In memory of Charles Perkins, October 25, 1933 – June 16, 2018
Written by Dale Perkins
My brother, Dale Perkins, wrote this reflective list after our father passed away. It’s been a year without my dad, but the wisdom he lived and imparted remains dear to my heart. Take special notice of numbers 1, 2, and 7. They especially speak to me about how our father lived his life.
1. Treat everyone you meet with respect and kindness.” You’ll make some interesting friends and meet some colorful characters along the way.
2. Weekly church attendance is an important part of your faith; but so is how you live the rest of the week.
3. A smile and a fist pump can go a long way in providing encouragement to someone.
4. Plant your sweet corn when the oak leaves are the size of squirrel ears.
5. Strong-willed horses and women can make the best partners if you treat them right.
6. Dad, my brother, and I can do all the morning and afternoon milking and other chores and in between, along with the help of a couple neighbor boys, bale and stack in the haymow 1500 bales of hay.
7. Be honest and fair in all your business dealings and your reputation will ensure you die with dignity; no matter what physical and mental health problems assail you.
8. It’s dangerous to grand if you’re short-suited when playing whist−but remember it’s only a game so go ahead and chance it once in a while.
9. Don’t throw away that piece of scrap metal. Find a place to hide it away in a corner of the shed; you might find a use for it someday.” (Sorry, Mom and Ann)
10. Earthly things take on much less importance as one gets closer to death; perhaps we should apply that philosophy a little more throughout our life.
11. Dignity, integrity, humility and humor all go well together. Profanity takes away from all.
12. Hang your horse harness exactly the same place and way every time you put it away and you won’t have tangles the next time you use it.
13. Always take time to help your neighbor and be involved with community and church activities.
14. Set a corner post right the first time and you will never have to replace it.
15. Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 Oops, wrong father, I guess it still applies!
16. If you have a crop failure, figure what you should do differently and double your acreage of that crop next year.
17. Herding livestock slowly and quietly so they think it is their idea will get the job done quicker and less stressful to both man and beast.
18. Fish bite best after a rain. However, as I think about it, the real lesson may be that a farmer only has time to go fishing is when the fields are too wet to work….
19. Fixing a fence on a hot, muggy day in a swamp is a miserable experience; but it can be a small part of a wonderful career choice.
20. It’s ok to cry at your father’s funeral.