Page 116 of Rough

“That’s not an answer. I’ll ask you one more time. Why did you do it?”

I looked at the hole. After a quick study, I told the truth. “I wanted to see what it would do. The BB gun. See how much power it had.”

He nodded. “What did you think it would do?”

“Break it…”

He scowled. “But you just had to know, didn’t you?”

I nodded again. “Yes, Sir.”

“You damned sure didn’t exercise any common sense. It’s going to cost $20 to fix that window. Do you have $20?”

I had about $2.00, if I collected all the change from my piggy bank. I was saving for a mini-bike at the time. I fought against the lump in my throat. “No, Sir.”

“Start saving.” He said. “You’re going to pay for it. You understand why, don’t you?”

“Because I broke it?”

“That’s right.” He placed his hand on my shoulder. “And now, you’re going to pay for fixing it. The decisions you make in life will have a financial effect on you. Some will be bad, and some will be good. This was a piss poor decision on your part.”

I suspected taking my BB gun was next, and I was right. He told me he’d return it when he could trust me, and to this day, I’m still waiting on it.

I chuckled a laugh, paused, and looked out over the crowd.

Most people were wiping their eyes. I realized not all of them were reacting to what I was saying, but some of them certainly were. The rest, by my best guess, were recalling stories of their own.

I dropped my gaze to the sheet of paper and continued.

A month or so later, he and I changed the broken piece of glass together. He showed me how to scrape away the caulking, pull the retaining clips, and replace the glass.

To this day, I still know how to replace a pane in an old double hung window.

I also know the value of money.

The lessons my father taught me didn’t stop there. They continued for years, many long after I was an adult.

“Be honest.”

“All we have is our word. Be a man of your word. Always.”

“If you can’t pay for it, you probably don’t need it.”

“Work hard every day, or your boss will find someone else who will.”

“Never raise your hand to a woman. If someone else does in your presence, raise your hand to him.”

“At any cost, stand up for what you believe in. If there’s opposition, stand taller.”

“No man on this earth is born better than you, or worse. Don’t judge. Ever. A man’s worth will be shown in his actions, but never by his skin color, religion, or lack of religion.”

In my parent’s home, using derogatory words to describe a race or religion didn’t happen.

Ever.

I am the man I am today because of my father.

He died in his sleep while Tegan and I were laying side-by-side in bed on the night of his 50th wedding anniversary.