Lessons From Your Dad?

Vaughn McMillan

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
36,054
Location
ABQ NM
In honor of Father's Day, I thought I'd ask the gang here to name three things they've learned from their dads that have come in handy in life. These can be positive things, or negative things that you learned NOT to do.

I'll start with these three:

1. How to coil a rope/line/cord
2. How to fix a leaky faucet
3. How to wire an outlet or light fixture

The list is much longer, but those are three that came to mind right now. I have in the past thanked my dad for teaching me these things, and will likely do it again. :thumb:
 
Good thread Vaughn.
My father taught me to have a good work ethic. He also taught me respect. He taught me to not leave his hammer laying out in the yard overnight too. :eek: Some of my fondest memories as a child are the times I spend laying on the garage floor holding the light while my dad worked on his car.
 
Growing up the son of and grandson of contractors I learned quite a bit in the lines of home fixit stuff and woodworking. Some of the most memorable are....

1. Why it's important to flip the breaker off first (I've demonstrated this to my wife more than once, I'll learn someday) :rolleyes:
2. Muffler bearings aren't real. No matter how many part stores you ask, you're not going to find them. :eek:
3. Don't bite your fingernails when working on plumbing projects. :eek:
 
...Some of my fondest memories as a child are the times I spend laying on the garage floor holding the light while my dad worked on his car.

Ditto this. :thumb: I was the official light-holder/tool-hander on a lot of projects around the house, barn and driveway.

It was also a milestone moment the first time I took over for my dad and got something done that he was struggling with. He had wrestled with a garbage disposal under the sink for 20 to 30 minutes trying to get it attached to the flange, and had gotten very frustrated. I convinced him to let me try (I was probably about 15 or 16 years old) and I got lucky and stabbed it on my second or third try.
 
my father died in his forties.
he wasnt around much when I was younger, he worked all the time.

a few things I remember him teaching me that came in useful.

if you or someone changes your tire, and forgets to tighten the lug nuts, take one lug off each wheel and secure it until you can get more.

he taught me how to drive, made me go through the midtown tunnel in manhattan during rush hour when I was 12 years old.
when I told him I was scared, hed tell me stop the car, hed hop into the back seat and go to sleep.
I was never sure if he was watching or not.

I saw 8 mm films of me when I was around 2 and half. We had a 4 foot pool in our yard, and my father used his sure fire method to teach each of his kids how to swim. Hed throw us in the pool and stood by in case we didnt stay on top of the water.

I always thought his methods were harsh, but when I see other adults who are deathly afraid of the water, or who never learned how to drive, I realized how quick and easy he taught me.
 
Dad:
How to ride a horse
How to drink wine out of a gallon jug one handed (gotta have one hand on the reins.. - true!)
How to rope a cow
How to rope a horse (its different)
How to make a rope
How to braid
How to tie knots (never got as good as him here by a looong shot at least on the fancy knot work)
How to ride a bucking horse (and how to get on/off a bad horse), ditto bulls
How to drive a team
How to drive a truck/tractor
How to cut down a tree
How to build a fence (actually many ways to build a fence, gates to)
How to stack hay (harder to do properly than you'd think, look at haystacks next time you drive around they're mostly all falling down)
How to shoot
How to reload
How to work a forge
How to trim a horses feet/shoe a horse
How to work a plow
How to run a trap line
How to tan hides
How to manage field irrigation (flood, sprinklers, etc..)
How to lay up a log house

Grandpa:
How to make shine, wine and beer (and malt your own barley)
How to work on engines
 
Like Allen, my dad wasn't around much growing up. He always had two jobs at a time that I can recall...but he did teach me how to play and luv the game of baseball. He taught me how to ride a bike. But my favorite is how he {& my grandpa} taught me how to fix things with what was available at hand...things might not have been pretty, but we sure got our money's worth of most things we needed.
R.I.P. Dad & Thanks!
 
My Dad also taught me tons that I still use like how to sharpen knives/tools by hand various parts of my woodowrking journey but one thing really stand out. keepingin mind that he wasan electrician when I was about 12 or 13 hen handed me a piece of paper and this is what it had on it.
 

Attachments

  • Ohms law.jpg
    Ohms law.jpg
    4.2 KB · Views: 42
1. the most important possession that you have is your character. morals and values
2 Respect your elders, the flag, and the police and military.
3.Always show your family how much you love them.
4. Don't ruin your life with booze.

He died at 52 yrs old in 1969. Even though I never saw him drunk I knew he liked whiskey a bit too much. Probably from spending 4 years in the Marines Island hopping during WWII.
My wife never met him, he never met his grandkid or great grandkids, or his grandson Robert 3rd. But I idolized him and think of him almost every day.

Sorry to get a bit mushy :eek:
 
Well the first things that come to mind for me would be
1-How to shoot and field dress what you shot.
2- how to swim. Like allens dad, my dad would take us to the lake and throw us in.In his younger days he was a life gaurd.
3- how to jump barrels on ice skates.:D He was a heck of a ice skater.
4-How not to call him a liar.:eek: Never did it but ounce, and i never have had a beaten like that ever again.:eek:
All right Don i'll be the dummy that has to ask.:D What does that stand for? now remember i'm just a dumb country boy from the hills of PA.
 
Last edited:
My father drank liquor (wine, beer, whiskey), though not a lot.
-----However, he taught me that drinking any thing except a very small amount was stupid.

My father smoked cigarettes, cigars and pipe.
-----However, he taught me that smoking was really dumb.

My father worked for the telephone company and really enjoyed his job.
-----However, he always said. Do whatever work you want to do, but be your own boss, rely on yourself not others.

I was one of the lucky people. I had wonderful parents. After we grew up, my sister wasn't so bad either.

Enjoy,

JimB

In case you are confused about the reason for editing, I took the extra three lines I added back out.
 
Last edited:
The things I learned from my parents ultimately taught me that I am a worthy person no matter what I was told all my life. It just took way too many decades to learn it. But I am a happier person today. I am thankful that many of you had wonderful parents and a wonderful childhood. Be patient with those who did not.
 
When you borrow something always return it in as good or better condition than you got it. If you can't, replace it. He was often harsh, but always honest.
 
After re-reading the OP :doh:... learning how to play ball & ride a bike are not really what I should of used for things "that have come in handy in life". Though I still ride 2-wheelers now & again, and place a few wagers on ballgames.

To go along with the teaching me how to doofus-rig things to extend their use, He taught me not to drink & drive, though he went about it in the 'here hold this, watch me' method. Of course back when I was a kid, & the sheriff usually drove him home with just a scolding.

Another would be the hunting, fishing & gardening as enjoyment as well as survival.
 
Top