John P. Schulz: Find The Living Room

Quotes and Notes, #353 October 23

My Old Man was a mixture of adulthood and childishness. So am I.

“My old man said when it’s time to be counted, the important thing is to be man enough to stand up.”—Robert A. Heinlein, “Between Planets”—

“As I approve of a youth that has something of the old man in him, so I am no less pleased with an old man that has something of the youth. He that follows this rule may be old in body, but can never be so in mind”.—Marcus Tullius Cicero—

My dad only wore shorts occasionally—when he went to the beach. On those occasions, he also wore his shined wing-tip shoes with black socks.

My old man would sometimes counteract his maturity by singing old Navy songs in his beautiful deep voice. He could go all the way down with “Many brave hearts are asleep in the deep, so be e e e ware.” Then he would change the tone and sing the one I remember best,

“Whoopsie doodle, I’m off my noodle, I threw my truss away.
My rupture’s gone, my rupture’s gone.”

He told me to stand up straight and to hold my shoulders back. He taught me to shake hands properly. He taught me to like snacks—cheese crackers (sometimes limburger which stank), pickled herring and M&Ms. I never saw him eat ice cream out of the carton by the handful—I got that from my mother.

So I will stand up to be counted. I will also borrow a small kid’s yo yo and show him how to do “Around the world” and “rock the cradle” with it.

I’m noticing that when I share a smile at the grocery store, the recipient seems to be delighted. This makes me happy.
Remember, You are the only you in the world.
Everything is going to be all right.

John P. Schulz—“Sweetie Drives on Chemo Days.”