Grandpa Pete

We all have so many reasons we are the people we are.  The entire "nature" vs. "nurture" thing is still pondered by many groups.  A most basic essence of who I am today is the result of one thing my paternal grandfather said in a letter to his grandchildren in 1957.  Not even all of his grandchildren had been born yet; still he had the foresight to instruct his progeny with what he knew to be true - whether by virtue of life experience or by the DNA which he had no control over.  He wrote this particular letter to all his grandchildren to be delivered to each of us upon our graduation from high school.  He had been gone several years by the time I got my letter - yet every word is still seared in my memory.  One part of it is worth sharing:

"It is not my intention to tell you how to live your life but only to impress upon you that if you make each day an investment in good living your dividends will accrue to you in accomplishments and satisfaction.  In other words - don't waste your substance or your skills and life will be good to you".

So...this letter is part of where I came from and part of where I will go.  I try to live my life according to his words of wisdom and attempt to make each day an investment in good living.  It isn't always easy, but it is always something to strive for.

Finally, in my odyssey to track where I have been, who and what have been involved, and how this impacts where I am going, I lift my glass to Grandpa Pete.  His influence on me was profound. 

Thanks Grandpa.