Alex’s Life Lessons

These are just a glimpse of the valuable insights Alex gave through his life lessons.

Show extra respect for people whose jobs put dirt under their fingernails.

Every so often, go where you can hear a wooden screen door slam shut

Remember that a person who steals an egg will steal a chicken

Don’t trust a women who doesn’t close her eyes when you kiss her

Believe in love at first sight

Remember that everyone is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something

Treat others the way you want to be treated

Don’t eat any meat loaf but your Mom’s

Trust in God, but lock your car

Avoid approaching horses and restaurants from the rear

Rake a big pile of leaves every fall and jump in it with someone you love

 

Don’t waste time trying to appreciate music you dislike, spend the time with music you love

Hi Son-

Yesterday is History.
Tomorrow is a Mystery.
Today is a gift.
That’s why they call it “The Present”
So here’s my advice for Lost Wages Nevada –
I went there once with my friend Bob Dudley to some kind of a convention. We went to the shows, had fun, saw the town and on the last day of the visit I asked Bob why he hadn’t done any gambling. He said he brought money for the hotel, food and drinks and put in one pocket. He put money in another pocket to go to the shows. In the third pocket he had his gambling money. Bob had wired many of the casinos back in the 1950’s and 1960’s for a security device he had invented  and told me basically the odds averaged out 52% of the time the house won and 48% of the time the player won.  If you played long enough, sooner or later the odds would prevail and you would end up a looser.
He said that wasn’t really so bad. When you go to Las Vegas the fun is worth fighting the odds against you  but he made a practice of doing all his gambling during the last hours of his stay in the city. This way the whole trip was fun. He got to see all the shows, take in all the sights, go swimming in the pools with the slides, drink eat and be merry for a few days and truly relaxed. There was nothing to spoil his trip. Had he gambled and lost his gambling money on the first day of the trip he said it would have ruined his trip.
True to form as we were checking out of the casino he layed $500 worth of chips on the come line of the crap table, rolled the dice and won. He picked up his $1000 and we left.  He said that’s what made it fun for him; gambling as much as he cared to lose all at one time. Had he lost on the day we left, he would only be a loser for a few hours until he got home. Had he lost his gambling money on the first hours of our visit, his whole trip would have been spoiled by the feeling of being a loser and he may not have felt free to spend his food, drink and show money as liberally as he otherwise might have done.
Your mom went on line and brought up the rockabilly concert website and you’ve in for a terrific time. It’s gonna be music from my days in the 1950’s so buy tickets to everything and don’t forget to get me some pictures of all the Buicks in the car show, especially a 1950 Buick Convertible painted fire engine red with red and white pleated and rolled interior and a white canvass  tonneau cover snapped tightly over all the seats except the driver’s seat where I used to sit. Make sure it has a big pair of white Angora dice hanging from the rear view mirror and cutoff exhaust pipes protruding on each side of the car from just in front of the rear wheels!
Love you.
Dad

Be gentle with the earth

Never ask a barber if you need a haircut

When you feel terrific, notify your face

Everybody deserves a birthday cake. Never celebrate a birthday without one.

A NEW DAY

This is the beginning of a new day.
God has given me this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or use it for good.
What I do today is very important because
I am exchanging a day of my life for it.

When tomorrow comes this day will be gone
forever, leaving something in its place.
I have traded for it: I want it to be gain –
not loss; Good – not evil; Success – not
failure, in order that I shall not forget the
price I paid for it.

A thought for each day

If you work for an organization that makes it’s decisions by committee, make darn sure you’re on that committee.

Never buy anything electrical from a flea market

Remove your sunglasses when you talk to someone.

Leave a quarter where a kid can find it

Don’t let weeds grow around your dreams

Keep the porch light on until all the family is in for the night

 

Never be the first to break a family tradition

Accept a breath mint if someone offers you one

Never order chicken-fried steak in a place that doesn’t have a jukebox

Buy a used car with the same caution a naked man uses to climb a barbed wire fence

Ask yourself if you would feel comfortable giving your two best friends a key to your house. If not, look for some new best friends.

Never risk what you can’t afford to lose.

Spend your life lifting people up, not putting people down

Never buy a house in a neighborhood you have to pay before pumping gas

Remember that a good example is the best sermon