William Burpeau |
With the passing of my father-in-law and my wife’s uncle within a month of each other last winter, our family has had way too many mandatory gatherings. A total of four services, because in northern Vermont, burials have to wait until the spring.
My wife’s family is close-knit; but in the last few years, the busyness of life had kept us from large family gatherings. You could see it in the eyes of everyone – they were wondering, “Why are we waiting for the bad times to get together?” So, this year we gathered over Memorial Day, and had a great time visiting with each other. I’ve been trying to get my mind around the fact that we will cancel plans, take vacation days, miss kid’s activities, and more to attend a wake. But we won’t do any of these things to get together with the most important people in our lives while they’re still alive. I know that we live with the tyranny of the urgent, and we postpone the important. But I sure am glad that our family is making plans to get together again. And soon. Because gatherings should be about families staying together.
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I bought my first car in 1981 - a ten year old Pontiac Firebird. Metallic maroon with a beige interior, I had a car just like Jim Rockford’s.
I didn’t know much about buying cars, but I knew enough to bring my buddy Greg with me. He was the best mechanic at my high school. As we test drove the car, Greg noticed a few small problems that he leveraged into knocking the price down by a third. Then he fixed them for free the next day. Even now, 34 years later, I vividly remember standing on that lot negotiating the deal. It was a special time. I felt like I’d taken a step toward growing up, and the next time I experienced that level of wonder was the day I met my wife. (Guys know what I mean.) Cars are a huge part of American life and, to a great degree, reflect our personalities. Some people simply need to get from Point A to Point B. Others may want a specific vehicle for a business. Still others are particular about the how they look in the car. My sons are fast approaching the time when they'll be buying their first cars, and I plan on telling them this - about many things: don’t settle for what you don’t love, because your decisions are creating the rest of your life. Be patient. Consider your choices carefully. You’re going to live with the results of your decisions forever – make sure you choose the right one. |
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