Lessons Learned
I was born and raised in the Roman Catholic faith. My teachers, during the first eight years of my formal education, were nuns. After that, I attended St. Mark Seminary in Erie, Pennsylvania for four years, studying for the priesthood. The more I studied and reflected upon my religion and others, the more convinced I became that it was far more likely that man created God than the other way around. Much to the chagrin of my family, I became an atheist and left the seminary.
Lesson learned
. Blind faith is a poor substitute for logic, facts, and common sense. Wanting something to be reality does not make it real. Wanting something to be the truth does not make it true.
In 1966, my country was at war in a far off place called Vietnam. Seven boyhood friends and I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. We wanted to discover for ourselves what war was like. We did. Only five of us returned alive. Lesson learned . War is not good.
Upon being released from the military, I was employed by the H.J. Heinz Company as a shipping clerk. Five promotions and thirty-three years later, I retired as the manager of the company's food processing facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lesson learned . Aim high, never stop learning, work hard, and you will usually be rewarded accordingly.
My late wife and I were married in 1970. She was and is the best thing that ever happened to me. We had five children and thirty-five and a half wonderful years together. Lesson learned. True love doesn't just happen. It requires effort, patience, trust, and dedication, but it is definitely worth it.
I am now sixty-seven years old, have been retired for fourteen years, and enjoy a very comfortable lifestyle. My four adult children are independent, gainfully employed, and enjoy comfortable lifestyles of their own. Two of them are happily married and each has two children. The other two are in exclusive relationships that they seem to find quite satisfying. We all enjoy spending time together as often as possible. Lesson learned . Raise your children well and that is how they will usually turn out.
Like everyone else's, my life has been neither perfect nor trouble-free. Three of my boyhood friends were killed in action during a war in which eight of us volunteered to fight. One of my children was killed in an accident. My wife died of cancer at the age of fifty-seven. Lesson learned . You can never forget sad times, but should not constantly dwell upon them. Instead, allow the bad times to make you more aware and appreciative of all the good times.
The late actress Mae West (1893 - 1980) said it much better and more succinctly than I have. "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." Lesson learned!
In 1966, my country was at war in a far off place called Vietnam. Seven boyhood friends and I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. We wanted to discover for ourselves what war was like. We did. Only five of us returned alive. Lesson learned . War is not good.
Upon being released from the military, I was employed by the H.J. Heinz Company as a shipping clerk. Five promotions and thirty-three years later, I retired as the manager of the company's food processing facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lesson learned . Aim high, never stop learning, work hard, and you will usually be rewarded accordingly.
My late wife and I were married in 1970. She was and is the best thing that ever happened to me. We had five children and thirty-five and a half wonderful years together. Lesson learned. True love doesn't just happen. It requires effort, patience, trust, and dedication, but it is definitely worth it.
I am now sixty-seven years old, have been retired for fourteen years, and enjoy a very comfortable lifestyle. My four adult children are independent, gainfully employed, and enjoy comfortable lifestyles of their own. Two of them are happily married and each has two children. The other two are in exclusive relationships that they seem to find quite satisfying. We all enjoy spending time together as often as possible. Lesson learned . Raise your children well and that is how they will usually turn out.
Like everyone else's, my life has been neither perfect nor trouble-free. Three of my boyhood friends were killed in action during a war in which eight of us volunteered to fight. One of my children was killed in an accident. My wife died of cancer at the age of fifty-seven. Lesson learned . You can never forget sad times, but should not constantly dwell upon them. Instead, allow the bad times to make you more aware and appreciative of all the good times.
The late actress Mae West (1893 - 1980) said it much better and more succinctly than I have. "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." Lesson learned!
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