Quote:
Originally Posted by .:4:.
What my late dad taught me was work ethic. He would say to me if you can do the job of your superior better then they can, it will be seen and you will move up. So not bragg about anything, but your actions will be seen.
Growing up, dad would often do day trips for meetings to all the major cities and leave early, come home late etc, and his regret later in life was not being around enough for his kids. But he provided. So thats what i did. Did the ot, after hours callouts etc, and never had a problem come pay reviews.
Even before he and his 2 mates started a company and they all did very well out of that, 7 figure incomes at times, he wasnt battling per say, but not swimming in cash. But always had a reasonable run of the mill car, always bought new. Things like a 1990 magna wagon, that died in a year, but he got a work car, the cressida was nice for back then. When he had to buy a new car in 95 it was a new ef futura classic wagon. So still nothing overly flash, but a reasonable and practical family car.
In 1998 when his business venture kicked off he bought a holiday house and in 99 got a towbar fitted to the ef. Now i had forgotten, but when i was 6 in 1993 dad made one of those parent never going to happen promises. I had always wanted a boat. Anyhow he took me to the maritime office for the books for a boat licence. He got his and i got a junior licence. I dunno if you can still get a junior licence aged 12. Then we went boat shopping. I reminded dad how much he hates boats, but he said he promised. He purchased a second hand 4.7m half cab with a 60hp 2 stroke on the back. I loved that thing, dad hated anything that wasnt sitting listening to the cricket. In late 2002 when i was 15 turning 16 early 2003, dad said lets go shopping. So my boat licence automatically converted to unrestricted when i turned 16. I reminded dad he hates what was my pride and joy. I was limited to 20 knots as a junior, the 60hp maxed out at 29 knots. So not too terrible. But anyrate, he wanted something a bit bigger. This time we went new. Made joint decisions on layout etc. On the model we had our eyes on, the easiest decision was not to tick the chemical toilet box, neither were willing to empty one. I was happy with the base 135hp sterndrive. Dad wanted the 220hp v6 sterndrive which was an extra 9k. As a 15 year old, not going to argue that. So he placed an order on the 5.3m bowrider, options were sterio, fish finder, canopy, gel coat, rod holders (dealer fit, but the dealer had never been asked to fit rod holders on that model, most get wakeboard towers etc) and folding draw bar on the trailer. In 03 it arrived. Dad didnt mind this one. I still have it. Does 50 knots at 4800rpm.
So growing up he was an honest har worker.
However when i was 21 he did things the wrong way. Left my mum and dissapeared. Finally when i got onto him, he said (myself being the youngest of 3) he only stuck around to see us 3 kids become adults. And by that time i had my own kid on the way. The few times my kid even met my dad he doesnt remember, so thats a bit sad considering he is 10 turning 11. My old man had re married, but passed last year aged 65.
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I can relate to this.
I considered myself lucky growing up, as what we called middle class then. My dad worked hard and started his own upholstery shop in the mid 60s after I was born, we never went without as he progressed into owning larger premises and finally producing new furniture with a workforce of around 60 guys and owning a large company. We had the flash double story house, a holiday house on a southcoast beach, the boat, new cars every year, mum and dad traveled extensively OS twice a year.
But as he got older he must have thought there must be more to this, just as I left school at 15 years (me being the youngest of 3) he simply staged his own disappearance, with all the company funds and leaving his workers with nothing.
I remember coming home from work and my mother and brother waiting at the station for me to tell me. I can not really say I was shattered, I think I was more angry, that he left my mother with a second mortgage and no job to pay for it and that's apart from the company money being channeled overseas (as we later found out) (he also sold me my first car with money owing on it)
He had gotten re married to a rich American women in the Dominican Republic (whilst still married to my mother) and living in Florida.
My brothers and I rallied around my mother supporting an income to pay the house off until my mother landed a good job in the CBD.
We simply got it done.
Fast forward 25 years and the old man came back to Oz to live after the rich American died, passing her wealth onto him.
He's a jammy old boy as he sold up and got top dollar in the US just before Sept 11 then getting back over here in time to buy a cheap ex corporate apartment from the Sydney Olympics.
We do all get along to a point but I would never trust him totally again.
Life has been full of ups and down but I would never trade it. Yes I do like to look back and remember the good and bad.