All I need to know I learned in kindergarten. That was the title of a popular book back in the early 2000s. Ever heard of it?

I’m going to borrow from that title as the theme for my remarks. My theme is “All I need to know I learned in a ten minute call with my dad.”

---

Note: This is the eulogy I delivered at my dad’s celebration of life in March 2019.

---

I’ll come back to the main message, but for now let me just talk about who my dad was.

“All I need to know I learned in a ten minute call with my dad.”

John held many roles over his time on earth. Some he dabbled in; some he mastered. He performed all with passion and to the best of his abilities.

Here are some of the roles he played over his lifetime:

• Son
• Brother
• Husband
• Protector
• Father
• River rat
• Salesman
• Hustler
• Airman
• Sergeant
• Master Sergeant
• Sarge
• Manager
• Mailman
• Entrepreneur
• Inventor
• Marketer
• Accountant
• Counselor
• Physical therapist
• Coach
• Fisherman
• Hunter
• Tour guide
• Lifeguard
• Author
• Photographer
• Cattle rustler
• Retiree
• Story teller
• Gardener
• Scientist
• Philanthropist
• Church choir
• Volunteer
• Friend
• Financial advisor
• Banker
• ATM
• Hibachi master
• Explorer
• Pioneer
• Shell collector
• Planner
• Activist

No matter what role you knew John best for, today we remember him and the impact he had on each of our lives.

For me, John was mostly the role of father. However, we were also business partners at one time. That’s when I learned many of the skills to be successful in business.

He taught me how to camp, hunt, fish and in general just to “rough it“. But more important than anything, this man taught me how to grow my faith.

He always insisted that our whole family went to church when we were kids. He even went so far as to send us to a Catholic grade school.

I never knew dad to quote scripture in his everyday conversations. But he showed his faith in his actions.

Now for that ten minute phone call

It was the night that Hurricane Harvey was coming on shore in 2017. It would make landfall within a few miles of my parents house in Rockport, TX.

Mom and dad had evacuated to a hotel about 4 hours away. I called my parents while I was watching the hurricane hunters share live footage and reports from Rockport in social media.

Dad assured me everything would be okay for them. I was convinced he was in denial.

He then told me that God has taken care of him through all sorts of storms in life and he will take care of him this time too.

They couldn’t return to home for about four weeks, due to all the down power lines and trees and such. They came home to a house with a few missing shingles and a ripped screen on their porch from a tree branch that had fallen.

All around them was devastation. Many homes an buildings looked as though they’d been hit by a bomb. It took nearly 18 months for the town to get fully cleaned up. And the rebuilding is still happening today.

The lesson he taught me in that ten minute phone call was that no matter what storms of life you find yourself in, always trust in God to get you through it.

Dad, I love and miss you. But I know you’re in a better place. I’ll see you in Heaven.

Only the Brave is a Hollywood movie that tells the harrowing story and pays tribute to the 19 Granite Mountain hotshot firemen who lost their lives protecting the town of Yarnell, AZ from an out of control wildfire in 2013.

Last weekend, I hiked to the site where the men died. What a solemn experience. I posted some pics and a write-up of the experience on my AZ Wonders blog. Have a look…

It takes a special person to fight fires; especially wildfires in remote mountainous areas. On June 30, 2013, Arizona lost 19 very special men in the Granite Mountain Fire near Yarnell. The tragedy gained nationwide attention and became the plot for the 2017 Hollywood movie: Only the Brave. In an effort to help others honor […]

via Granite Mountain Hotshots memorial — AZ Wonders

Nov. 21, 2016 – Yesterday I returned from a mission trip to a barrio in Rocky Point, Mexico. The work crew I was on built a nice little home for a single mom and her 5 year-old son. No plumbing or electricity, but still a huge step up in their living conditions.

As a result of the trip, I became more familiar with the great work being done by the folks at 1Mission. They’re bringing the awesome love of Jesus Christ to who people born into poverty by providing them with employable skills and giving them opportunities to earn a home by logging service hours for the mission.

What a great reminder of all that we have to be thankful for here in the U.S. It was a humbling honor to work alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ in a service act of of love for someone in need.

I used to be one of those people who grumble every year that stores shouldn’t be open on major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Before I tell you the key event that shifted my thinking, here are a just a few of three reasons why I think it’s okay for stores to be open on holidays:

1. Not everybody celebrates Thanksgiving and Christmas
   As much as many diehards would like to mandate that all Americans recognize these holidays as days to spend at home with family, it’s just practical for everyone. One year, on the day before Thanksgiving, I told the one woman working at the checkout stand of our local supermarket that I hope she has Thanksgiving off. She informed me that she will be working the holiday, then quickly assured me she’s okay with it because she’s in the U.S. on a study visa and it’s not a holiday she’s used to celebrating. And since none of her family is in the United States, she wouldn’t be able to celebrate it with them any way.
2. People celebrate in different ways
   Not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving and Christmas in the same way. Given how diverse and mobile our society is these days, it’s more common than ever for family members to converge in one location from around the country in order to celebrate. In 2015, my family of four drove 13-plus hours from Phoenix to San Antonio the day before Thanksgiving to attend a reunion dinner planned for Thanksgiving day. We arrived at our hotel at 1 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning. If not one supermarket were open that day, there is no way we, or many of the other guests, would have been able to bring anything for dinner.
3. Some people enjoy working on the holidays
   Believe it or not, there are some people who actually enjoy working on holidays – especially when they can earn 1-1/2 to 2 times their normal pay. I personally know several people who count on holiday pay so they can survive the holidays financially or pay off bills. For others, it’s not so much about the money, but they’d just rather be around people than sitting home alone dwelling on the fact that they have nobody to celebrate the holiday with. This was definitely the case for the woman I mentioned earlier.

Like many people, I once thought it was sacrilegious for stores to be open on Thanksgiving or Christmas. That all changed the year my young daughter had a painful ear infection on Christmas morning. Were it not for the cheerful staff of the local Walgreens committing to be at work that day, the outcome of our holiday might have quite miserable.

Unless I hear of people being forced to work on a holiday or face consequences, I will forever support the right of businesses to open their doors on Thanksgiving and Christmas.