Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Living in the Shadow of your father.

Mine set up partnerships in China and Mexico for his employer of 47 years. He was one of their first employees. He's the one that got them ISO certified, built several of their production machines, even was acting President for a while after the owner died. Taught me the difference between quality control and quality assurance. He taught me some much-need frugality, patience and tolerance, and that good enough often isn't. Never afraid of hard work, he kept a dairy farm going as well until their health forbid it.

At 85, he's still spending time in his workshop building things for family and I get to see him whenever I can. My hunting camp is nearby so we're there some. In fact, he's the one that found it and set the deal for me with the former owner, and then called to let me know what he'd done. Can't thank him enough for that.

Nope, he's been dead and gone for a while, but I stand on my own accord and he would want to know that I have.

My dad taught computer programing (writing code) from 1969 to 2004 at the local college. BASIC, Fortran, Pascal, RPG, RPG II, C, Cobol, and I'm sure others I can't remember.
He never liked it. Never had a computer at home and never discussed it. Ever.

I dabbled in it, but it just wasn't really my thing.

Tony

Pop was an "essential service" worker and was exempt from service in WWII.
His dad served in WWI. Shipped out to Europe in May 1918. Returned in November 1918. Would NOT talk about it to family.

Grampa and me made many a mile, fishing, catching crawfish, hunting squirrels, deer, rabbits, cutting firewood, building fence, camping....you name it!

Would give anything to walk another mile with him!

Found out just the other day that at the age of 48, he volunteered for service after Pearl Harbor.
Pop had one brother. He wasn't old enough. Before the war was over, he joined the Army Air Corps. The war ended before he ever shipped out. He died of Lou Gehrigs (sp?) disease in 1951.
Loved my dad.
Adored and worshiped my grampa!

My mom's dad, my maternal grampa, I never knew. He died in 1932. He had 6 daughters, lost his only son as an infant. Sixteen brothers and sisters. He would have been awesome to know.

He died before I turned 3.

Logger, farmer, saw mill owner.
Folks thought highly of him.


I'm just a former trucker, turned factory monkey.
And an [bleep].

The experiences with and memories of my Dad all are wonderful. He was a brilliant self-taught and excellent man, a top flight machinist and mechanic who parlayed his skills and brain to a high level in the oil refinery business, and an outstanding athlete until his 60s when he started to wear out.

The one area he did not indwell was hunting and shooting - for which I am sad. Had to start from scratch there and learn on my own. Dad was a great model, a masterful teacher and raiser of kids and always was ready to help me learn and do and grow. And, he gave me wings to fly to wherever I needed to go.

The shadow is huge - and I love it when I am in it.

That is an area where I am very much different than my father. He couldn't shoot very well at all. He was right hand dominant and Left eye dominant so he would shoot nearly cross-eyed. I learned how to sight in his rifles to shoot just for him and when I figured it out and set things to the his eye position, he started having better success. He was extremely good with a handgun and would have them on him all of the time.

I ran off before high school was finished, hated cattle and most horses, whole family was stunned, couldn't believe it. 'No good will come of that kid'...well, they were right, but goddam it was fun, from Humboldt Bay to Neah Bay and even a stint on Vancouver Island. Wised up eventually, and got a trade, but I never regretted a single minute. Staring at the ass end of a cow for years wasn't for me...hats off to the guys who do it and love it though.

Didn't he do that movie Ernest goes to Tennessee?

Mu Dad was an Air Force Veteran, Union Electrician, devoted husband, and a spectacular Dad. He refused to allow me to follow his path in the trades and pushed me to get an education. I'm now a Nurse, former Paramedic. One of my greatest regrets was not going to the military. I hope I can be half the Dad he was. We respected the fact that we had very different thoughts on lots of things, and didn't do well working some by side on projects due to us both being stubborn, but learned to make it work. He passed away June 4th, 22 and I miss him dearly every day. I would not be where I am today without him.

Nope, that was Jim Varney. Varney, believe it or not, was a classically trained Shakespearean actor. "Ernest" earned him money.
BIG money. More so than playing Othello on Broadway.

About the same with Jim Nabors. Nobody would have thought "Gomer" had a voice like that!

I stare at his picture and my mind wanders thinking about
the memories, the way he touched my life.
He was unique, WW2 survivor, his own brand of wisdom,
things he said to me that made me think differently.
He didn't tell me how to live my life
he showed me how to live it.
Some say all men become their father,
I can think of worse fates.

He was not a trophy hunter, we hunted everything
that was in season.

My Dad died back in October. He was a career police officer who stood on strong principles. He instilled in me a strong sense of right and wrong on the macro level. Dad nor I are saints by any stretch of the imagination. But he was a fighter all his life, and he fought hardest to make sure me and my sister were loved and cared for. I’ll never forget the sacrifice, love and character that my Dad instilled in me, and now with two little girls of my own, all I can do is try my best to give them the love and support that my dad gave me. Most of you are probably old enough to be my dad so most of you can probably relate, but I’ll never be able to express how good of a job he did as a father, and how much he is loved and missed.

Lol, Do you know that Faag Walter Maslen?

Living in the shadow of your father can be a difficult experience, as it can be challenging to establish your own identity and accomplishments separate from his. Here are some tips to help you navigate this situation:

Acknowledge your feelings: It's important to recognize and process any feelings of inadequacy or frustration that may arise from living in your father's shadow. It's okay to feel these emotions, and acknowledging them can help you move forward.

Set your own goals: Determine what you want to achieve in your own life and set specific goals to help you get there. This will help you establish your own identity and accomplishments.

Find your own passions: Explore your own interests and find activities or hobbies that you enjoy. This will help you develop your own passions and interests separate from your father's.

Seek support: Talk to friends, family members, or a therapist about your experiences and feelings. Having a support system can help you feel less alone and provide you with encouragement and guidance.

Celebrate your own successes: When you achieve your goals or make progress toward your dreams, celebrate your accomplishments. This will help you recognize and appreciate your own abilities and strengths.

Remember, living in the shadow of your father is a challenging experience, but with time, effort, and support, you can establish your own identity and accomplishments.

I could never ask for a better father or a better example.

My mom made sure my Dad had it tough and us kids had it even worse. He served in the Navy during WWll and is a good man, but we're nothing alike. He's told me numerous times that he's proud of me and the family that I've raised and he loves me. Time definitely heals wounds.

In the shadow? No.

Saw mine once, so no, he didn’t make a big shadow for me.

My father was the youngest of eight sibs in a hard-working farming family that went through the Great Depression. He was in WWII, in the Philippines at age eighteen. Went to college (the only one of his sibs) on the GI Bill.

He became a history and Econ prof and taught at the college level most of his adult life. His experiences — the Depression, FDR, the war — shaped his world view. He was socially conservative but became an FDR Democrat. And of course in his later years didn’t recognize the severe leftist trajectory of his Democrat Party.

By the time I was in college (beginning in HS actually) I questioned his views on many things. I found his views and opinions on issues to not be satisfactory for me. I’m a social and political conservative, almost too much so for our present-day Republican Party.

My sibs behind me (a physician, two JD’s, and a pastor) much more so followed our dad’s thinking and are all to the left of me. So no, I don’t live in his shadow though I certainly appreciated the struggles that formed his views.