don't see so much anymore. He was really an all around nice person. He worked hard in his life, built a successful business, took care of the community he lived in, supported the things in which he believed, and still had time to be interested enough in a bunch of teenagers to learn our names. People like that are getting rarer and rarer every day as they age and die. I miss the old fashioned. While, as everything, it had its failings, those ways have a lot more to be said for them then the way we're running things now. What can I say, he reminds me of a time when people respected their elders and knew the value of a hard days work.
To me and of what I knew of him, he always was what you wanted a person to be. Judging by his children, the man had his shortcomings because most of them are lazy SOBS who wouldn't know a hard days work if it bit them in the ass, but that's just the point. Today kids are raised under the impression that things are owed to them because their rich/poor, fat/skinny, ugly/pretty, stupid/smart, unemployed/employed, black/white/asian/native american/hispanic..., left-handed/right-handed...you get my drift. Half of the population of the United States has been involved in some frivolous lawsuit, be it over a neighbor who's dog dug up their petunias, or a fast food company for their high-fat content products. What i do know is that we've got boys (for the sake of political correctness) and girls scattered all over the globe fighting a war because - ultimately - we have the money and nobody else is quite comfortable with that - and because we elected an overgrown 15 year old boy. We have a new age parenting technique, more prominent that I’d like, producing children who honestly believe that they are owed a college education, a car, health insurance, an apartment with high-speed internet and cable tv, for whatever their woe-filled condition happens to be. My 11 year old brother thinks its acceptable to tell his mother that she's not worthy to talk to him. Two of my cousins are being raised by their respective grandparents because their parents are incapable. Because we've lost sight of the concepts of accountability and commitment. Because people are getting married and living for SUVs, sprawling back yards, $5 cups of coffee, and designer everything and when the dream world comes crashing down they run for the hills and start fighting over things in court. Half of America's CEO's are under investigation because it's such a scramble for money and the best that we've forgotten morality, ethics, and ultimately dignity. And partially, because things like insider trading are illegal. I'm just saying, if i got a hot tip on stock, my ass is out and I don't care if it is my own stock. There's nothing wrong wtih self-preservation as long as it doesn't involve screwing anyone else. I may hate Martha Stewart, but her stock wouldn't have gone up had she not sold her shares, I don’t think there is anything wrong with not going down with the ship. I know that people get so caught up in the fight they forget the issues and end up losing the battle. My mother, a lesbian, is emphatic on gay marriage. While i agree that gay couples should be permitted some form of binding contract allowing them access to one another’s health and death benefits, DNR, wills, child-support, and tax increases, it will never be a marriage because that is an oxymoron. If they approached Congress asking for health and death benefits it would be a different battle, and a much easier one at that. But instead, they storm the capital demanding the legal right to partake in what is truly a religious institution. (Don't get me started on the separation of church and state violation marriage is.)
I really do worry about the future of this country, and as such the rest of the world. We seem to be filling up with Hairdressers, Telephone washers, and Receptionists (I think that was the grouping Adams used…)
Respect your elders. They’ve seen more than you can imagine. Their stories and advice are the only things that they have to offer you that are of any real value and they’re the only thing you’ll have left after they’ve gone. Realize that you get only one chance, but live it in a way that you won’t have to apologize for later. Never ask permission or apologize for doing something you believe in. Understand that the good things in life – the things you should be most proud of – aren’t tangible; they’re the things that can only be seen by looking into a person’s eyes. Be patient with your friends, but hold firm to what you believe in. Don’t get so caught up in yesterday’s news that you forget what today is all about. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. There’s no point in being jealous. Know only that each person works for what they have, and those people who haven’t worked for the things they’ve received will never really live to appreciate it and that’s a form of half-life. Do the things that you enjoy. Never mind what everyone else thinks of them.
In short, this goes out to all of the people who are spending their weekend relaxing and enjoying with people that they love because they know on Monday morning they’ll be back to work at whatever they do, or school for whatever they’re studying, to give it everything they have.
As much as I complain about it, I’ll always have a place in my heart for Cherokee Red. Oh well, I’m rambling. We'll miss you SJ.
While I realize that doesn't seem like something that should be of much importance to me, it really is. My parents worked for him when I was a kid, and when we'd plow the driveway at his house his wife always invited me in and gave me nutterbutters...she’s a nice lady. And then, I ended up at Prairie and he was always in and out. Some days he'd come and just sit in on our assembly’s and talk to us; like he really was interested in what we had to say and just enjoyed being there.
He belongs to a sort of person you don't see so much anymore. He was really an all around nice person. He worked hard in his life, built a successful business, took care of the community he lived in, supported the things in which he believed, and still had time to be interested enough in a bunch of teenagers to learn our names. People like that are getting rarer and rarer every day as they age and die. I miss the old fashioned. While, as everything, it had its failings, those ways have a lot more to be said for them then the way we're running things now. What can I say, he reminds me of a time when people respected their elders and knew the value of a hard days work.
To me and of what I knew of him, he always was what you wanted a person to be. Judging by his children, the man had his shortcomings because most of them are lazy SOBS who wouldn't know a hard days work if it bit them in the ass, but that's just the point. Today kids are raised under the impression that things are owed to them because their rich/poor, fat/skinny, ugly/pretty, stupid/smart, unemployed/employed, black/white/asian/native american/hispanic..., left-handed/right-handed...you get my drift. Half of the population of the United States has been involved in some frivolous lawsuit, be it over a neighbor who's dog dug up their petunias, or a fast food company for their high-fat content products. What i do know is that we've got boys (for the sake of political correctness) and girls scattered all over the globe fighting a war because - ultimately - we have the money and nobody else is quite comfortable with that - and because we elected an overgrown 15 year old boy. We have a new age parenting technique, more prominent that I’d like, producing children who honestly believe that they are owed a college education, a car, health insurance, an apartment with high-speed internet and cable tv, for whatever their woe-filled condition happens to be. My 11 year old brother thinks its acceptable to tell his mother that she's not worthy to talk to him. Two of my cousins are being raised by their respective grandparents because their parents are incapable. Because we've lost sight of the concepts of accountability and commitment. Because people are getting married and living for SUVs, sprawling back yards, $5 cups of coffee, and designer everything and when the dream world comes crashing down they run for the hills and start fighting over things in court. Half of America's CEO's are under investigation because it's such a scramble for money and the best that we've forgotten morality, ethics, and ultimately dignity. And partially, because things like insider trading are illegal. I'm just saying, if i got a hot tip on stock, my ass is out and I don't care if it is my own stock. There's nothing wrong wtih self-preservation as long as it doesn't involve screwing anyone else. I may hate Martha Stewart, but her stock wouldn't have gone up had she not sold her shares, I don’t think there is anything wrong with not going down with the ship. I know that people get so caught up in the fight they forget the issues and end up losing the battle. My mother, a lesbian, is emphatic on gay marriage. While i agree that gay couples should be permitted some form of binding contract allowing them access to one another’s health and death benefits, DNR, wills, child-support, and tax increases, it will never be a marriage because that is an oxymoron. If they approached Congress asking for health and death benefits it would be a different battle, and a much easier one at that. But instead, they storm the capital demanding the legal right to partake in what is truly a religious institution. (Don't get me started on the separation of church and state violation marriage is.)
I really do worry about the future of this country, and as such the rest of the world. We seem to be filling up with Hairdressers, Telephone washers, and Receptionists (I think that was the grouping Adams used…)
Respect your elders. They’ve seen more than you can imagine. Their stories and advice are the only things that they have to offer you that are of any real value and they’re the only thing you’ll have left after they’ve gone. Realize that you get only one chance, but live it in a way that you won’t have to apologize for later. Never ask permission or apologize for doing something you believe in. Understand that the good things in life – the things you should be most proud of – aren’t tangible; they’re the things that can only be seen by looking into a person’s eyes. Be patient with your friends, but hold firm to what you believe in. Don’t get so caught up in yesterday’s news that you forget what today is all about. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. There’s no point in being jealous. Know only that each person works for what they have, and those people who haven’t worked for the things they’ve received will never really live to appreciate it and that’s a form of half-life. Do the things that you enjoy. Never mind what everyone else thinks of them.
In short, this goes out to all of the people who are spending their weekend relaxing and enjoying with people that they love because they know on Monday morning they’ll be back to work at whatever they do, or school for whatever they’re studying, to give it everything they have.
As much as I complain about it, I’ll always have a place in my heart for Cherokee Red. Oh well, I’m rambling. We'll miss you SJ.
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