My dad was born Dec. 8, 1925. He lived to be 87 and I think of him every day. In honor of my dad’s birthday, I’m writing about three life lessons he taught me. Of course, I learned much more than these three, but these are the ones on my mind today.
- Don’t be a quitter. During the summer between my sophomore and junior year at Mizzou, I had a hard time finding a summer job in Burlington. I finally was hired to work at the local LaMont Limited plant down on Bluff Road. (Apparently now called LaMont Home.) The year was 1979, and the plant manufactured wicker bathroom accessories (hampers, shelving, armoires, etc.) that were popular then. I had to be at work at 7 a.m. (much too early for me as a college student who wanted to be out and about late). All the people working there were my parents’ age, so I felt out of place. I think my job had something to do with a staple gun. I came home after a couple days and that night, when Dad came home, I announced, “I’m quitting that job.” Of course I had no other work lined up. “No, you’re not,” Dad replied emphatically. I was so surprised I don’t think I even argued. My Dad seldom was so stern.
So I came up with a solution. The next day, I went into the office at LaMont, and asked if I could switch to the second shift. No problem. The following Monday, I reported to work at 3:30 p.m. and I got off at midnight. There were a lot of 20somethings working that shift, so I made some friends. (We occasionally went across the river to Downers nightclub in Gulfport when our shift ended — don’t tell my mother!) And best of all, I could sleep as late as I wanted each morning, and still fit in some sun-bathing time at the club pool. I’m glad I stuck with that job, because there were life lessons I learned there, but that’s a topic for another blog. Another lesson I learned was…
2. Do business with those who do business with you. As part of the family owning Sutter Drug, my dad made sure that when it came time for us to buy a product or service, we were buying it from merchants who did business at Sutter’s. I remember one day suggesting we buy something from someone (I don’t remember the details), and my dad said, “No, we’re buying it from (fill in the blank), because they do business at Sutter’s.” Oh. Now that I own Sutter Communications, I practice the same philosophy and I try to buy from local merchants and entrepreneurs as much as possible, even when it may cost more. And the third rule I learned…
3. Follow the Golden Rule. My dad led by example on this one. He was a quiet man, respectful of others and their opinions, and extremely kind. I seldom heard him complain or say anything negative about anyone. On the rare occasions when his temper flared at something we kids had done, we knew we had really screwed up. As an editor for many years, I tried to keep that Golden Rule in mind; some days I succeeded and other days I failed.
So, happy birthday to Joe. Thinking about you today, with a smile and a tear.
Related post: Joe Sutter had patience in abundance.
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