David's Dad

David spoke in church today. Of course he spoke on

Fathers!  It was a nice talk.  I didn't know David's family until

I was 19+ so I  didn't see how he was raised.  I know

all the stories of his exploits in and around St. David but

these stories tell another side of his life.

He spoke about his father's example.  The thing that

stayed with him about his dad was he went to work every day and

on Sundays he went to church.  That was just it - no

exceptions.  He remembers his dad as faithful

church member but not too big on reading scriptures, etc.

As Pete got older he did study the scriptures more.

David asked him once why he was reading so much.

He told David he was "cramming".  I remember Pete

as a very knowledgeable man.

 

His dad taught him some things about life and

hard work.  The property that David's home

was built on was cleared of enough Mesquite

trees to build a house and have a front yard.

At some point David realized that there was no

place in the back of the house to play.  He could

play in the Mesquite trees but they have thorns and

that was no fun.  So he complained to his dad about

the situation.  The next day Pete brought David a

dull two edged ax and a new handle to put it on.

Obviously he had to sharpen the ax and put on 

the handle and chop down the trees which he did.  

He cleared the backyard by himself.

 

When David was a freshman in high school he noticed

that everyone had a concrete sidewalk in front of

their house.  Everyone except his family.  Again, he

complained to his dad.  In a couple of days Pete came

home with a cement mixer.  Pete borrowed Burt's truck

and sent David over to the Gila Wash to get sand.  

When he got back there was cement to mix with the sand.

Pete made a frame for the sidewalk and David made the

concrete sidewalk.

David had a go cart with a blown motor.  He didn't

have money for a new one so he decided he would try

and find work to get enough money for the new motor.

His dad found him a job....digging a hole for a septic

tank for a relative who was building a house.  He and

his cousin Danny were put to work.  The dimensions were

laid out and the only instruction he got was to throw

the dirt far enough away that it wouldn't fall back into

the hole.  He said his dad would come around every

3-4 hours just to check on the progress.  Each time

he came he would get a shovel and move the dirt

that did build up around the edge of the hole.

They finished the job. Between that job and sorting

pop bottles at the store he earned enough money 

for the motor.

A side note this story:  Pete told me that many times

his dad would give Pete and his brothers chores.  More

times than not his dad would come and work along

side the boys.  He teared up remembering that his dad

was right there with him when he had chores to complete.

So when he came and shoveled the dirt away from the

septic tank hole I couldn't help but think of his own dad

and the example he had shown him.

 

Finally, his grandmother lived next door and she

had a dog.  She was quite old and kept the dog on

a chain.  The dog became mean.  Whenever she would

feed it he would snarl and growl and snap at her.  

He finally bit her hand badly and she had to 

go to the hospital.  Well, Pete went and got his 22

rifle and 2 bullets and told David to go take

care of the dog.  David had never done anything

like that before but he went and "took care of

the dog" and then dug a hole and buried it.

I saw a different side of Pete and a different side

of David.  David's parents had a complete change

of life style when they moved to Show Low.  There

were still chores to do but David was old enough

to work and his mom also went to work.  That is what

I saw.  I had heard some of these stories before

but today as they were told one after another I

had a new regard for Pete and an understanding

of David's childhood and early teen years.

I also appreciate that David learned how to 

work hard and do hard things.  When we married

and started keeping house I was surprised and pleased

that he could work hard and he knew how things

worked.  I loved that and I love these men.