My dad wasn’t a perfect man in every way. He was hard on us boys. Not just his sons, but all those that worked for him or even just hung out with us. He wanted stuff done and done then. He didn’t take to a lot of foot dragging.

For any of his faults he could fly off the handle at the drop of a hat. But as strange at it may seem, if anything broke or got wrecked, he always kept his cool. It was as if at those times, he was transported to a different calmer place. I’m not sure if there was relief because we weren’t hurt or if he was seeing a reflection of himself when he was younger. He certainly hadn’t been immune to mishaps as a youngster or even on into adulthood. His dad, it was always said, seldom if ever got mad or raised his voice. Perhaps Cecil had gotten at least glimpses of that trait.

With a machine turned upside down, it was all about getting it upright and the needed repairs made so we could get back to work. After an automobile wreck, it was “what’s it going to take to get it back on the road again”. I guess jumping up and down and ringing his tail would have really been counter productive in the big scheme of things.

Some say I have that Cecil Lewis gene. If it’s serious, let’s get it fixed and move on. But if you track mud in the house, it’s a crisis.

I think it was the first time one of my sons damaged another person’s property, by backing into a car up at the local SwiftMart. Son number 2 was the culprit. Of course he minimized the incident slightly. “She pulled in behind me to get gas and I didn’t see her” I believe was the line. Once I arrived on the scene, the lady had pulled in and had already filled up and was inside paying by the time he hit her, but it didn’t seem that bad to me, so life was going to keep going.

What I hadn’t had time to calculate in my mind was how many times I would need to call an insurance agent before all five of the boys were grown and on their own. Oh, well we all survived without any major life threatening accidents. So what more could a parent ask for.

I hope my sons can all look past the minor things with their kids and pray the major ones never happen.