Things I've Learned From My Father, So Far (*)
- Work hard.
- Appreciate what you've got.
- Especially if it's a great family.
- Most especially if it's a great woman.
- Never give up.
- No, seriously – work hard.
- Do as well as you can (even if it's not as well as you once imagined it might be).
- You have to love your kids; but you're truly lucky if you also really like your kids.
- The steering wheel is not a place to rest your hands.
- Folding fitted sheets is really a spiritual exercise: if you can fold fitted sheets, you can do anything.
- There's never any point in doing a poor job of something, no matter what the job.
- Always meet your responsibilities.
- Be generous.
- Always, always support your family.
- Even if they make choices that are slightly baffling to you.
- Offer well-intentioned advice – but don't worry too much if it's not taken.
- Accept well-intentioned advice you don't intend to take by saying, "Thanks very much for the advice."
- Enjoy life.
- Wear nice clothes.
- Buy a couch.
- Keep playing basketball.
- Basketball provides several important life lessons: you don't have to be the fastest, strongest, or most talented – if you just run around a lot and keep hustling, good things will happen.
- Keep lifting weights.
- Call your father once a week.
- It's very cool to be a Jew.
- I can't eat the soup.
- New York is a special place.
- Take great joy and pride in the accomplishments of your family.
- You're probably going to end up repeating your stories as much as your father; then, later, as much as your grandfather.
- Always be doing something.
- Yard work is a good choice.
- So's reading political biography.
- Also playing tea party with your daughter.
- Cleaning the house can be like a meditation.
- Pretty much every company (probably every organization) is at least somewhat screwed up and dysfunctional.
- Don't let that get you down, or keep you from doing your best.
- You can always start again.
- Life's hardly worth living without chocolate chip cookies.
- Matzoh Brei is very good for breakfast.
- Carvel flying saucers can just disappear in the night.
- There's always hope for your Scrabble career (even if your kids are know-it-alls who know all the two-letter and q-without-u words).
- Use proper grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure in written English – even if it happens to be e-mail.
- Everything in moderation.
- Smile for pictures.
- Relax.
Or, In Many Cases, Things I Should Have Learned From Him, And Probably Would Have, If I Paid A Little Better Attention
