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‘I learned a great deal from my father, but what stands out to me now in these uncertain times was his belief that a person could be happy living a simple, frugal life’ From A father”s lesson on living a simple, frugal life (Denver Post, 2/7/09):
These difficult economic times have me thinking of my father — the oldest of six children and my grandfather”s only son. A teenager during the Depression, he quit school to work construction and help his parents make ends meet. On the weekends, he set bowling pins at a local alley for extra money.
After serving on the front lines during World War II, he returned home, married my mother and helped her raise six kids. I learned a great deal from my father, but what stands out to me now in these uncertain times was his belief that a person could be happy living a simple, frugal life. I think Americans have lost sight of the simple ideas about living that my father and many of his generation embraced. I believe that we can be more thoughtful in how we spend and borrow and be more frugal. It will take all of us making sacrifices to get us out of this crisis. My dad was a man of few words, and sadly is no longer of this Earth, but I can hear his voice: “Son, what sacrifices are you making?’ George Matthew Medeiros, Denver
Thanks to Paul, a reader, for sending the story.