HERE’S TO YOUR HEALTH
When the FBI knocked on my door, I suddenly became grateful that I had followed Sandy’s (A.A. sponsor) suggestion and separated myself from that corrupt corporation. I re-financed my house and trusted the outcome to God as Sandy suggested and my six-month prudent reserve was more than enough because within two months I received a phone call from Birmingham, Alabama. The call came from the corporation who bought the old facility from the people who were forced to sell it in order to pay their fines.
I was invited by the new corporation to interview for a job in Birmingham and during lunch with the chairman of the board, he asked, “Would you consider taking a job as the vice-president of my company?” I said, “I have experience, but not that kind of experience, why would you offer me a job like that?” He said, “Because you’re the first man I’ve ever interviewed who was “highly recommended” by the FBI!” I accepted the vice-president’s job and moved to Birmingham and asked my parents if they would live in my beach house and keep an eye on it?
I stopped by the beach house and visited with my parents at every opportunity, but there was another reason too. I was still trying to make amends to my father and I was struggling with my 9th Step (amends step). I had a prayer partner named Mike Way. He’s gone now, but he was my best friend for thirty years; we went on prayer retreats together twice a year where we did our semi-annual soul-cleaning. Michael said, “If you cannot make direct amends to your father, why not simply honor him?” So, I began to honor my father, by not arguing or competing with him, I simply loved him exactly as he was.
Once when I visited him at the beach house, he said to me, “Do you remember the time I came to your Marine graduation at Paris Island?” I said, “Yes.” And he said, “Remember when I said, “If you put as much effort into college as you did boot camp you might surpass your brothers and sisters? I knew that you felt inferior to your brothers and sisters who already graduated from college and I wanted you to know that what you had accomplished in boot camp was just as magnificent as what they’d done and that I supported you no matter what.” Of course, I had misinterpreted all he said that day.
And then he said, “Do you remember the first day you went to work?” I said, “Yes, of course, I got a job at a bowling alley.” He said, “Do you remember the conversation we had at Louis’ Hot Dog stand after your first day on that job? “Yes,” I said.” And, he said, “Do you remember what you ordered?” “Hot dogs?” I asked. “Of course you did. But do you remember what you ordered to drink?” “Probably orange pop. I always drank orange pop,” He said, “Not that day, you ordered root beer like me because you thought working men drank root beer? That day, I explained to you how to do a good day’s work for a day’s pay and how to respect your boss because I was telling my 12-year old son how to grow up and be a good man.
On my first day of work Dad walked me to the bus stop and asked, “Do you want me to ride the bus with you?” I said, “No, Dad, I’ll do it on my own!” He said, “From then on, you never again let me help you, even though all of your brothers and sisters did. You would not allow me to help you. You put yourself through Junior High School, High School, Boot Camp and College. But never once did you ever allow me to help you. I suddenly realized why I should make amends to him. It was because he was put on this earth to be my father, but I wouldn’t let him. So, the next time I passed through town, I borrowed a thousand dollars from him without saying what it was for. I banked his money for a while and then gave it back to him, and after that, we were once again best friends. To be continued…
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