Here is a message from twenty years ago,

Here is a message from twenty years ago that is more appropriate today.  It was sent from my father to each of his children over twenty years ago and I came by it just now.  Enjoy,

 
May 29, 1990

Dear Family,

It’s been raining like cats and dogs and it’s colder than ‘ole heck and about all Papa can do to stay out of Grandma’s hair is to bury himself in his room. I’m not in a mood for much else, so I’ll do what I like to do best.


I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the adversities we had when I was a little boy up on The Magpie. About getting my hand cut in the mowing machine, about the folks losing the homestead to the bank, about ‘ole Ted eating the rat poison and dying, about ‘ole Roanie getting her teats cut real bad when she jumped the barbed wire fence, about the time somebody stole the twenty cords of wood brother Joe and I hauled, cut, split and stacked for winter -- and, you know, the list goes on.

But then I been also thinking --
Tough times don’t last,
But Tough People do!

And, when the going gets tough,
The Tough get going.

This has been an adage I have lived by for as long as I can remember.

We have always had faith and hope that things would get better no matter how dark things looked at the time and we always knew we had the love and support from the rest of the family and we have always “Hung Tough” together.

Never forget that!

AND,

We love you all.

Papa