A Father's Influence

In honor of Father's Day, I'm sharing just one more story about Coach John Wooden. What stood out to me in this story was the emphasis on where Coach learned those life lessons for which he became famous--his father. You can listen to the story here.

The other thing I love about this story is the emphasis on Coach Wooden as a teacher. We learn our most important life lessons at home from our very first teachers, and I couldn't have hoped for a better set of instructors.

So often, I hear myself saying the maxims for which my own father has become famous. "Is that a Fredism?" Matt asks when I say things like, "Your what hurts?" or "I can't hear a nod." When we're watching a high-scoring baseball game, I say, "This is a real pitchers duel." When we're watching a team from New York play a team from Los Angeles, I cheer for "a power outage." Who can pull for a winner in that match-up? I could go on and on and on...and on.

Keep teaching, Dad, and we'll keep listening, because, as more than one great man has said, "when you're through learning, you're through."

Edited with one more classic Fredism that my dear sister reminded me of: "Don't get into a pissing match with a skunk." Classic Dad.