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The Day I Started to Grow Up...23 April 1969

AlabamaJack

AlabamaJack

eXtreme
43 years ago today, I was a lost individual...it was right after the 68 Tet offensive in Viet Nam and I joined the Navy....

When I joined the Navy, I thought my parents didn't know much...matter of fact, I thought they were quite in the dark about life...

Through the 4 years, 1 month, 15 days, and 8 hours I spent in the Navy, I realized both my parents were a lot smarter than I thought they were...they had PhDs in life's experience....

What I am trying to say here I suppose is mostly directed at young people...It makes no difference how "educated" your parents are book-wise, they have experience with life and likely have been faced with the same kinds of decisions you have to make today...listen to the advice your parents give you...they only want the best for you and I promise you they are not just "nagging" you....

As I reflect back on my life, if I had only listened to my parents, I would not have had to go through as many trials and tribulations as I did....they were a lot smarter than I thought they were....
 
Thats right!
about 10-15 years ago i knew it all! You couldn't tell me a thing!
Now i have an 8yr old boy that is gonna be the same way. (getting gray hairs already)

I always tell him "Wise men learn from a fools mistakes, and fools learn from there own."
 
AlabamaJack said:
I would not have had to go through as many trials and tribulations as I did....they were a lot smarter than I thought they were....
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You were working on YOUR Phd. Great post AJ.

It's like I've always said, "hire a 17 year old while they still know everything".
 
“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”

Mark Twain
 
Very true. Unfortunately not listening or heeding parental advice seems to be a right of passage. You can't give away wisdom it seems. You have to earn it.
 
Sorry to rain on this parade, but that is not always true. If your parents are about their own personal responsibility, encourage you to take responsibility for yourself and go for your goals, and you can see that they have the respect of others in the community, then it is likely true. If your parents are abusive or insecure, and blame everyone else for their problems, probably not. I am very fortunate to have known the difference, and to have had others in my life who were able to give sound advice, to which I listened. I would not have accomplished anything in my life had I listened to my parents, as they were full of "you can't". Others said to me "you can", and so I did.
 
you are an exception to the rule G....
 
I am wondering if anyone here knows just how bitchen' a guy you're all dealing with here. "I" have always had not only my answers but all of yours as well and I've always been the first to tell you about it. Yes, I am that bitchen! Or at least I thought I was.

I turned 40 this year. I have two wonderful parents and to this day we're still the best of friends and if anything over the years we've learned to admire our differences(if any) and we laugh about these things today. I clearly remember not wanting to be anything like my Father and yet, with every new grey hair on my head I find today that I can't be enough like him. When I was a teenager there were three teenagers living in the same house with the same identity crisis, only my parents were 40 at the time.

I've grown up in a different generation than Alabama Jack but I can certainly relate. Humility has it's place here.

We are each given what I like to believe are the appropriate parents in this life. We may not always agree with them but if you weren't adopted you are the product of the two that made you and there are no-other people in the world better equipped to help one understand ourselves than them. Unless you're Joan Crawford and have a fixation with wire hangers.

I have to agree that had I listened I'd very likely be in better standing in the world today myself. Then again... I'm just simply "bitchen"!!! Which means that when my parents were teenagers... they were "bitchen" too!!!
 
One of my mom's favorite things to say is you can't put an old head on young sholders.

It has always amazed me that every year I got older the smarter I realized my parents were.

As a parent I've tried to teach my kids not to make the same mistakes I did in my youth. It seems to fall on deaf ears most of the time though. I'm thinking we all have to go through our own life and learn by our own experiences.
 
MGOLD86 said:
It is amazing how many times in the last few years I find myself saying "Shit, he was right..."
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I second that my friend. I am 50 now and still use many things each day that dad and mom taught me.

Thanks for your service AJ. My brother Tom was on the U.S.S. Oriskany around the time you were in.
 
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